Welcome to the College of Nurses – News Update.
No. 247 Wednesday 15 April 2015
From NZ media this week
Waikato nurse sees
Ebola first hand
A
Tamahere nurse who journeyed to Sierra Leone to help fight the Ebola outbreak
has been given the all clear after returning home.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/waikato-times/news/67639836/waikato-nurse-sees-ebola-first-hand
Royal District Nursing Service subject of 15
complaints - SBHB
The Royal District Nursing Service (RDNS) has received 14
complaints from clients and one from a staff member since it took over a
Southland home support contract in 2013, the Southern District Health Board
says.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/southland-times/67709597/royal-district-nursing-service-subject-of-15-complaints--sbhb
A mannequin that
groans, bleeds and can 'die'
He groans, he bleeds and if things go really wrong, he can even die on
the table.
A $150,000 mannequin named "Thomas" is a shining star of the
new paramedicine department of AUT University's Manukau campus.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/education/news/article.cfm?c_id=35&objectid=11429089
Bestselling
US health writer Dr Atul Gawande gives Wellington public lecture
Dr Atul
Gawande, one of the world’s biggest-selling and most influential health
writers, is to give a public lecture in Wellington.
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/GE1504/S00039/bestselling-us-health-writer-gives-wellington-public-lecture.htm
From International media
Nurses
face job cuts across Ontario
Hundreds of nursing positions are on the chopping
block at hospitals across the province, and many more will be in jeopardy until
about mid-June, according to health officials.
http://www.thestar.com/life/health_wellness/2015/04/09/nurses-face-job-cuts-across-ontario.html
New tool helps school nurses treat chronic ailments in 30 Wisconsin
counties
Lori
Anderson, the daughter of an Oconomowoc school nurse, saw the daily challenges
of school nurses even as a kid: not enough time, too few resources and
isolation from peers.
http://www.news.wisc.edu/23648
Nurse
charged after woman taken off life support
The widower of a Penetanguishene, Ont. mother who died under strange
circumstances in hospital more than a year ago is relieved that a nurse at the
hospital has been charged.
http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/nurse-charged-after-woman-taken-off-life-support-1.23204886
HSE denies suspending nurse after concerns raised
over psychiatric unit
Des
McSweeney, who is a nurse in South Lee Mental Health Services, was placed
off-duty after speaking to the media about his concerns regarding a new
psychiatric unit at Cork University Hospital.
http://www.rte.ie/news/2015/0410/693167-mcsweeney/
Sullivan BOE
urged to make school nurses full-time posts
BLOUNTVILLE — A congressman and school nurse spoke to a local school
board this week.
http://www.timesnews.net/article/9086560/sullivan-boe-urged-to-make-school-nurses-full-time-posts#ixzz3X41yT3j1
Next government
should take 'immediate action' to boost nurse numbers
Immediate action must be taken by the next government to increase the
number of NHS nurses, a report has warned.
http://www.bbc.com/news/health-32272859
Omnicell
Advances Medication Safety and Nurse Workflows with New Interoperability
between Automated Dispensing Cabinets and EHR at Hackensack University Medical
Center
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., April 9, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Omnicell, Inc., (NASDAQ: OMCL) announced
thatHackensack University Medical
Center (HackensackUMC) has successfully demonstrated interoperability
between their Omnicell automated dispensing cabinet (ADC) system and the
hospital's Epic electronic health record (EHR). By eliminating unnecessary redundancies
during medication ordering, nurses now have easier and faster access to patient
data to help deliver the highest quality of care in the most timely manner.
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/omnicell-advances-medication-safety-and-nurse-workflows-with-new-interoperability-between-automated-dispensing-cabinets-and-ehr-at-hackensack-university-medical-center-300063285.html
DOH allows nurses to own birth clinics
THE Department of Health (DOH) has finally allowed registered nurses as
among the healthcare providers who can own, manage and operate birthing clinics
and facilities.
http://www.sunstar.com.ph/manila/local-news/2015/04/09/doh-allows-nurses-own-birth-clinics-401611
WA nurses call for
surgeries to be halved
The WA nursing union is calling for surgeries at Perth's new Fiona
Stanley Hospital to be halved until concerns about sterilising equipment are
addressed.
http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2015/04/08/wa-nurses-call-surgeries-be-halved
Who
will replace retiring nurses?
