The Lamp August 2012

lamp The magazine of the NSW Nurses’ Association

volume 69 no.7 August 2012

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CONTENTS

The

CONTACTS

lamp

NSW Nurses’ Association For all membership enquiries and assistance, including Lamp subscriptions and change of address, contact our Sydney office.

Sydney Office 50 O’Dea Avenue, Waterloo NSW 2017 (all correspondence) T 8595 1234 (metro) 1300 367 962 (non-metro) F 9662 1414 E gensec@nswnurses.asn.au W www.nswnurses.asn.au

Volume 69 No.7 August 2012

Hunter Office 8-14 Telford Street, Newcastle East NSW 2300

COVER STORY

NSWNA Communications Manager Janaki Chellam-Rajendra T 8595 1258

12 | Prison downgrade traumatises Grafton

Kassie Packwood, CNS REGULARS

5 6 8 11 23 34 37 38 43 47 48 50

Editorial Your letters News in brief What’s on Ask Judith Social media Nursing research online Crossword Books Movies of the month Obituary Diary dates

HEALTHY LIVING

30 | Health benefits of carbon price

Though Grafton has a population of 17,000, the downgrade of the local prison to a transit centre, with the loss of over 100 jobs including nursing positions, sparked two rallies each attended by more than 4000 people.

NURSES IN DANGER

24 | Tortured for giving care Rula Al’Saffar, president of the Bahrain Nursing Society, was incarcerated and tortured by the Bahraini government after treating protestors injured during an anti-government rally.

7 | Win a pair of MBTs Relief at hand for aches, pains and fatigue

Produced by Hester Communications T 9568 3148 Press Releases Send your press releases to: F 9662 1414 E gensec@nswnurses.asn.au Editorial Committee • Brett Holmes, NSWNA General Secretary • Judith Kiejda, NSWNA Assistant General Secretary • Coral Levett, NSWNA President • Roz Norman, Tamworth Base Hospital • Elsie May Henson, Barraba Multi Purpose Service • Peg Hibbert, Hornsby & Ku-Ring-Gai Hospital • Michelle Cashman, Long Jetty Continuing Care • Richard Noort, Justice Health Advertising Patricia Purcell T 8595 2139 or 0416 259 845 or F 9662 1414 E ppurcell@nswnurses.asn.au Records and Information Centre – Library To find old articles in The Lamp, or to borrow from the NSWNA nursing and health collection, contact: Jeannette Bromfield, RIC Coordinator T 8595 2175 E gensec@nswnurses.asn.au

MASTERCHEF

The Lamp ISSN: 0047-3936

26 | Amina recipe for success

It was patience — not patients — that helped RN Amina Elshafei reach the top 12 on the television cooking show MasterChef.

ADVERTISING COMPETITION

FOR ALL EDITORIAL ENQUIRIES, LETTERS AND DIARY DATES: T 8595 1234 E lamp@nswnurses.asn.au M 50 O’Dea Avenue, Waterloo NSW 2017

GIVING BLOOD

29 | Nurses boost nation’s blood stocks

Nurses along the mid and north coast of New South Wales have banded together to boost blood reserves for the Australian Red Cross.

General disclaimer The Lamp is the official magazine of the NSWNA. Views expressed in articles are contributors’ own and not necessarily those of the NSWNA. Statements of fact are believed to be true, but no legal responsibility is accepted for them. All material appearing in The Lamp is covered by copyright and may not be reproduced without prior written permission. The NSWNA takes no responsibility for the advertising appearing herein and it does not necessarily endorse any products advertised.

Privacy Privacy statement: The NSWNA collects personal information from members in order to perform our role of representing their industrial and professional interests. We place great emphasis on maintaining and enhancing the privacy and security of your personal information. Personal information is protected under law and can only be released to someone else where the law requires or where you give permission. If you have concerns about your personal information please contact the NSWNA office. If you are still not satisfied that your privacy is being maintained you can contact the Privacy Commission.

Subscriptions for 2012 Free to all Association members. Professional members can subscribe to the magazine at a reduced rate of $50.

Individuals $78, Institutions $130, Overseas $140.

T H E L A M P A U G U S T 2 01 2 | 3

Go Direct Debit & Win

a fabulous South Coast holiday Start paying your NSWNA fees by Direct Debit for the chance to win a two-night stay at the Bannisters in Mollymook, worth over $1,000!

The prize includes a two-night midweek stay in an Ocean Deluxe room, with deck and stunning ocean views; hot breakfasts for two; a picnic hamper for two; a day spa voucher to the value of $120; a $200 Rick Stein at Bannisters Restaurant dinner voucher; and a signed copy of Rick’s latest cookbook.

Spring is fabulous on the NSW south coast – uncluttered, very laid-back and the locals are friendly and welcoming. Think of long sandy beaches, fresh clean air, fantastic seafood dining and award winning luxury accommodation and you have all the ingredients that makes Bannisters as a ‘must do’ on your getaway list.

