Welcome to the College of Nurses – News Update.
No. 207 Wednesday 18
Jun 2014
From NZ media this week
Assaults leave mental health nurses fearful
Mental health nurses are speaking out against
brutal violence inflicted by their patients, including being punched, kicked,
burnt and stabbed and choked, after the number of assaults more than doubled in
two years.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11273996
Breaking the
silence about violence in mental health
The impact of
violence on mental health nurses is revealed through the experiences of a group
of nurses in an article in the June issue of the New Zealand Nurses
Organisation’s (NZNO) magazine, Kai Tiaki Nursing New Zealand, published this
week (available here).
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/GE1406/S00058/breaking-the-silence-about-violence-in-mental-health.htm
Hospital staff attacked on job
Hundreds of Bay hospital staff have been
attacked on the job by patients and visitors, with injuries ranging from minor
bruising and shock to broken limbs and black eyes.
http://bit.ly/1kYNc8X
Burnout fears for tired nurses
Heavy workloads are putting Taranaki nurses at risk of
burnout, their union, the New Zealand Nurses Organisation, has warned.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/taranaki-daily-news/10165131/Burnout-fears-for-tired-nurses
Shaken babies: A life-saving plan
Prevention scheme springs from US, with success
rates of up to 75%. Now 13 DHBs have adopted the system.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11272934
International media
Nurse Fired over Flu Shot Refusal Wins Legal
Battle
A New Jersey court
ruled in favor of the nurse who was denied her unemployment benefits after she
refused to take a flu shot.
http://www.hngn.com/articles/33244/20140608/nurse-fired-over-flu-shot-refusal-wins-legal-battle.htm
Giving School Nurses Access To Medical
Records Improves Care
School nurses today do a lot more than bandage
skinned knees. They administer vaccines and medications, help diabetic students
monitor their blood sugar, and prepare teachers to handle a student's seizure
or asthma attack, among many other things.
http://keranews.org/post/giving-school-nurses-access-medical-records-improves-care
More job opportunities for Pinoys in New
Zealand
MANILA – The
ambassador of New Zealand to the Philippines assured that employment
opportunities for overseas Filipino workers in their country will continue.
"The
reality is we are a growing economy that needs immigration. We need people to
come in to fill jobs," said New Zealand Ambassador to the Philippines
Reuben Levermore.
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/global-filipino/06/11/14/more-job-opportunities-pinoys-new-zealand
Ensure discharged patients go back to warm
home, doctors told
Doctors
and nurses will have to check that patients discharged from hospital are going
back to a warm home as part of new measures aimed at preventing thousands of
deaths among the poor, elderly and disabled this winter.
http://ind.pn/TRE6An
Nurses call for better
staff-to-patient ratios
COUNTRY nurses have called for better
staff-to-patient ratios in regional NSW hospitals ahead of next week's State
Budget.
http://www.byronnews.com.au/news/nurses-call-better-staff-patient-ratios/2288856/
Mental health
Maori with mental illness seeking help
An Auckland-based health executive officer
believes more and more tangata whenua living with mental illness, are seeking
professional help, which he says is good.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/te-manu-korihi/246856/maori-with-mental-illness-seeking-help
Pharmacy
Challenges to equitable access to medicines
Access to medicines by
vulnerable groups in the community, increasing medicine costs, and the demand
for new medicines are some of the challenges identified in an independent study
of priority medicine policy issues in New Zealand.
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/GE1406/S00047/challenges-to-equitable-access-to-medicines.htm
Public health
Prescribing exercise the best medicine
Two years ago Shon Saphire
dropped out of university, in poor health and depressed.
The 52-year-old Mt Eden man
needed to focus on his personal wellbeing and with help from the Green
Prescription programme he was able to do just that.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/10149361/Prescribing-exercise-the-best-medicine
Kiwis know little about lung cancer
Eileen Underwood-Clements
can easily list the symptoms of lung cancer.
Not only was the Manly
resident a training nurse while living in Rhodesia, she watched as the disease
took away her father, grandfather and friends.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/10149263/Kiwis-know-little-about-lung-cancer
Social health
Cold, damp homes harming children
Sixty per cent of the patients in Hawke's Bay
Hospital's paediatric ward are children with respiratory problems from living
in cold, damp homes, a specialist says.
http://bit.ly/1pCqbLJ
Health and wellness
Stress symptoms: Effects on your body and
behavior
Stress symptoms may be affecting your health, even though you
might not realize it. You may think illness is to blame for that nagging
headache, your frequent insomnia or your decreased productivity at work. But
stress may actually be the culprit.
http://mayocl.in/1kYN2OG
Articles of interest
Resiliency and the nurse
leader: The importance of equanimity, optimism, and perseverance
Healthcare systems are facing tumultuous,
challenging times that are likely to become the new normal. As a crucial part
of the healthcare team, the nurse leaders of today are faced with
ever-increasing responsibilities; higher levels of accountability; and
multiple, ongoing stressors that can have a daily, detrimental impact on a
leader's ability to succeed, let alone survive. In response to these
challenges, the nurse leader needs to develop and sustain a significant
capacity of resilience to thrive and succeed as a transformational leader
within the profession of nursing.
