News bulletin 22 August 2012

on 22 August

Welcome to the College of Nurses – News Update.
No. 117,  Wednesday 22 August 2012

From NZ media this week 


Medical bonding scheme a winner

Medical graduates are continuing to head to Taranaki after its late inclusion in the Government's voluntary bonding scheme
http://bit.ly/QXojXo 

510 more health graduates on bonding scheme
For the fourth year in a row, registration for the government's Voluntary Bonding Scheme has attracted great interest with a total of 2,300 health graduates now accepted onto the scheme.
http://bit.ly/O9HwnL 

Rural Women calls for rural focus in bonding review
Rural Women New Zealand is calling for more transparency around the number of doctors, midwives and nursing graduates working in rural communities under the Voluntary Bonding Scheme, which gives financial incentives to health professionals who agree to work in hard-to-staff areas.
http://bit.ly/TSFZaA 


Rural Women seek bond numbers

Rural Women New Zealand wants the Government to reveal the number of doctors, midwives and nursing graduates who are working in rural communities under a voluntary bonding scheme.
http://bit.ly/Nf5N1K 

Current shortage of GPs on the West Coast is the ‘greatest risk’ for the DHB?
Questions should be asked. How is it that the current shortage of GPs on the West Coast is the ‘greatest risk’ for the DHB?, when the DHB and the Ministry of Health have, on more than one occasion been presented with the solution?
http://bit.ly/PbAPmQ 

Nurses play vital role on the West Coast - DHB
The West Coast DHB is well aware of the vital role nurses play in delivering quality health care to the people living on the Coast
http://bit.ly/OvhspV 


Burnt out nurses consider quitting

The New Zealand Nurses Organisation is backing a Massey University study which suggests almost 50 per cent of nurses are thinking of leaving the profession because they're struggling with moral issues beyond their control.
http://bit.ly/NDP2Nw 


Kiwi nurses 'stressed': survey

Waikato DHB says they’re doing everything they can to ensure their nurses get more time with patients and avoid burnout.
http://bit.ly/PoZ3fy  

Nurses 'will walk away'
The Government needs to stop putting the financial squeeze on district health boards and allow decent care to be given to the citizens of New Zealand, a nurses' union spokeswoman says.
http://bit.ly/PuIxeG 

NZ Suicide stats spur action
The Government is developing an action plan to tackle New Zealand's relatively high suicide rates, which were highlighted in a report released this week.
http://bit.ly/PuIxeG 

Strengthen relationships to prevent suicide
The Mental Health Foundation (MHF) is encouraging all New Zealanders to think about how we can work together to reduce the suicide rate, chief executive Judi Clements says.
http://bit.ly/PbX5zK 


Elective surgery wait 'no longer than four months'

Kiwis will not wait longer than four months for elective surgery, Health Minister Tony Ryall announced today.
http://bit.ly/ND7rGw 

Elective surgery costing primary care - Street
An increase in elective surgery is coming at the cost of primary health care, Labour's Health spokeswoman Maryan Street says.
http://bit.ly/NDPfAj 

TeleHealth plays vital role in infection reduction
TeleHealth technology is playing a vital role in Canterbury District Health Board (CDHB) being one of the leading DHBs in the country to reduce hospital acquired blood infections.
http://bit.ly/RSgJTm 


Booze is worse - legal-high warning

Health professionals have told the Government that allowing the sale of alcohol while ruling out potentially less-damaging "legal highs" is farcical.
http://bit.ly/RhcNg0 


Whanau Ora: Future of scheme hangs on results, says leader

The Government's flagship welfare policy for Maori, Whanau Ora - worth $40 million this year - is designed to lift families out of poverty and dysfunction, but it has been criticised as a waste of money and an opportunity for some to rort the system. In a four-part investigation reporter Yvonne Tahana and Simon Collins speaks to those at Whanau Ora's frontline.
http://bit.ly/ONV4Wc 

Resource helps organisations keep child abuse at bay
Leading child advocate organisation, Child Matters, today launched a publication that it hopes will be used by every organisation in New Zealand that has staff coming into contact with children.
http://bit.ly/PDhRIc  