This boutique hotel is home to international chef Rick Stein’s only restaurant outside of the UK. Understandably it features the seafood that has become his hallmark, and celebrates the wonderful fresh fish from local south coast waters. This is a dining experience not to be missed, and one that many avid foodies make the pilgrimage to enjoy.

Deluxe guest rooms enjoy panoramic sea views, and in season this means you can whale-watch from your private balcony!

Spoil yourself with an coastal getaway at Bannisters.

To find out more visit www.bannisters.com.au or phone (02) 4455 3044 Conditions: valid midweek shoulder season, from 1 September 2012 – 30 April 2013, excluding school and public holidays.

HERE’S HOW HO W YOU YOU CAN WIN

s s #ANCEL YOUR PAYROLL DEDUCTIONS AND START PAYING YOUR FEES THROUGH DIRECT DEBIT AND YOU WILL #ANCEL YOUR PAYROLL DEDUCTIONS AND START PAYING YOUR FEES THROUGH DIRECT DEBIT AND YOU WILL go into the lucky draw and/or ss # #ONVINCE YOUR COLLEAGUES TO CONVERT FROM PAYROLL DEDUCTIONS TO DIRECT DEBIT AND YOU AND ONVINCE YOUR COLLEAGUES TO CONVERT FROM PAYROLL DEDUCTIONS TO DIRECT DEBIT AND YOU AND each of your colleagues who switch to direct debit will go into the lucky draw and/or ss 3 3IGN UP A NEW MEMBER USING THE DIRECT DEBIT METHOD OF PAYING THEIR FEES AND YOU AND THE IGN UP A NEW MEMBER USING THE DIRECT DEBIT METHOD OF PAYING THEIR FEES AND YOU AND THE new member will go into the lucky draw. draw.

Direct debit is not only the easiest and most convenient way to pay your membership, but switching over could win you a luxury holiday! Don’t risk your membership lapsing from changing workplaces. W With ith direct debit you are always protected on the job.

Membership Application forms or Dir Direct rect e D Debit forms can be downloaded from from our website www.nswnurses.asn.au. www.nswnurses.asn.au.

Alternatively Alter natively call the NSWNA on 8595 1234 (metr (metroo area) area) or 1300 367 962 (non-metr (non-metroo area) area) for more more information.

EDITORIAL

BY BRETT HOLMES GENERAL SECRETARY

Nurses must be protected from danger While nursing is an enormously rewarding and fulfilling career, the nature of the job can leave us vulnerable to injury and the environments in which we practice can be inherently dangerous.

Our members in Justice Health stoically persevere under trying circumstances to deliver great outcomes for difficult patients.

Over the past few months The Lamp has published numerous interviews with nurses who have been injured at work.

We have talked with nurses who have suffered musculo-skeletal injuries and psychological injuries and who have been subjected to many forms of anxiety and stress as a consequence: fear about their health, uncertainty about their futures, with strains on their relationships and the distress of financial hardship.

It is important that we hear these stories.

Their plight has been brought into focus by the heartless behaviour of the state government and its ruthless attack on the workers’ compensation scheme.

If the government was left uncontested all we would hear about would be budgets and deficits, about the never ending burden on insurers and the corporate sector, and the impending doom for New South Wales if nothing is done.

Reducing the issue to a debate about money effectively hides from view some inconvenient truths about the tragic consequences for real people when they are hurt at work.

JUSTICE HEALTH Justice Health is one of those nursing environments that contains inherent dangers.

Prisons are hothouses that can exacerbate dysfunctions such as mental health and substance abuse, and it is self evident that they can be violent places.

Our members in Justice Health stoically persevere under trying circumstances to deliver great outcomes for difficult patients.

There have been standards particular to the sector, such as 12-hour shifts and paid meal breaks, that were accepted by management and helped alleviate the pressures of the job.

Consistent with a wide-ranging attack on the public sector, these conditions are now under threat. Our members in Justice Health have not taken this lying down, responding with a

strike in facilities throughout the state (see page 16).

This industrial action has also been driven by frustrations about staffing and safety. They deserve our support.

At Grafton jail the state government’s drive to reduce the public sector will have other consequences for health. The prison is an important source of employment in the town and its downgrading to a remand facility will not only see the loss of nursing positions, alongside those of prison officers, but valuable nurses at Grafton hospital could be lost as their partners are forced to relocate with the disappearance of their jobs.

Again, the local community has not taken this lying down, and has responded with massive rallies for a town of that size.

VIOLENCE IS ON THE RISE During the past 15 months, the NSWNA has received approximately one report per month of a serious assault against one of our members. This is significantly more than the average in previous years.

