Welcome to the College of Nurses – News Update.
No. 158, Wednesday 19 June 2013
From NZ media this week
Subject: ePortfolio pilot a success
Nurses across New Zealand can now build their competency portfolio online thanks to Ngā Manukura o Āpōpō ePortfolio (NMoA) pilot project which was designed to test the concept of an open source ePortfolio system for nurses in New Zealand.
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/GE1306/S00053/eportfolio-pilot-a-success.htm
Doctors and Nurses screening at NZ Film Archive
A fascinating film programme that looks back on attitudes towards health and medicine across the twentieth century. From rural nurses on horseback to tuberculous detection - see how the work of New Zealand doctors and nurses has changed over the last decades.
http://www.voxy.co.nz/entertainment/doctors-and-nurses-screening-nz-film-archive/5/158077
Legal highs a curse for busy hospital staff
Waikato Hospital emergency department staff are fed up dealing with people experimenting with K2, and holding up the treatment of "worthy emergency cases".
http://www.stuff.co.nz/waikato-times/news/8789202/Legal-highs-a-curse-for-busy-hospital-staff
Nationwide Boom In K2 Presentations to Emergency Departments
A considerable increase in recent visits to hospital emergency departments (EDs) nationwide by people experimenting with synthetic drug K2 is holding up the treatment of “worthy emergency cases,” says Waikato Hospital emergency department clinical director Dr John Bonning.
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/GE1306/S00044/nationwide-boom-in-k2-presentations-to-emergency-departments.htm
Doctor: Synthetic drug users causing delays
Synthetic drug users are holding up worthy emergency cases in hospital emergency departments across the country, a senior doctor says.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10890289
Steroid rise worries drug expert
Problem of recreational doping 'huge elephant in the room', warns professor.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10891220
Special report: More Kiwis will die from steroid use, warns sister
Nation 'needs to wake up' to dangers of performance and image-drug culture.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10891006
Healthline receives nearly 25,000 calls from Auckland region
The free health information and advice phone service Healthline – 0800 611 116 – continues to be very popular with Aucklanders, receiving nearly 25,000 calls from the Auckland region in the January to March 2013 quarter.
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/GE1306/S00052/healthline-receives-nearly-25000-calls-from-auckland-region.htm
Blood pressure op may be life-saver
A simple 20-minute operation to treat high blood pressure is being trialled in New Zealand, and has the potential to reduce the risk of killer strokes and heart attacks.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/8801323/Blood-pressure-op-may-be-life-saver
Population ageing is Australasia’s greatest health policy challenge
If “demography is destiny”, emergency departments will inevitably be overwhelmed by the acute care needs of older people, according to a paper published in the latest issue of Emergency Medicine Australasia, the journal of the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine.
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/GE1306/S00066/population-ageing-is-australasias-greatest-health-challenge.htm
High blood pressure identified as major issue post-earthquake
Management of chronic diseases such as hypertension has been identified as a major issue in earthquake-affected rural areas, according to a study published in the latest issue of Emergency Medicine Australasia, the journal of the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine.
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/GE1306/S00065/high-blood-pressure-identified-as-issue-post-earthquake.htm
Private EDs can take pressure off public hospitals
Public hospital emergency departments (EDs) in Australia have become increasingly congested due to increasing demand and access block.
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/GE1306/S00064/private-eds-can-take-pressure-off-public-hospitals.htm
Obesity does not appear to adversely affect ED treatment
Obesity does not appear to adversely affect emergency department (ED) treatment, according to a study published in the latest issue of Emergency Medicine Australasia, the journal of the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine.
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/GE1306/S00063/obesity-does-not-appear-to-adversely-affect-ed-treatment.htm
Blood pressure cuffs potential vectors for transmission of multi-resistant organisms, study finds
Blood pressure cuffs are potential vectors for transmission of multi-resistant organisms , according to a study published in the latest issue of Emergency Medicine Australasia, the journal of the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine.
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/GE1306/S00062/blood-pressure-cuffs-vectors-for-organism-transmission.htm
Healthier Pacific mums and babies target for new conference
Healthier Pacific mums and babies are the target for New Zealand’s first Pacific Maternal and Infant Health Conference this Thursday, June 20 in Auckland.