http://bit.ly/1ltNtf4
Research
Rounds: Blood exposure risk during peripheral I.V. catheter insertion and
removal
Needle-stick risk from I.V. catheter devices has been well
documented in device studies carried out in the 1990s and early 2000s, but
blood exposures sustained by healthcare workers during peripheral I.V. catheter
insertion or removal have received less attention.1-3 In this survey conducted
by Nursing2012, nurses were asked about blood exposure risks from peripheral
I.V. catheter insertion and removal. - See more at: http://www.nursingcenter.com/lnc/JournalArticle?Article_ID=1455830#sthash.Tf6VtUAq.dpuf
I.V.
Essentials: Picking up on PICC lines
Peripherally
inserted central catheters (PICCs) are often used for patients needing central
venous (CV) access, both in the hospital and out. Clinicians greatly prefer
them over femoral catheters and internal jugular catheters to provide CV access
for appropriate patients. Why? PICC lines use blood vessels farther away from
the large arteries found near the femoral and internal jugular region. - See
more at:
http://bit.ly/1ltNyiT
The 5 Rights of a Healthy Team
A core responsibility of the nurse manager is staff
development and coaching. Unfortunately, managers anecdotally report spending
the majority of their coaching time with low performers when they could be
accomplishing more if they nurture and grow the middle and high performers.
Evidence-based research by the Studer Group has shown that in most
organizations, 34% of staff members are high performers, 58% are middle, and 8%
are low. Ideally, nurse managers could shift the majority of time spent on the
fewest people (low performers) to make better use of their coaching time.1 Development
and accountability conversations can be difficult, emotionally charged, and
time-consuming. Nurse managers aren't routinely taught an effective, simple
process to guide these important but complicated conversations. This case study
asserts that through the use of an efficient communication process during
conversations with low performers, nurse managers can become more effective
leaders
http://journals.lww.com/nursingmanagement/Fulltext/2014/06000/The_5_Rights_of_a_Healthy_Team.13.aspx
Publications and Reports online
Tihei Mauri Ora: Supporting whānau through suicidal distress.
Written
with extensive consultation with Māori suicide prevention experts, whānau and
communities, this resource will help whānau and friends to support someone who
is in distress or crisis. It features information about warning signs to look
out for, how to handle a crisis and explores ways to support loved ones
struggling with suicidal thoughts and feelings.
Theresa
Reihana’s powerful paintings illuminate Tihei
Mauri Ora. Her art captures the wairua of Māori, reflecting the
strength of whānau and the value of whakapapa and human connection.
This
resource is a valuable tool for whānau to help those who need it most. The Mental
Health Foundation would like to thank and acknowledge all those who contributed
to the development of Tihei Mauri Ora,
in particular the contribution of project lead, Pania Lee (Ngāti Ruanui, Ngā
Rauru, Ngā Ruahinerangi).
http://www.spinz.org.nz/file/Resources/PDFs/tihei-mauri-ora.pdf
From the Ministry of Health
The New Zealand Guidelines for Helping People
to Stop Smoking
All health care workers
play an important role in supporting New Zealand to become smoke free. They see
a large proportion of New Zealand’s smokers regularly, and are uniquely placed
to provide expert advice on the merits of stopping smoking.
In 2011, the Government set
a goal of reducing smoking and tobacco availability to minimal levels,
essentially making New Zealand smoke free by 2025. In 2013, 15 percent of New
Zealanders smoked tobacco every day. That rate was even higher among Māori (33
percent) and Pacific peoples (23 percent).
The New Zealand Guidelines
for Helping People to Stop Smoking (the Guidelines) provide health care workers
with advice they can use when dealing with people who smoke. These Guidelines
replace the 2007 New Zealand Smoking Cessation Guidelines and are based on a
recent review of the effectiveness and affordability of stop-smoking
interventions.
These Guidelines remain
structured around the ABC pathway, which was introduced in the 2007 Guidelines.
However, the definitions of A, B and C (see below) have been improved to
emphasise the importance of making an offer of cessation support and referring
people who smoke to a stop-smoking service
http://www.health.govt.nz/publication/new-zealand-guidelines-helping-people-stop-smoking
The Alcohol Purchasing Patterns of Heavy
Drinkers
In 2011 the Ministry of
Health commissioned research to investigate the alcohol purchasing patterns of
heavy drinkers. The research informed consideration of a minimum pricing regime
for alcohol by testing in the New Zealand context. International evidence
indicates that heavy drinkers are the dominant purchasers of the cheapest
alcohol.
The research found that
while heavy drinkers purchased alcohol in the cheapest range more frequently
than moderate or light drinkers did, the proportion of purchasing by heavy
drinkers within the cheapest range was around 27%. In other words, 73% of the
alcohol purchased by the heaviest drinkers was found not to be purchased from
within the cheapest price brack
http://www.health.govt.nz/publication/alcohol-purchasing-patterns-heavy-drinkers
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 17 Jun 2014
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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