Of those incidents, five involved stabbings or attempted stabbings – one of which was fatal – and three incidents resulted in serious head injuries. Two occurred in emergency departments, one in a mental health rehabilitation unit, one on a general ward, and one in an aged care facility.

A study from the University of Wollongong found that 25% of nurses in two Illawarra EDs experienced a physical assault at least once a month.

There is evidence that much of the violence against nurses is fuelled by alcohol.

Nurses, police and ambulance drivers deserve to be protected from such violence. The NSWNA has engaged with other unions representing emergency workers in the Last Drinks campaign, to advocate policies that would curb alcohol-fuelled violence.

We want to see the state government engage more constructively to protect nurses in areas such as Justice Health, EDs and Mental Health, which are often unsafe, and to revoke their noxious changes to workers’ compensation that penalise workers who are hurt in the course of doing their jobs.

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LETTERS LETTERS

Workers’ compensation I am a 37-year-old male who sustained a back injury in the work place eight-and-a-half years ago, while employed as a nurse in what was the Illawarra Area Health Service. After several failed attempts to return to full-time duties, and under constant bullying from my employer, I was left with no choice but to resign from my position. I moved to Queensland to be with my family for support. After fighting a drawnout costly process with WorkCover, I was finally able to obtain treatment that somewhat stabilised my condition, enough to start working part-time night duty, three nights per week, on lighter duties.

My condition deteriorated further. I had another diagnostic procedure, which in the past had helped me but on this occasion went wrong. I was left unable to stand properly for any length of time so was unable to work in any form of employment, let alone as a nurse.

That was four years ago. As a result of the pain I was left with, I now have to take anti-seizure epilepsy medication for the rest of my life; which is both expensive and gives me urinary retention-type symptoms.

In the meantime, I had to have spinal surgery. I had artificial disc replacement (ADR) surgery at L4/L5 nine months ago. It took me two years to get approval from WorkCover for the spinal surgery, only to find out that, because my neurosurgeon and I are in Queensland, the price per day for a bed in Queensland was dearer than that allowed for by New South Wales WorkCover. I was advised that, should I need to go to intensive care post-procedure, I would be liable for the cost of $3700 per day – a cost I would not be able to pay. I was left with no choice but to have the surgery done privately, which has pushed me into financial distress.

I was in the process of being re-assessed, post-surgery, to go through the commutation process (an agreement to pay all of the injured

worker’s entitlements as a lump sum) and part company with the WorkCover system and move on with my life. Then I found out from my solicitor that I am no longer protected by the WorkCover system to the age of 65, but will only receive payments for five years, which will ultimately be at a greatly reduced rate.

Under the new system the insurance company will send me to a doctor, who is inevitably going to make a favourable decision on the insurer’s behalf; a decision I will not have the right to appeal.

The payment I am currently on is barely liveable, let alone when half of that amount is removed. This will push me, and my wife, further into financial distress.

I have used all of my superannuation under the grounds of financial hardship; I have lost my investment property; I had to sell my house and downsize to a smaller, poorer condition house and now I am at risk of losing that too.

The new legislation serves no greater purpose than to arm insurance companies with the licence to destroy peoples’ lives, with no accountability. If the legislation had to be changed, it should only affect people who sustain an injury from the date onward from when the new legislation is introduced. While I believe that the rights of all workers should be protected, I cannot begin to comprehend how nurses were left out of the amendments to the legislation, which guaranteed to protect the rights of fire fighters, paramedics and police.

Anybody out there knows that nursing is terribly heavy work.

Nurses care for the sick, the lame, the needy and often the most vulnerable people in our society.

I gave part of my spine to the New South Wales public hospital system. Who will care for me and for the rights of other nurses?

Rob Lawrence, RN

On a surgical ship in Africa My name is Kerry Warner and I’m an operating theatre RN working at Gosford Hospital. The NSW Nurses’ Association kindly provided me with some financial support to serve in a voluntary basis on board the hospital ship Africa Mercy earlier this year. I heard about the Mercy Ships organisation when my husband and I attended a Christian Missions expo in Newcastle. Mercy Ships has a very good website where we gathered more info about the work they do. Two doctors from Gosford Hospital had also served on the Africa Mercy and we learnt more from them.

All crew on board the Mercy are volunteers who pay their own monthly fees for lodging and food, plus all transport costs to and from the ship and their home country.

In this way Mercy Ships are able to offer free surgery to the people of West Africa.

The hospital ship has all the usual staff, including doctors, nurses, pathology, x-ray, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, counsellors, and sterilising and laundry staff.

Locals are employed as translators and in other positions on board. Serving on the Africa Mercy is a life changing experience. We witnessed people who had suffered for a long time due to lack of adequate and affordable medical care, medical care that we take for granted and assume is our right to receive.Yet the people are not bitter or angry, just so very humble and thankful for the care sent their way through Mercy Ships.