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/GE1306/S00058/healthier-pacific-mums-and-babies-target-for-new-conference.htm
Safe Sleep Day announced to protect babies
The first National Safe Sleep Campaign and Safe Sleep Day (scheduled for Friday, December 6) will be announced by Whakawhetu at the opening of the Mokopuna Ora Conference, on Friday, June 21.
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/GE1306/S00057/safe-sleep-day-announced-to-protect-babies.htm
Health Quality and Safety Commission appointments
The Government has made three appointments to the Health Quality and Safety Commission.
Shelley Frost, an HQSC board member since 2010, has been appointed as Deputy Chair. Mrs Frost is Director of Nursing, Pegasus Health, Chair of General Practice New Zealand and a Trustee of Partnership Health Canterbury PHO.
http://www.nzdoctor.co.nz/un-doctored/2013/june-2013/17/health-quality-and-safety-commission-appointments.aspx
Call for clinicians to use IT to improve health services
Health Minister Tony Ryall is encouraging health professionals to take part in the fourth annual Clinicians’ Challenge to develop IT solutions to improve health services.
http://www.voxy.co.nz/health/call-clinicians-use-it-improve-health-services/5/158614
DHB specific
ED is for emergencies only - health board
About $8000 a year is being spent reminding the community that Timaru Hospital's emergency department (ED) is for just that - emergencies.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/timaru-herald/news/8789253/ED-is-for-emergencies-only-health-board
Health staff can opt to change roles
Mid-level health staff will be able to move to modified roles voluntarily as the Southern District Health Board seeks to avoid an unsettling restructuring process
http://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/260815/health-staff-can-opt-change-roles
Orthopaedist leads health review
A past president of the New Zealand Orthopaedic Association will lead a review of health services across Nelson and Marlborough.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/nelson-mail/news/8791515/Orthopaedist-leads-health-review
New $32m cancer unit at Tauranga Hospital
A $32million state-of-the-art radiotherapy facility is being built at Tauranga Hospital so patients will no longer have to travel out of the region for treatment.
http://www.bayofplentytimes.co.nz/news/new-32m-cancer-unit-at-tauranga-hospital/1908842/
Patients leave region
Ten South Canterbury people with dementia have been forced to seek live-in care in other parts of the South Island because of a shortage of beds in the region.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/timaru-herald/news/8800096/Patients-leave-region
Public health
Health officials encourage hand washing to stop germs
Canterbury health officials are highlighting the importance of hand washing following recent increases in Hepatitis A cases and reports of stomach bugs circulating in the region.
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/GE1306/S00047/health-officials-encourage-hand-washing-to-stop-germs.htm
Alarm as epidemic rises again
Nelson's whooping cough epidemic is on the rise again, and the Kemplen family have experienced first-hand how contagious the disease can be
http://www.stuff.co.nz/nelson-mail/news/8792013/Alarm-as-epidemic-rises-again
Scrupulous hygiene urged to stop illness
A Palmerston North playcentre is warning parents to be vigilant about hand, foot and mouth disease.Milson Playcentre elected to close for a day last term after two children contracted the infection within two days
http://www.stuff.co.nz/manawatu-standard/news/8799575/Scrupulous-hygiene-urged-to-stop-illness
Wellington hit by hand, foot and mouth disease
Contagious hand, foot and mouth disease is rapidly spreading through childcare centres in the Wellington region, with a "higher than usual" number of cases.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/8803150/Wellington-hit-by-hand-foot-and-mouth-disease
Significant drop in single-birth newborn deaths
There has been a significant reduction in the number of deaths of single-birth newborns, but the death rate for multiple births jumped in the six years to 2011, according to a perinatal mortality report.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/lifestyle/news/article.cfm?c_id=6&objectid=10890081
Social health
Twilight years can be hell for the elderly
Tomorrow is World Elder Abuse Awareness Day. In New Zealand, about four cases of suspected elder abuse are reported each day. But hundreds of other older people are too afraid to speak out about the abuse and neglect they are enduring daily.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10890413
Mental health
How to act around the grieving
When Justin Middling slumped to the floor during a university lecture, his peers thought he was mucking around.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/life/8791413/Deathiquette
International media
NY bill would mandate hospital nurse staffing
ALBANY, N.Y. - (AP) -- A push to increase the number of nurses per patient at New York's 185 acute care hospitals pits promises of fewer patient deaths and complications against a billion dollars or more in annual health care costs
http://www.newsday.com/news/region-state/ny-bill-would-mandate-hospital-nurse-staffing-1.5456042
School Nurses Fight to Block Unlicensed Injections
A California ruling that would allow non-licensed adults to administer insulin in schools cheapens and devalues not only the practice of nursing, but also the clout of its own licensing authorities.