Medibank nurses high job satisfaction - survey
A recent independent survey has found that nurses working for Medibank Health Solutions NZ have a high level of job satisfaction. The organisation operates several telephone-based services, including Healthline for the Ministry of Health, and a Mental Health Line for a number of District Health Boards
http://bit.ly/PDhRIc 

Patients' passports to aid care of disabled
A new "health passport" will be just what the doctor ordered for people with disabilities and who live within the Whanganui District Health Board district.
http://bit.ly/PDhRIc  

International media 
No jobs for Vanuatu Nursing School graduates
There are no jobs for 22 recent graduates from Vanuatu’s College of Nursing Education due to a lack of Health Department funding.
http://www.rnzi.com/pages/news.php?op=read&id=70332 

9-Item Checklist Can Help Nurses Improve Hospital Patient FlowLisa Romano, RN, MSN, senior vice president and CNO of TeleTracking Technologies, shared a checklist for nurses to optimize patient flow on TeleTracking's blog. 
http://bit.ly/NgAf6V 


Nurse burnout statistically linked to higher HAI rate

Burnout among nurses leads to higher healthcare-associated infection rates and costs hospitals millions of dollars annually, according to a study.
ttp://news.nurse.com/article/20120806/NATIONAL01/308060027
 


Work schedules contribute to nurses’ health issues

For nurses who work long hours or other adverse work schedules, risk of obesity is related to lack of opportunity for exercise and sleep, according to a study
http://news.nurse.com/article/20120806/NATIONAL02/108060040 


Massachusetts Latest State to Outlaw Mandatory Nurse Overtime

August 10, 2012 - Nurses in Massachusetts celebrated a major victory this week after Gov. Deval Patrick signed a health care law that includes banning mandatory overtime for nurses.        
 http://bit.ly/OWuLTx   

Public health 


Dementia a national health priority

Alzheimers New Zealand welcomes the news that the Australian Commonwealth Government has made dementia a national health priority.
http://www.voxy.co.nz/health/dementia-national-health-priority/5/131838 


Website launches to spread the word about meningitis symptoms

 New Zealanders concerned about meningitis now have a place to turn for information with the launch of The Meningitis Foundation Aotearoa New Zealand website - www.meningitis.org.nz.
http://bit.ly/Py1vys 

Whooping cough controlled, serious
The NZ rate of hospitalisation for whooping cough has dropped but remains three times higher than that of Australia and the US.
http://bit.ly/NZ4nor

Social media 


Social Media: Cautionary Tales for Nurses

With smartphones, tablets and other devices at the ready, one's thoughts and photos can travel around the globe in a flash. That immediacy has created scores of opportunities for people, but it also holds the potential to damage careers and reputations when nurses are not careful and post before they think.
http://bit.ly/NFbXnq 


What Not to Share on Social Media

August 16, 2012 - Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, Tumblr, foursquare, Pinterest…as the number of social networking outlets grows, so does the number of users. As of February 2012, 66 percent of online adults were using social networking sites, according to the Pew Research Center’s Pew Internet Project.
http://bit.ly/PNgQPk 

From the Ministry of Health 


Suicide Facts: Deaths and intentional self-harm hospitalisations 2010

The publication focuses on deaths and hospitalisations in 2010 and also contains time-trend analyses of suicide deaths from 1948 and intentional self-harm hospitalisations from 1996. 
http://bit.ly/No9GkF 

Reports online 

Explaining variation in use of emergency hospital beds by patients over 65

This paper explores factors that might be driving the significant variation in use of hospital beds by patients over 65 admitted as an emergency.  It considers the contribution made by patient-based (demand-side) factors, hospital (supply-side) factors, the availability of community services and resources, and broader system relationships (how care systems and staff work together and relate to each other) in driving the observed variation in length of stay and rate of admission. Its conclusions are based on new analysis by The King’s Fund of Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) and local population -based data.
http://www.kingsfund.org.uk/publications/emergency_beds.html 

New publications 

The Advanced Practice Registered Nurse as a Prescriber
Edited by Marie Annette Brown and Louise Kaplan
An evidence-based resource for all APRNs and APRN students,
The Advanced Practice Registered Nurse as a Prescriber provides a comprehensive and practical resource essential for APRNs in all advanced practice roles.
http://au.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-0813805244.html  

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 21 August 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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