Kerry Warner, RN 6 | T H E L A M P A U G U S T 2 01 2

NSWNA responds The O’Farrell Government has effectively enacted WorkChoices for workers’ comp.The new workers’ compensation laws dramatically reduce benefits for injured workers in New South Wales and give insurance companies an unprecedented level of power within the compensation system.

The fact that those changes affect existing as well as future workers’ compensation claims, is just another example of how profoundly unfair these laws are.

The Association has been actively involved in the campaign against these laws and we will continue to be until the laws are changed.

The fact that police officers, fire fighters and paramedics are excluded from the changes is a reflection of just how bad these laws are.While the Association believes that no worker in New South Wales should be subjected to these unfair laws, it is certainly nonsensical for these particular emergency service workers to be excluded while nurses, midwives and assistants in nursing are not.

The Association is lobbying very hard to have the government extend the exclusion to nurses, midwives and assistants in nursing.We can only hope that they see sense in this regard.

LETTER OF THE MONTH The letter judged the best each month will be awarded a $50 Coles Myer voucher courtesy of Moore Equipment.

‘Clever carts to help clever nurses.’

For details on the range of clax carts please call (02) 9519 5540 or visit www.mooreequipment.com.au

Every letter published receives a $20 Coles Group & Myer gift card.

COMPETITION

LETTER OF THE MONTH

Gratitude for scholarships Reading The Lamp when it arrives, I always stop for a few moments at the page advertising opportunities for scholarships made available to nurses. It is because I like to reflect on the personal and professional benefits that I gained by the application for, and receipt of, financial assistance via a scholarship. In the latest issue of The Lamp one of the scholarship application advertisements has a picture of smiling graduates. This positive image reflects my experience of the benefits I gained since I considered seeking monetary help for my career development.

In the 1990s I successfully applied for a scholarship via the Edith Cavell Trust to pay for the HECS (Higher Education Contribution Scheme) fees to undertake a Graduate Diploma at UTS (University of Technology, Sydney). The application process of completing forms and answering the criteria was, in hindsight, grounding for the scholarly discipline.

During my study, with the encouragement of the teaching staff, I decided to convert the Graduate Diploma to a Master of Nursing. Following my graduation I was successful in securing a position as a child and family health nurse, where I remain.

I achieved my aim, which began with the scholarship, of finding employment in a new area of nursing.There are a variety of scholarships available, including for initial nursing study, conference attendance, or ongoing education or research.

Scholarships offer the opportunity for a nurse to reduce the cost entailed and I would like to encourage nurses to consider utilising this valuable resource made available to them.

Christina Caruana, RN, IBCLC, Master of Nursing

Prejudice against male nurses As a male RN working in an inner city public hospital recovery room, I have noticed an increasing trend for female, particularly gynaecological and caesarean patients, to request a female nurse. There is a perception, or an assumption, in the community that all theatre staff will be female, including the medical staff.

At times, when a patient is waking from their anaesthetic, I need to explain myself to them before I can start their nursing care. This is not to say I am unwilling to explain what I am doing, but it’s the time it takes to convince her that I am an experienced RN and professionally responsible for her care and well being. Any unnecessary delay in performing routine postoperative examination would disadvantage the patient if there were an urgent nursing/medical intervention required.

To find a female nurse to observe PV loss or perform a fundal palpation examination on my behalf, then give me verbal handover of their observation, would interrupt the continuum of care.

It’s not an option for patients to choose who delivers their nursing care, especially after hours when I am the only recovery RN on duty. In all of the recovery rooms that I have worked in it’s the norm to take whatever patient comes through the recovery door. It’s evident that there is a need to explain to the patient and family at the pre-operative stage that there is the possibility they may come in contact with a male nurse at some stage during their hospital stay. As nurses we believe, and rightly so, that we deliver nursing care to our patients without prejudice. I hope for the same in return.

Darren Wilson, RN

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Photo: Gary Kuwahara

NEWS IN BRIEF

“Make sure they have a full night sleep, and convene regular family dinners where technology is forbidden.”

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United States

Australia

Rise of the cyberchondriac

The rising cost of staying well

New technologies may exacerbate narcissism, depression or obsessivecompulsive disorder, according to a new book by Californian psychologist Larry D. Rosen (pictured).

Rosen’s book focuses on mental health challenges linked to heavy technology use. He argues that social media sites may spawn narcissism and constantly checking your mobile phone can lead to obsessivecompulsive disorder. He says technology addiction can lead to attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder,

and that medical data available online has created a class of people known as “cyberchondriacs”.

His book iDisorders – understanding our obsession with technology outlines how: • Psychologists divide Twitter users into “informers” (those who pass along interesting facts) and “meformers” (those who pass along facts only about themselves).

• 70% of those who report heavily using mobile devices experience “phantom vibration syndrome” (when your pocket buzzes but there’s no phone in your pocket).