http://www.healthleadersmedia.com/content/NRS-293121/School-Nurses-Fight-to-Block-Unlicensed-Injections
Too many graduates, not enough jobs: universities, profits and clinical need
What if, after several years of studying in an intense degree program, you graduate only to find no jobs within your field?Since 2012, public universities have been allowed to determine the number of students they enrol in bachelor level courses (excluding medicine). They receive commonwealth funding for these places – this is commonly referred to as the demand-driven system.
http://www.ausmed.com.au/blog/entry/too-many-graduates-not-enough-jobs-universities-profits-and-clinical-need?utm_source=Newsletters&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20130613-newsletter%20(1)&utm_content=&spMailingID=6330844&spUserID=OTE5NzMzMzg0OAS2&spJobID=75700730&spReportId=NzU3MDA3MzAS1
With nurses at risk of compassion fatigue, hospitals try to ease their stress
Jan Powers, a clinical nurse manager in the pediatric oncology unit at the Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, remembers how hard it was for her team after the death of a child. They met with an art therapist, who brought clay.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/with-nurses-at-risk-of-compassion-fatigue-hospitals-try-to-ease-their-stress/2013/06/07/b92b9e86-97e3-11e2-97cd-3d8c1afe4f0f_story.html
US talking sessions will help combat compassion fatigue in healthcare staff
Nurses and care workers can be worn down by the nature of the job, and the support offered by 'Schwartz rounds' will help, says Noreen Wainwright
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2013/jun/04/us-strategy-combat-compassion-fatigue-healthcare
With Money at Risk, Hospitals Push Staff to Wash Hands
At North Shore University Hospital on Long Island, motion sensors, like those used for burglar alarms, go off every time someone enters an intensive care room. The sensor triggers a video camera, which transmits its images halfway around the world to India, where workers are checking to see if doctors and nurses are performing a critical procedure: washing their hands.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/29/nyregion/hospitals-struggle-to-get-workers-to-wash-their-hands.html?_r=0
Cook Islands to re-open nursing school
The Cook Islands will reopen its nursing school with an improved course offering a higher qualification for nurses.
http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/international/2013-06-13/cook-islands-to-reopen-nursing-school/1145318
Social media
Video: Preventing falls in hospitals (full length)
Full version of the preventing falls in hospitals video.
http://www.open.hqsc.govt.nz/falls/publications-and-resources/publication/914/
Introduction to Cultural Competence
An introduction to cultural competence in health care settings.by Gail Price-Wise of the Florida Center of Cultural Competence.
http://www.josseybasspublichealth.com/Health-Behavior/introduction-to-cultural-competence.aspx
Work and management
15 Ways to Create a Happier Work Environment
Recognition, praise, appreciation, gratitude and flexibility: These are just a few ways to make your work force happier and more productive.
http://ehstoday.com/safety/15-ways-create-happier-work-environment
Articles of interest
Caring for a patient with mental illness in the acute care settingNursing Made Incredibly Easy!
June 2013
Volume 11 Number 3
Pages 18 – 23An acute care patient with a mental illness offers unique challenges for nurses. We provide you with an overview of the four most common mental disorders and their current treatment, along with a mental status assessment you can use in practice.
http://www.nursingcenter.com/lnc/Static-Pages/Caring-for-a-patient-with-mental-illness-in-the-ac
Practice-based simulation model: a curriculum innovation to enhance the critical thinking of nursing students
THE AUSTRALIAN JOURNAL OF ADVANCED NURSING
VOLUME 30 ISSUE 3
The purpose of this paper is to describe the Practice-Based Simulation Model (PBSM) as a pedagogical framework that enables the integration of simulation in a way that ensures critical thinking skills are explicitly taught as part of the processes and outcomes of students' learning.
http://www.ajan.com.au/Vol30/Issue3/5Park.pdf
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 18 June 2013
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