Welcome to the College of Nurses – News Update.
No. 114, Wednesday 1 August 2012
From NZ media this week
Solutions Offered For Some Nursing Students
Waiariki Institute of Technology has been urgently working with the Nursing Council, the New Zealand Qualifications Authority, and Immigration New Zealand to agree solutions for affected students and recent graduates of its Bachelor of Nursing programme of study for registered nurses (“RN programme of study”), who have faced difficulties in gaining registration with the Nursing Council of New Zealand.
http://bit.ly/Ohq4Pv
Indian nurses starve themselves for jobs
A group of Indian nurses say they are willing to die if they are not allowed to live and work in New Zealand.
http://bit.ly/M77TdE
Rotorua students hunger striking
Four international nursing students who graduated from Waiariki Institute of Technology last year have joined a hunger strike in Wellington in a last-ditch effort to gain their nursing registrations.http://bit.ly/MYacSt
Hunger-striking students reach impasse
After three days on a hunger strike, without food or water, nine nursing students have won a meeting with the Nursing Council of New Zealand to discuss their registrations.
http://bit.ly/M01pSp
Mercy mission for Kiwi nurses
Mercy Ships is a charity that operates the world's largest non-governmental hospital ship.
http://bit.ly/Oq7mFI
Tongan nurses in NZ and Australia support breast cancer awareness program
The Tonga Nurses Associations of New Zealand and Australia, in support of a breast cancer awareness campaign in Tonga, made a donation of pink pins and ribbons to the President of the Tonga Breast Cancer Society Hon. Frederica Tuita today.
http://bit.ly/Ohqg0Y
Waikato DHB slated over staffing
A major medical workers union says Waikato District Health Board is "crying wolf" over its inability to attract New Zealand staff to work in its hospitals.
http://bit.ly/OyxNJd
Medical rules force DHB to rely on costly locums
Desperately needed overseas medical staff are opting for lucrative short-term contracts instead of filling permanent roles because of strict regulatory requirements, say senior Waikato health executives.
http://bit.ly/QQxd9F
Prisons fork out millions for inmates' healthcare
Convicted criminals racked up $26.5 million in taxpayer-funded healthcare while in jail last year.
http://bit.ly/OW7Bqc
'Spiv' spat sets union boss at odds with Ryall
Health Minister Tony Ryall has been told to stop listening to "spivs" and start listening to professionals.
http://bit.ly/Q1YUzt
State of mind
Reusing syringes may be unheard of in New Zealand's medical centres today but it was standard practice when nurse Pat Diment embarked on her career.
http://bit.ly/PhkLhr
'One-third' of Maori children in poverty
Maori children are being denied their basic human rights, Race Relations Commissioner Joris de Bres said.
http://bit.ly/O8lkiR
Babies make up half of abuse cases
Babies yet to see their first birthdays have accounted for half of all hospital-recorded suspected abuse cases involving young children.
http://bit.ly/MIX9UQ
Physicians call for better health outcomes for Māori children
The Royal Australasian College of Physicians (RACP) was among other health and childcare experts who, earlier today presented oral submissions to the Māori Affairs Select Committee (MASC) on the Inquiry into the determinants of wellbeing for Māori children.
http://bit.ly/Q9tRyg
Major initiative to beat childhood killerThis Friday sees the launch of the largest initiative to combat the serious childhood illness of rheumatic fever. The initiative is supported by the Ministry of Health and Counties Manukau DHB and is led by the National Hauora Coalition.
http://bit.ly/Q7J71X
Sore-throat checks in schools get under way
When 10-year-old Paul Toala had to "open wide" for a nurse, his tonsils were found to be red, inflamed and "enormous".
http://bit.ly/LSftZj
Health graduates win MP's glowing praise
Participants in a Whaiora community health pilot programme travelled to Parliament yesterday to present its successful results
http://bit.ly/Q9rk7l
Maori health initiative shows early success
Initial results of a pilot health programme that puts Māori in charge of their own futures has found new ways to measure both social and clinical results. The results of the programme’s first 12 months were presented by participants at a function at Parliament yesterday.
http://bit.ly/QGT4ol
Nursing skills keep new hospice boss patient-focused
Craig Tamblyn also brings a business degree to the job, Elton Smallman reports. It is the first month on the job for the new CEO of Hospice Waikato and he is settling in nicely to his new role in a new city.
http://bit.ly/PhkZoZ
TDH launches new nurse-led flight service
Tairawhiti District Health has launched a new nurse-led flight service in conjunction with the Midland Regional Transport project.
http://bit.ly/OOyDQm
New Zealand Formulary launch
The New Zealand Formulary has been established to give health professionals a single place to find information about medicines.
