Welcome to the
College of Nurses Aotearoa News Update.
No. 289 24 February 2016
From
NZ media this week
Nurses 'going home exhausted and in tears' but
more health 'savings' loom
Overworked nurses are already ending up in
tears and there's no room for any more cuts, says the Nurses Union as the
Government asks hospitals to save $138 million this year.
Nurse practitioner starts work at Marlborough
After-Hours GP service.
The Marlborough After-Hours
GP service has employed a nurse practitioner for the first time.
Diane Williams started at
the after-hours in December.
Nurse practitioners are
able to work independently of a doctor to assess, diagnose and treat patients.
Accentuating the positive out of earthquake adversity
An innovative study by Massey University
researchers explores how nurses have coped in a positive way with the personal
and professional effects of the Canterbury earthquakes.
Christchurch five years on: the effect of
'shared trauma'
Who cares for the support
workers after a disaster?
As Massey University
Associate Professor in Disaster Mental Health, Sarb Johal has advised and
provided clinical support to counsellors working in Christchurch since the
worst earthquake there five years ago. He has also been researching the effect
of the shared trauma on the medical profession and their patients.
Coroner rules on failed melanoma diagnosis
Two
nurses failed to document and follow up with a man whose bleeding lesion turned
out to be a fatal malignant melanoma.
Nurse censured, must pay $10k costs after
stealing food
A nurse at a retirement
village has been censured and ordered to pay $10,000 in legal costs after
stealing food, including sweet and sour fish, which was meant for patients.
The practitioner was
charged with professional misconduct and appeared before the Health
Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal in November 2015.
Cancer
Where are more Kiwi women dying of breast
cancer?
When
the two-yearly appointment came around, Melva Davis-Mahoney decided she
wouldn't bother.
The
Kaitaia mum had been a diligent breast screening attendee for a decade but the
mammograms had always come up good.
Cancer death rates - how your region fares
Kiwis
in New Zealand's cancer hotspots die at up to three times the rate of those in
low-cancer regions, new figures reveal.
The
statistics, obtained by Stuff, showed Northlanders were 1.3 times more
likely to die of cancer than Kiwis living in Waitemata. That means for every
100,000 Northlanders, there are 33 extra cancer deaths.
Sigmoidoscopy bowel-screening method urged for
New Zealand
An effective national bowel
screening programme involving a single test, a sigmoidoscopy, could be
introduced in New Zealand within 12 months.
Forget poo-tests says expert
New
Zealand must change direction on bowel cancer screening and adopt a newer kind
of test that will save more lives and cost less, a leading researcher says.
Sigmoidoscopy is nothing but a distraction
Bowel
Cancer New Zealand believes screening using sigmoidoscopy is a distraction from
the pressing need for a national screening program.
DHBs
and PHOs
Overwhelming feedback to Labour MP's bad
hospital experience
A cancelled appointment for his father's heart treatment has
prompted Palmerston North MP Iain Lees-Galloway to share his frustration in a
video while also taking issue with plans to "trim fat" from district
health board funding.
SDHB’s hit list to cut $4.1m
The existence of a list of cost-cutting "quick hits''
has been disclosed at the Southern District Health Board as it seeks to cull
$4.1 million from its budget.
Waikato Hospital to phase out paper complaints
in favour of online system
Hospital
complaints written with pen on paper are being phased out, with the Waikato
District Health Board heading to an online system.
The
move is part of the board's patient quality strategy, designed to speed up the
process when incidents are reported, but has raised concerns from patient
advocates that some patients aren't online and able to access the system.
'Asian' is too broad a term, claims District
Health Board
Definition seen as not fitting the diverse groups
of people who access services.
Mental
health
Christchurch kids struggling with PTSD
Hundreds of young Christchurch
children are suffering post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) linked to the
earthquakes, but fewer than one in ten has access to counselling.
Youth expert warns next generation of
Cantabrians may be 'costlier than rebuild'
Without
Government intervention, the next generation of Cantabrians will be
"costlier to New Zealand than any amount currently being spent on the
rebuild", a leading youth expert warns.
What Does Employment Mean for People with
Mental Illness?
There are calls for
employers to better engage with potential staff who suffer from mental illness,
to break down barriers and stigmas in the workplace.
Fears Canterbury mental health services may be
slashed amid budget cutbacks
A Canterbury District
Health Board member is claiming that key services will have to be cut if the
Ministry of Health doesn't take its head out of the sand.