ALBANY, GA (WALB) -Darton State College is working to help alleviate
growing nursing and nursing teacher shortages, but officials say they need
help.
http://www.walb.com/story/28743326/who-will-replace-retiring-nurses
Nurse-directed
intervention eases heart disease, diabetes
Having primary care nurses promote physical activity could be effective
enough to reduce heart disease and Type 2 diabetes risk among seniors,
according to a British study.
http://www.mcknights.com/nurse-directed-intervention-eases-heart-disease-diabetes/article/407455/
How
patient simulators help prospective nurses
(AP) — Melissa Thompson lay in her hospital bed,
eight months pregnant. Her blood pressure was skyrocketing, and she was
complaining of headaches.
A group of nurses entered the room, circling
Thompson's bed, keeping her warm with blankets, taking her vitals,
administering a catheter, reading her charts. Her mother stood by and asked the
nurse many questions as Thompson constantly asked for updates on her unborn
baby.
http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20150407/NEWS03/150409858/how-patient-simulators-help-prospective-nurses
DHBs and PHOs
Canterbury low-cost
GPs over-run with demand
Canterbury's low-cost
GPs are struggling to cope with demand for their services.
Piki Te Ora, in
Linwood, is one of nine GPs operating under the Government's Very Low Cost
Access (VLCA) service scheme in the region, charging a maximum of $17.50 for
adults.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/67664113/canterbury-lowcost-gps-overrun-with-demand
Electronic referrals are good
news for everyone
Canterbury
District Health Board welcomes the Minister of Health’s recent announcement
that the Electronic Request Management System (ERMS) is now being used in all
South Island DHBs.
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/GE1504/S00036/electronic-referrals-are-good-news-for-everyone.htm
Patient safety
Patient disputes
Wellington Hospital safety measures after fall from bed
Tania Konia went into
Wellington Hospital with numbness and came out with deep bruises to her arm and
back.
Wellington Hospital
has described the incident on Sunday as "regrettable", but says it
took multiple safety precautions to ensure Konia's safety.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/wellington/67644823/patient-disputes-wellington-hospital-safety-measures-after-fall-from-bed
Sunlight and greater
scrutiny needed on doctors' safety record
The
record of individual doctors could be opened to public scrutiny for the first
time after claims the profession remains "shrouded in secrecy".
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/67711360/sunlight-and-greater-scrutiny-needed-on-doctors-safety-record
Surgery deaths data
out of reach
Surgeon-level
complications data in New Zealand remains out of reach, even as it is being
released frequently in health systems across the world.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/health/news/article.cfm?c_id=204&objectid=11432616
Public health
Cost of treating
cancer in NZ reaches $800m
The
cost of treating cancer in the New Zealand public health sector is more than
$800 million annually - hundreds of millions higher than previous estimates,
University of Otago research says
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/health/news/article.cfm?c_id=204&objectid=11432539
Leading GP Lance
O'Sullivan: Parents 'compelled' to vaccinate
A
leading New Zealand doctor has called on the Government to follow Australia's
example to cut child welfare payments to families who do not vaccinate their
children, saying the policy would help protect the most vulnerable in our
society.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/lifestyle/news/article.cfm?c_id=6&objectid=11432992
Vaccine debate in
the south
The
Gvernment is not ruling out bringing in a "no vaccine, no money"
scheme that is set to be announced in Australia
http://www.stuff.co.nz/southland-times/news/67724512/vaccine-debate-in-the-south
Call for pregnant
women to get flu jabs
Waikato
woman Katie van de Pas never thought something as common as the flu could leave
her fighting for her life.
The
29-year-old contracted swine flu (H1N1) in July last year, at 34-weeks pregnant
and was in an induced coma for two weeks.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/waikato-times/67736792/call-for-pregnant-women-to-get-flu-jabs
Wairarapa has NZ's
highest opioid use: Study under scrutiny
Dispensing
rates for powerful painkillers in Wairarapa are the highest in New Zealand, but
local health authorities are questioning the figures.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/local-papers/wairarapa-news/67764318/wairarapa-has-nzs-highest-opioid-use-study-under-scrutiny
Social health
Abused babies
contracting sex infections
Several
cases of babies being sexually abused and contracting sexually transmitted
infections (STIs) have come to the attention of a Tauranga-based support
service.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11431319
Drugs, alcohol and smoking
Battle on to douse
smokes ban
Policy
has killed patients, claims lawyer.