http://bit.ly/P4azZY
Suspected stroke 'went unnoticed'
A rest home has been found to have breached its code of care after a 93-year-old woman may have suffered a stroke that went unnoticed in the days leading up to her death.
http://bit.ly/OhqMMt
International media
Marshall receives grant to deal with nurse shortage
July 18, 2012 · Marshall University is using a federal grant to address a growing nursing school professor shortage. Marshall is using the money to attract teachers to replace those who are expected to retire in the near future.
http://www.wvpubcast.org/newsarticle.aspx?id=25855
University Launches Study Into Use Of Meditation To Reduce Stress Levels Of Trainee Nurses
University of Stirling researchers have secured funding to investigate the effectiveness of training student nurses in mindfulness to reduce stress levels
http://mnt.to/l/47hT
Penn study examines link between nurse burnout, care
For years, as hospitals cut costs to survive ever-increasing financial pressures, nurses argued that inadequate staffing harms patients.
http://bit.ly/MgsB0t
Nurses, PAs use health IT more than physicians
Ancillary providers, such as nurses and physician assistants, not only use EHRs and other digital technology significantly in their work, but they do so more than physicians, according to a new study by Manhattan Research.
http://bit.ly/LPFBZJ
Alcohol specialist nurses 'pay for themselves many times over' (UK – registration, free, required)Calls for the expansion of alcohol specialist nurse services are growing in the wake of an influential report from MPs.
http://bit.ly/NgIUnU
Standardised bed chart 'could prevent hundreds of hospital deaths' (UK)
Royal College of Physicians says there are more than 100 types of chart monitoring patients' vital signs, leading to confusion
http://bit.ly/QiMgbT
Nurses 'crucial' to plan to save 6,000 lives with new bed chart (UK – registration, free, required)
A national system for recording vital signs and identifying deteriorating patients could save up to 6,000 lives a year, leading clinicians have claimed.
http://www.nursingtimes.net/5047589.article?referrer=e1
Principles for Patient Engagement Released
July 23, 2012 - “Patient engagement” has become one of the buzz phrases associated with creating a more sustainable health care system, and aiming to guide nurses and other clinicians, the Nursing Alliance for Quality Care (NAQC) has released a list of guiding principles for delivering high-quality, patient-centered care.
http://bit.ly/MAu5AN
Offenders need integrated, on-going, mental health care, according to a new study examining healthcare received by offenders across the criminal justice system
Offenders with mental health problems need improved and on-going access to health care, according to the first study to systematically examine healthcare received by offenders across the criminal justice system. A new report from Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry, Plymouth University and the Centre for Mental Health suggests that prison and community sentences offer the best opportunities to provide this. If improvements to mental health are to contribute to breaking the cycle of repeat offending, unemployment and ill-health, advantage should be taken of the new commissioning opportunities to develop innovative healthcare solutions.
Read more here: http://bit.ly/Lx0Ik1
Public health
Flu epidemic fears talked down
The head of the country's national influenza centre is downplaying concerns the country could be hit by a swine flu-like epidemic this winter.
http://bit.ly/SWZ236
Flu strain sweeping NZ packs a big punch
Lowered immunity levels may be partly to blame for a flu sweeping the country.
http://bit.ly/Og8rSZ
Get the flu jab, pleads widower
After watching his fit and healthy wife die within days of getting a tickle in her throat, Mark McIlroy is urging people to get vaccinated against the flu.
http://bit.ly/OvMFIk
Doctors swamped by flu jab requests
Wellington doctors have been flooded by requests for the flu vaccination following the death of a fit and healthy mother-of-two from influenza.
http://bit.ly/NR6iLX
From the Ministry of Health
Proposal to introduce plain packaging of tobacco products in New Zealand
The Government has agreed in principle to introduce a plain packaging regime for tobacco, subject to the outcome of a consultation process.The attached document sets out the Government's proposal and rationale for plain packaging.
Also part of this consultation process is the Regulatory Impact Statement which was prepared to inform the Government’s decision to undertake this consultation.The consultation document sets out the Government's plain packaging proposal, gathers the views of interested individuals, businesses and organisations, informs New Zealand's trade partners and invites their comment, and seeks additional information relevant to the proposal.The consultation document is in seven parts.