• The heavy use of Facebook has been linked to mood swings among some teenagers. Researchers are calling this “Facebook depression”.

• A “Google effect” has evolved: an inability to remember facts brought on by the realisation they are all available via Google.

Rosen recommends two methods to ensure children have a sense of perspective towards technology, and to reintroduce them to normal interaction following hours of “cyber-conversation”: make sure they have a full night sleep, and convene regular family dinners where technology is forbidden.

Australia’s Health 2012, released by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, shows that out-ofpocket health costs now cost Australians about $1000 a year on average, up from about $500 a decade previously.

Australia’s out-of-pocket costs represent 18.2% of overall health spending, including by the government, which puts the Australian consumers’ share significantly above the 15.8% average of other developed countries, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.

Health spending, which stood at $121 billion in 2009-10, is up from $72 billion a decade earlier.

The report finds that both women and men are living a year longer than they were in the late 1990s. At age 65, women can expect to live another 22 years, including 16 years without severe disability; for men nearly another 19 years, including 15 years in reasonable health.

Australia

Overweight but optimistic

almost

60

%

of australians don’t do enough physical activity.

Most Australians rate their health as good, or better, despite the nation having the second highest rate of obesity for males and the fifth highest for females.

According to the latest report on the nation’s health, from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, one in four adults and one in 12 children are obese – more than three million people.

The proportion of the population suffering with diabetes doubled in the decade to 2007/08. Cardiovascular disease remains the country’s biggest killer – responsible for 33% of all deaths.

However, there has been a 78% decline in deaths from heart attacks and strokes since the 1968 peak.

Almost 60% of Australians don’t do enough physical activity.Yet, 85% rate their health as good or better. More than half (56%) say their health is very good or excellent, 29% say it is good, while 15% concede it is fair or poor.

The majority (83%) of Australians say they are delighted or pleased with their quality of life or mostly satisfied, 14% have mixed feelings, and 4% are miserable.

Australia

Practice nurses seek better pay The NSWNA and the Australian Nursing Federation (ANF) are looking to improve the wages and working conditions of practice nurses employed in medical centres and clinics.

On 11 November 2011, the ANF filed a historic application with Fair Work Australia on behalf of practice nurses, as the first formal step to improve their pay and conditions. The campaign seeks to convince employers to reach enterprise bargaining agreements with their practice nurses that will: • Provide fair wages and reasonable conditions of employment.

• Introduce a new classification and career path that rewards increased responsibilities.

• Provide support for practice nurse education and professional development.

United States

Eating disorders among women over 50 A recent study has found that American women aged 50 and older are exhibiting symptoms related to eating disorders, dispelling the myth that only young women suffer such conditions.

According to a recent study, published in the International Journal of Eating Disorders, two-thirds of 1849 study subjects were unhappy with their overall appearance: • More than 70% were trying to lose weight.

• About 62% said their weight or shape negatively affected their life.

• 79% said it influenced their self-perception.

• 64% said they thought about this issue daily.

About 8% of women reported purging in the past five years and 3.5% reported binge eating in the past month. These behaviors involved diet pills, excessive exercise, diuretics, laxatives, and vomiting, and were most prevalent in women in their early 50s, but also occurred in women older than 75.

More than a quarter of the respondents were obese, 29% were overweight, 42% were of normal weight, and 2% were underweight.

“Healthcare providers should remain alert for eating disorder symptoms and weight and shape concerns that may adversely influence women’s physical and psychological wellbeing as they mature,” research leader Cynthia Bulik said.

Fair Work Australia postponed the hearing of the ANF’s application, initially scheduled for late June. New dates have been scheduled for 3-7 September 2012.

The postponement was as a result of a belated objection, by employer representatives, to the ANF’s application.

You can support the ANF’s application to Fair Work Australia to assist medical centre employers and nurses to achieve fair wages and conditions, by signing the petition at: www.ipetitions.com/petition/ petition-to-fair-work-australia/

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NEWS IN BRIEF

United Kingdom

Peers linked to private health A health bill that opens the British National Health Service to sweeping privatisation has been a contentious part of that nation’s politics this year.

It was recently revealed that 142 peers – members of the British House of Lords who will vote on the legislation – have links to companies involved in private healthcare.

They come from all political parties and their interests include ownership of shares in private healthcare companies or being chairmen, consultants or senior advisers to investment groups that fund the companies looking to pick up NHS contracts.

More than a quarter of Conservative Party peers had interests in private health care.

The 142 make up 17% of the total number of peers.

More than a quarter of Conservative Party – the leading partner in the coalition that holds government in Britain – peers had interests in private health care.

Australia

EN annual conference The 2012 Enrolled Nurse Professional Association (ENPA) annual conference will be held at the Mercure Hotel, Sydney on Thursday and Friday, September 20 and 21.

It will be the 19th Annual Conference held by ENPA and all Enrolled Nurses, Assistants in Nursing and others with an interest in Enrolled Nursing (e.g. educators) are invited to attend.