A
lawyer acting for a psychiatric patient will fight to overturn a smoking ban at
mental health units in the Court of Appeal this month.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/health/news/article.cfm?c_id=204&objectid=11431258
Obesity and food
Most food misses
mark
More
than half of the packaged food in our supermarkets is unhealthy. New research
reveals that even what we think is good for us is often saturated in sugar,
salt and fats.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/health/news/article.cfm?c_id=204&objectid=11431276
Work and management
The Skills Doctors and Nurses Need to Be
Effective Executives
We are witnessing an unprecedented transformation of the
health care industry. There has been a rapid growth in jobs and an explosion in
the number of start-ups. There are new types of insurance companies such asOscar; novel provider organizations such as OneMedical, IoraHealth, andChenMed; and new health information technology companies such asCastlight, Vital, and WellFrame that
aim to use technology to improve care and value. Physicians and nurses are
being called upon to lead these new health care enterprises — and are
assuming a higher level of influence in the business of health care than ever
before.
https://hbr.org/2015/04/the-skills-doctors-need-to-be-effective-executives
Articles of interest
Beyond
the exam room
Nurse
Practitioner:
13 July 2014 -
Volume 39 - Issue 7 - p 8–9
Nurse
practitioners (NPs) are in a prime position to transform our ailing healthcare
system into one that gets back to health and caring. We can make a difference
with patience, persistence, and politeness. As nurses, our profession is not
based on curing illness but rather on helping people find wholeness and health.
NPs are making a difference in healthcare today, and we need to make that
known. We see patients and give excellent, compassionate, high-quality care.
But we need to do something beyond the clinical encounters and beyond the exam
room in order to improve healthcare as well as to advance our profession. We
need to be part of the bigger picture of healthcare.
http://journals.lww.com/tnpj/Fulltext/2014/07000/Beyond_the_exam_room.2.aspx?utm_source=WhatCountsEmail&utm_medium=Nurse%20Practitioner%20eNews&utm_campaign=Custom%20NP%20eNews:%20CDC_March%202015
Leadership and management skills of general practice nurses: Experience
or education? (pages 655–661)
Rosalind
Lau, Wendy Cross, Cheryle Moss, Annie Campbell, Magali De Castro and Victoria
Oxley
A
key finding of this qualitative exploratory descriptive study into advanced
nursing for general practice nurses (Australian setting) revealed that
participants viewed leadership and management as best learnt ‘apprenticeship’
style on the job by years of experience. Participants (48) comprised of general
practice nurses, practice managers and general practitioners from metropolitan
Melbourne were interviewed. Other findings demonstrated that the participants
generally had limited awareness that postgraduate education can assist in the
development of leadership and management in advanced nursing practice. The
participants lacked clarity about professional competencies and generally did
not connect these to leadership and management. Professional bodies need to
take the opportunity to promote awareness of the national competency standards.
All three groups of participants expressed hopes about the future provision of
professional development opportunities and support by the Medicare Local for
leadership and management aspirations within advanced practice nursing.
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ijn.12228/abstract
From the Ministry of Health
Hospital visits in advanced
age: Findings from LiLACS NZ
Summary
Hospital visits in advanced age: Findings from LiLACS NZ presents
findings about hospitalisations, readmissions, visits to hospital-based
doctors, and visits to after-hours medical clinics for Māori (aged 80 to 90
years) and non-Māori (aged 85 years).
The findings are from a population-based sample of people in advanced
age living in the Bay of Plenty, who are taking part in a longitudinal study of
advanced ageing, called Life and Living in Advanced Age: a Cohort Study in New
Zealand – Te Puā waitanga O Ngā Tapuwae Kia Ora Tonu (LiLACS NZ).
The report is available on the LiLACS NZ publications website.
http://www.health.govt.nz/publication/hospital-visits-advanced-age-findings-lilacs-nz
Professional development
PHA Conference
2015: Call for abstracts
The Public Health Association is calling for
abstracts for their 2015 conference 'Healthy people,
healthy nation: public health is everybody's business'. This conference
is taking place in Dunedin, 7-9 September 2015.
Visit their
website for more information about abstract
submission, conference themes, and the range of presentation opportunities
available. Abstract submissions close 30 April 2015.
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