Mental health services in
Canterbury, already under severe strain, could be slashed as a result of Government
demands for wide cutbacks of $163 million from the national health
budget.
Fears underfunding of Wellington health
services will 're-traumatise' Syrian refugees
Syrian refugees scarred by
torture, war and the loss of loved ones may be re-traumatised because our
health system is underfunded, health leaders say.
Up to a third of the
approximately 85 Syrians arriving in Wellington, Porirua and Hutt Valley next
week are suffering severe trauma, depression and anxiety, Refugee Trauma
Recovery manager Jeff Thomas said.
New Research Shows Effect of Earthquakes And
Recovery on Cantabrians’ Mental Health
The All Right? campaign
has released its latest survey on Cantabrians’ mental health as the region
recovers from the earthquakes.
The research was carried
out by Opinions Market Research in November 2015. It consisted of a survey of a
representative sample of 800 randomly selected individuals, aged 15 years or
older living in Christchurch and the Waimakariri and Selwyn Districts, as well
as eight focus groups.
Mentally ill will be taken to health centres
not detained in police cells
The
practice of detaining mentally ill people in police cell-blocks while they
await psychiatric assessment is being phased out.
People
picked up by police because they were exhibiting mental distress such as
self-harming or a psychotic episode are instead be ferried to health facilities
for help under a new principle agreed to by police and the Ministry of Health.
Last-minute health funding found for
Wellington's new Syrian refugees amid threats from GPs
Last-minute
health funding for the first emergency intake of Syrian refugees is expected to
be confirmed only two days before they land in Wellington.
Obesity
Government launches new effort to slash child
obesity
The
Government has launched a new campaign to slash obesity and boost learning
among Kiwi kids.
Bringing
together a team of 75 researchers from several universities, the programme is
the second to last of New Zealand's 11 big-issue National Science Challenges to
get off the ground.
Launch function: Initiative to support obese
patients
A collaboration between
researchers from Victoria University of Wellington, the University of Otago,
Wellington and the health care industry is aiming to better support obese
patients in a range of healthcare settings, and is being launched early next
week.
Pharmacy
Patients left in lurch as Bayer pulls free
anti-coagulant
Fifteen hundred patients with blood
problems have been left in the lurch by a big pharmaceutical company pulling a
free anti-coagulant drug.
Fears of drug cost rise under TPP
University of Otago
academic Prof Pauline Norris is concerned New Zealand's overall drug costs will
rise under the proposed Trans Pacific Partnership agreement.
Public
health
Study targets indigenous disease prevention
A multinational study, led
by Massey University’s Dr Lee Stoner, has identified key priorities that could
help prevent heart disease and obesity-related diabetes in indigenous
populations.
Research into children's literacy, obesity and
mental health gets $34m
A
new research project aims to cut the number of children who struggle to read
and make New Zealand the only country in the world to successfully reduce
childhood obesity.
From International media this week
Condition Critical: Nurses changing role at
DHMC
LEBANON,
N.H. -
As the
population ages, nurses are playing an increasing role in health care --
whether at the bedside, training, or through use of new technology, like
cloud-based patient monitoring. And because of that, nurses are also having a
greater role in research to affect changes across entire health care system.
Not enough doctors? Nurses fill the gap ….
Way out in rural Washington state, nurse Tara Zamarron stood
in a friend’s living room and donned a cap and gown she had received in the
mail. She flipped on a video camera and appeared on screen 3,000 miles away. In
a disjointed but jubilant virtual graduation ceremony, she joined the latest
batch of nurses setting off to treat their own patients by earning online
master’s degrees.
Increase in nurses abusing drugs, medication
meant for patients
1,116 nurses
are in treatment programs overseen by the state
Advanced nursing program tackles Oklahoma's primary care shortage
ALVA — Working nurses will be trained to
provide primary health care in underserved areas through a new program at
Northwestern Oklahoma State University.
Striving for Neonatal Excellence
NICU
nurses use evidence based practices to care for the tiniest patients
Nurses know
the value of evidence-based practice. Quality care supported by research is
essential to all patients, including the very youngest.
At each
neonatal intensive care unit across Main Line Health, which is headquartered in
Bryn Mawr, Penn., nurses incorporate the latest findings into daily practice.
Barbara Mahoney, BSN, MHA, NE-BC, nurse manager, explained, "When we look
at any clinical issue, we try and see what research is out there. Where are we
compared to other NICUs?"