Some of the topics to be discussed will include Care of the Mastectomy patient, Mental Heath Issues, Advanced Practice in Emergency Departments, Paediatrics, Nursing in Bangladesh and the role of the EN in Neuro Surgery.

A diverse range of speakers attends each conference and the Enrolled Nurse Professional Association tries to keep registration fees at a minimum. The cost is $250 for two days and further information can be found at www.enpansw.org.au or by contacting Rebecca on 1300 554 249.

The Ron Flockton Award for Excellence in Nursing (by an Enrolled Nurse) is announced at the Annual Conference. (see June Lamp edition for nomination information).

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United States

Dogs prevent asthma A new study confirms that exposure to animals in early childhood stimulates the immune system to resist the development of asthma and other allergies.

The research shows bacteria found in the dust of homes with dogs may have protective effects against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), which can lead to asthma. RSV affects 90% of children worldwide.

“These findings are the first step towards creating a therapy to protect infants against RSV and therefore lessening the occurrence of asthma in the long term,” Dr Kei Fujimura, molecular biologist at the University of California, told ABC Radio.

“These findings are the first step towards creating a therapy to protect infants against RSV.” In the research, scientists collected dust from homes with dogs, mixed it in a solution and fed it to mice. After eight days these animals were given RSV. The mice did not develop the inflammation and mucous production symptomatic of RSV. A different group of bacteria was also found in the gastrointestinal tract of these mice, compared to control groups. This set of gut micro biota helped protect the mice from developing RSV.

EDUCATION@NSWNA

“bird flu has has killed nearly

60%

of nearly

600

people reported infected…”

Bird flu H5N1 virus

Netherlands

Bird flu: mutating but weaker Bird flu is mutating into more contagious forms, but the changes that make it spread more easily could make it less deadly, according to new research.

According to one study it only takes a handful of mutations for the virus to become airborne and easily transmitted from one animal to another. A second study shows those mutations have already started, but are less dangerous.

Instead of taking root deep in the lungs, causing a hard-to-treat pneumonia, the mutated version of H5N1 likes to live in the upper respiratory tract.

“So it’s less likely to cause pneumonia,” Ron Fouchier of Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam, told Science magazine. Fouchier said the drugs used to treat flu worked against the mutant version.

H5N1 bird flu has been circulating on and off since 1998, and has killed nearly 60% of nearly 600 people reported infected, according to the World Health Organisation. It is a completely new virus to the human body – which is one reason it kills such a high percentage of its human victims.

WHAT’S ON AUGUST 2012

Are you meeting your CPD requirements – ½ day 17 August, Griffith 21 September, Albury Seminar is suitable for all nurses and midwives to learn about CPD requirements and what’s involved in the process.

Members $40 Non-members $85 ——— • ——— Aged Care Seminar Series – 1 day 15 August, Wagga Wagga Seminar is suitable for all RNs, ENs and AiNs. Members $75 Non-members $170 ——— • ——— Policy and Guideline Writing – 1 day 17 August, Penrith Seminar is suitable for all nurses and midwives.

Members $85 Non-members $170 ——— • ——— Basic Foot Care for RNs & ENs – 2 days 22 & 23 August, Newcastle Members $203 Non-members $350 Legal and Professional Issues for Nurses and Midwives – ½ day 24 August, Wagga Wagga 28 September, Port Macquarie Topics covered include the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law, potential liability, importance of documentation, role of disciplinary tribunals and writing statements.

Members $40 Non-members $85 ——— • ——— Practical, Positive Actions in Managing Stress and Burnout 30 August, NSWNA, Waterloo Seminar is suitable for all nurses and midwives.

Members $85 Non-members $170 ——— • ——— Appropriate Workplace Behaviour – 1 day 30 August, Penrith Topics covered include understanding why bullying occurs; how to behave appropriately in the workplace; identifying behaviour that constitutes bullying; what to do if subjected to bullying; how to use workplace grievance procedures; identifying, preventing and resolving bullying.

Members $85 Non-members $170 ——— • ——— Computer Essentials for Nurses and Midwives – 1 day 5 September, Prince of Wales Hospital, Randwick Seminar is suitable for all nurses and midwives.

Members $85 Non-members $170 ——— • ——— To register or for more information go to www.nswnurses.asn.au/education or phone Carolyn Kulling on 1300 367 962

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COVER STORY

Prison downgrade traumatises Grafton Though Grafton has a population of 17,000 the downgrade of the local prison to a transit centre, with the loss of over 100 jobs including nursing positions, sparked two rallies each attended by up to 4000 people.

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Photo Adam Hourigan / APN

COVER STORY

Over 4000 nurses, prison officers and community members rallied against job cuts at Grafton jail.