http://bit.ly/NK4ipY
Cancer: Historical summary 1948–2009
This document contains summarised cancer information, detailing numbers and rates of new cancer registrations and cancer deaths by year and by sex. Only selected sites are shown.The registration data in this document reflects the data published in the Ministry of Health’s Cancer: New registrations and deaths publication for that particular year, and does not reflect any subsequent updates made to the New Zealand Cancer Registry.Some Ministry publications contain more up-to-date cancer registration information, and therefore registration numbers in these publications will differ from those presented here.Information relating to cancer deaths is unlikely to change over time.The data in this document is sourced from the New Zealand Cancer Registry and the Ministry of Health’s Mortality Collection, as well as the Cancer: New Registrations and Deaths and Mortality and Demographic data publications, and Medical Statistics of New Zealand for data relating to 1948–1960.
http://bit.ly/OFj9St
Cancer: New registrations and deaths 2009
This annual statistical publication collates and analyses data on primary malignant tumour cases diagnosed in New Zealand, as reported to the New Zealand Cancer Registry.The NZ Cancer Registry has operated since 1948 and is a population-based tumour register of all primary malignant disease. (Basal and squamous cancers arising in the skin are not required to be reported, except for those of the genitalia.)The major sources of new registrations are copies of laboratory reports, post-discharge reports from publicly funded hospitals, death certificates and autopsy reports, and discharge reports from private hospitals.The data collected includes information on the site, stage and pathology of the cancer, as well as demographic information (eg, ethnicity, age, sex, and domicile). The data is collected under the Cancer Registry Act 1993 and the Cancer Registry Regulations 1994.
http://bit.ly/NH8EwK
New publications
A Flourishing Ōtautahi – Rebuilding Christchurch for Mental Health and Wellbeing
A new, forward-thinking publication from the Mental Health Foundation that looks at the opportunities ahead for communities in the greater Christchurch region following the earthquakes of 2010/11.With its focus on on positive mental health and wellbeing, it provides a unique lens through which we may view the future path we take in rebuilding the region.
http://bit.ly/MWrtND
The Mental Health and Substance Use Workforce for Older Adults: In Whose Hands?
At least 5.6 million to 8 million--nearly one in five--older adults in America have one or more mental health and substance use conditions, which present unique challenges for their care. With the number of adults age 65 and older projected to soar from 40.3 million in 2010 to 72.1 million by 2030, the aging of America holds profound consequences for the nation.For decades, policymakers have been warned that the nation's health care workforce is ill-equipped to care for a rapidly growing and increasingly diverse population. In the specific disciplines of mental health and substance use, there have been similar warnings about serious workforce shortages, insufficient workforce diversity, and lack of basic competence and core knowledge in key areas.Following its 2008 report highlighting the urgency of expanding and strengthening the geriatric health care workforce, the IOM was asked by the Department of Health and Human Services to undertake a complementary study on the geriatric mental health and substance use workforce. The Mental Health and Substance Use Workforce for Older Adults: In Whose Hands? assesses the needs of this population and the workforce that serves it. The breadth and magnitude of inadequate workforce training and personnel shortages have grown to such proportions, says the committee, that no single approach, nor a few isolated changes in disparate federal agencies or programs, can adequately address the issue. Overcoming these challenges will require focused and coordinated action by all.
http://bit.ly/QcXcMy
Conferences and seminars
2013 ICN Congress
Equity and access to health care
Melbourne, Australia18-23 May 2013
www.icn2013.ch
Instructions for the submission of abstracts
http://bit.ly/NF9XiL
Australasia obesity conference, 18-20 October, Auckland
The Australian and New Zealand Obesity Society (ANZOS) will be holding their Annual Scientific Meeting at Auckland’s Rendezvous Hotel from 18-20 October 2012. This year’s Meeting theme is 'For Our Children’s Children.'The ANZOS Annual Scientific Meeting is designed to bring together clinicians, scientists, dieticians, researchers, psychologists, exercise physiologists, public health practitioners, guideline developers, students, educators, policy makers, administrators and patients to work toward an integrated approach to improve the management and prevention of obesity in Australasia.Delegates will have a chance to engage in our comprehensive three-day programme that will include a mix of renowned keynote speakers, informative sessions and workshops, and a gala dinner. Early bird registration for the meeting is available until 31 August. For more information and to register please go to http://www.anzos2012.com/
As part of the meeting there will be a free public lecture on Thursday evening 18 October, 6 to 7pm. The title is "For our children’s children: what is (y)our role". Speakers include Professors Barbara Rolls, Wayne Cutfield, Jim Mann, and Jacqueline Rowarth and the lecture will be chaired by Dame Jenny Shipley. Reserve your place for the public lecture .
The above information has been collated for the College of Nurses Aotearoa (NZ) Inc by Linda Stopforth, SNIPS and is provided on a weekly basis. It is current as at Tuesday 31 Jul 2012
If you have any feedback about content - what parts are most useful or what you would like added - please email admin@nurse.org.nz
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