Providing Cultural Competency Training for Your
Nursing Staff
With 40% of the U.S. population currently
consisting of either immigrants or first-generation Americans, and with people
of color actually outnumbering Caucasians in some parts of the country, it’s
imperative that health care facilities provide cultural competence training for
their nurses, to ensure that all patients receive quality care. After all,
nurses are on the front lines of patient care and are often the first
professionals that patients encounter when they enter the health care system.
Fortunately, there are a variety of training options your organization can
choose from to help your nursing staff develop these essential cross-cultural
skills.
Transgender Patients Face Challenges at the
Hospital
After a skiing accident in January left him with a smashed
knee, Beck Bailey, a transgender man in Greenfield, Mass., spent 15 days in a
Vermont hospital undergoing a handful of surgeries. As part of his normal
routine, Mr. Bailey gives himself regular shots of testosterone. But the
endocrinologist on duty in Vermont told him that patients should not take
testosterone post surgery.
5 ways to ensure transgender patients are treated with respect
Emergency
Nurses Association responds to horror story of trans patient's humiliation
A medical journal article detailing how a transgender patient was treated like a "freak
show" in a U.S. emergency department has prompted the Emergency Nurses
Association (ENA) to call on its members to show sensitivity and respect for
transgender patients.
UND tries to address nursing shortage with
well-educated graduates
Despite
UND's four-story, $124 million School of Medicine and Health Sciences nearing
completion, it won't play a big role in addressing the state's nurse shortage.
Robot nurses to the rescue
Rimo (below), the Robotic Rounding Nurse, can be used to
provide audio-visual medical education on demand, saving the need for human
nurses to repeat themselves in case patients forget something or need
clarification. It may also be able to help patients order food.
Articles
of interest
Health literacy: how
nurses can make a difference
To be a call to action to nurses and all health professionals to implement
proven effective evidence based strategies that can decrease health literacy
demands on health consumers, and improve health outcomes and the provision of
safe person-centred health care.
Download
Article
Can Generation Y
nurses supply areas of shortage? New graduate challenges in today’s job market
Workforce attitudes, such as intent to stay, leave temporarily, or exit
permanently from nursing, develop at an early career stage. This paper explores
the mismatch between the challenges faced by nursing graduates (of whom many
belong to Generation Y) in obtaining a Registered Nurse (RN) position following
graduation and the continuing shortages in nurse workforce in aged care and
mental health areas.
Download
Article
Developing nursing leadership in social media
A discussion on
how nurse leaders are using social media and developing digital leadership in
online communities.
Background
Social media is
relatively new and how it is used by nurse leaders and nurses in a digital
space is under explored.
Online
resources
National Library of Medicine Launches Image
Database
From U.S. National Library of Medicine:
The National Library of Medicine is pleased to
announce the launch of MedPix®, a free online medical image database originally developed by the
Departments of Radiology and Biomedical Informatics at the Uniformed Services
University, Bethesda, Maryland, USA.
The MedPix collection categorizes and classifies
the image and patient data for each of several subsets of image database
applications (e.g. radiology, pathology, ophthalmology, etc.). The content
material is both high-quality and high-yield and includes both common and rare
conditions. Most cases have a proven diagnosis (pathology, clinical follow-up).
The teaching file cases are peer-reviewed by an Editorial Panel.
From
the Ministry of Health
Health of the Health Workforce Report 2015
This Health of the Health
Workforce Report 2015 is Health Workforce New Zealand's second update on the
state of the health and disability workforce. It is a companion document to the
Role of Health Workforce New Zealand, which provides background and contextual
information.
The workforce is made up of
a wide variety of occupational groups that will increasingly work together as
models of care move out of hospitals and closer to home. The five main
occupational groups discussed in this report are:
doctors and dentists – the
medical workforce
nurses
midwives
allied health, science and
technical workers
kaiāwhina (non-regulated)
workers.
The 2014 report has had a
significant impact across the health sector in raising understanding of the
issues facing New Zealand’s health workforce and the various ways the sector
and the Ministry of Health is addressing those issues. The 2015 report contributes
to the development of strategies and programmes to improve New Zealanders’
health and wellbeing.
Health Workforce New
Zealand’s focus continues to be on strengthening the health and disability
workforce by improving the recruitment, retention and distribution of health
professionals. It works across the sector and at a regional level to
align workforce development with service demand.
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
23 February 2016.
If you have any feedback about content - what parts
are most useful or what you would like added - please email admin@nurse.org.nz
For more up
to date news and information follow SNIPS at:
Facebook: Snips Info
twitter: @SnipsInfo
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