KASSIE PACKWOOD, A CNS AT GRAFTON HOSPITAL,

says the closure of the prison and the community’s reaction has had the impact of a natural disaster.

“We do natural disasters well here – floods and fires. The reaction has been the same. People have turned up to donate tents, food and furniture. At least the employees know someone cares. The state government doesn’t nor the employer, but at least the community does,” she said.

Twenty prison officer jobs were lost at the prison a few months ago, then, out of the blue, a further 108 job cuts were announced via the media.

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“On the day I asked a friend who works at the prison about it she said ‘about what’ – she didn’t know anything,” said Kassie.

The state government announced that the prison was to be downgraded to a transit centre, with the bulk of the prisoners and jobs to be transferred to Cessnock, six hours drive away.

“On current numbers there are 15 to 20 nurses employed by Justice Health. Now they’ll only need two to three.”

The Public Service Association and the Prison Officers’ Association say the facility will be mothballed into a remand facility. It will only hold offenders in the court system.There will only be need for one nurse on a shift for methadone dosing.

“It will have an impact on the hospital. Once partners leave the nurses will have to follow or be separated.”

— kassie packwood, cns

Kassie says the prison has been a central employer in Grafton for a long period of time and the consequences of the downgrade are massive, including for the local health system.

“There has been a huge response in Grafton. The prison is not just a landmark. People have grown up with second or third generation employment at the prison. There are three criticallytrained nurses I know who work at Grafton Hospital, with partners laid off, who will have to leave the town.

“It will have an impact on the hospital. Once partners leave the nurses will have to follow or be separated.To say it is traumatic is not an understatement. The whole town has been impacted.”

Kassie says there has been plenty of tension in the town with a picket line outside the prison fronting off with a riot squad.

“We were lucky to do a six-day picket and no one got hurt.”

National Party MP Chris Gulaptis attracted some bitter mirth when he had what Grafton’s Daily Examiner described as a “Road to Damascus moment” at one of the rallies.

“Our local MP got up at our first rally and toed the party line. Then he said he stuffed up and should have supported the community, not the government,” Kassie said.

She adds that Grafton is unlikely to be the only prison facility on the end of the state government’s fiscal razor.

“I don’t think this is the end. They are looking at cutting other prison jobs throughout the state, which will impact on nursing jobs in Justice Health.”

T H E L A M P A U G U S T 2 01 2 | 1 5

COVER STORY

Justice Health strike over safety and shifts Nurses at Justice Health took part in a 24-hour strike on 5 July 2012, as long-simmering tensions boiled over.

FEAR AND FRUSTRATION ABOUT SAFETY

and staff numbers has been a festering sore in Justice Health, says the Association’s state branch secretary Brian Owens, as have disputes over 12-hour shifts and meal breaks.

“People have had enough.They weren’t getting anywhere and Justice Health was only going through the motions of consulting. So they decided to take industrial action,” he said. “There was very good support. At Long Bay we had 76 attend a meeting and 75 supported the industrial action.”

Nurses at Justice Health’s largest workplaces – Goulburn, Long Bay complex and The Forensic Hospital – participated in the strike. The fuse was set alight by Justice Health’s unilateral decision to change the 12-hour shifts to shifts of 8 hours, 8 hours and 10 hours and to attack the paid meal break, which have been the standard for years.

“There was no discussion with staff about it. Most don’t want it. Over 70 people sent a letter to the CEO asking her to reconsider. Many of these people say they won’t stay at Justice Health long. Many live a long way from Long Bay and they would incur extra costs in petrol and childcare,” Brian said.

“I’ve heard they have had many resignations in the past month. The new shifts are meant to be implemented by August.

A lot more people are going to go. They 1 6 | T H E L A M P A U G U S T 2 01 2

“There are a high percentage of these patients who have committed murders or other serious crimes.”

— brian owens are saying ‘why would I work five days when I can get work at a mental health facility closer to home’.”

Brian says safety is a very high concern among Justice Health nurses, particularly at The Forensic Hospital, a stand-alone high secure mental health facility in Malabar in Sydney’s south.

“Before they built The Forensic Hospital the previous forensic services were held at Long Bay Hospital. Then Justice Health said they wanted a model with no officers and no security.They said they would train nurses to deal with aggressive patients. Now nurses have to do the security for all six wards in The Forensic Hospital including the perimeter.

“There are a high percentage of these patients who have committed murders or other serious crimes. They are people who have been in prison a long time and who will stay in prison a long time.

“Over the years there have been quite a few injuries – serious injuries.

Fractures, people have been hit on the head leaving nasty scars; people have been threatened by prisoners with metal cutlery.

“Staff members aren’t happy at all. I don’t think it is a safe place to work. I’ve always been concerned. Most people would be horrified at this environment.”

Brian Owens says these issues are not unique to The Forensic Hospital. “There are very similar issues throughout the state: they have been taking staff away, diluting the skill mix, cutting the numbers without any discussion and systematically reducing staff.”

Brian says staff members not only feel let down by Justice Health, but also by the state government following its changes to workers’ compensation.

“We are in a dangerous environment.

If someone gets assaulted you are looking at potentially serious injuries – the sort of injury that would put someone off work for a long time. They are the injuries that are affected by the workers’ compensation changes.”

“I don’t think it is a safe place to work.

I’ve always been concerned.

Most people would be horrified at this environment.”

Photo Michael Magee

— brian owens

T H E L A M P A U G U S T 2 01 2 | 1 7

COVER STORY

Tackling alcohol-fuelled violence A recent poll has found that more than 30% of Australians have been affected by alcohol-fuelled violence.

FOR FRONTLINE EMERGENCY WORKERS SUCH AS nurses, doctors, paramedics and police, dealing with alcohol-fuelled aggression is part of the job.

A recent poll, commissioned by the Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education, found that a significant number of Australians drink to excess, with more than four million people reporting drinking alcohol to get drunk, and more than two million doing so at least once a month. The majority of those polled, 76%, believed that Australia has a problem with excess drinking or alcohol abuse.

The NSWNA has joined with four other organisations representing emergency service workers in NSW, to form the Last Drinks campaign to tackle the issue of alcohol-fuelled violence head-on.

NSWNA General Secretary Brett Holmes says there is a common belief between the unions representing emergency workers, that the most effective way to reduce alcohol-fuelled violence is by placing restrictions on the late night sale of alcohol.

Brett said a recent NSW Health study showed a more than 35% decrease in the number of night-time assaults, after restrictions were placed on licensed venues in the Newcastle CBD. “There has also been a 50% decrease in the night-time street offences in Newcastle. These improvements have been sustained over a three-year period. It has worked well in Newcastle and it is worth trying elsewhere,” he said.

Brett Holmes answers questions at the release of the research by the Foundation for Alcohol Research & Education.

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The restrictions at Newcastle included: — 3am closing for all venues.

— Lock-outs from 1.30am.

— Restrictions on the sale of high-alcohol content drinks (such as shots) after 10pm.

These measures have strong public support, according to a poll taken by Essential Research. The national poll found that 80% of Australians support mandatory 3am closing times for licensed premises, to curb alcohol-fuelled violence. This figure rose to 85% of people in New South Wales.

“This indicates a very high level of community support for the objectives of the Last Drinks campaign,” Brett said.

AUSTRALIA’S PERVASIVE DRINKING CULTURE

The latest annual poll of alcohol attitudes and behaviors, released by the Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education, found:

36 61 31 16 75

%

of drinkers (or about 4.1 million Australians) consume alcohol to get drunk.

%

of 18 to 29 year olds who consume alcohol do so to get drunk.

%

of Australians have been affected by alcohol-related violence, including 14% who have been the victim of alcohol-related violence.

%

of Australian drinkers have had someone they know express concern over their drinking.

%

of Australians believe that more needs to be done to reduce the harm caused by alcohol-related illness, injury, death, and related issues.

The Last Drinks campaign aims to tackle the issue of alcohol-fuelled violence head-on.

For more information about the Last Drinks campaign visit lastdrinks.org.au

Assaults and abuse the daily norm A University of Wollongong study of two Illawarra hospitals found that 25% of ED nurses experienced a physical assault at least once a month.

ILLAWARRA RN NERIDA GRANT is no stranger to aggression from intoxicated patients.

Nerida has worked in emergency departments throughout New South Wales and the Northern Territory for the past three years.

“It’s complicated caring for someone who is highly intoxicated. Some people have long histories of alcoholism and they are not at a time in their lives where they want to receive support or treatment,” she said.

“Often these patients can be very hostile to receiving treatment for their alcohol-related injuries. Even the basics like checking blood pressure and pulse are difficult when someone just wants to sleep off their intoxication.

“It creates a battle between health staff and the people who are coming in because they don’t want to be there. I remember being really frustrated by that and people telling me to f*** off and leave them alone.

It is a very combative and physical working situation.”

A recent survey of ED staff in two major hospitals in the Illawarra region, uncovered high levels of alcohol-related verbal abuse and physical assaults against hospital staff. Seventy-one of 91 staff members interviewed felt that this type of violence had increased since they had begun working in the ED. The 2011 study, Experiences of emergency department staff: alcohol-related and other violence and aggression found that 80 of the 91 participants reported being verbally abused at least once a month, and 39 reported this as a daily occurrence. Twenty-three had experienced physical assault at least once a month.

These figures don’t surprise Nerida Grant.

“As nurses we really use our bodies. Our bodies are really on the line.We use them to lift people and move people, we are in the close physical space of patients and sometimes that is dangerous and sometimes that can feel really threatening. If you have been assaulted in the course of doing your job, and have to go back and do it again, it is really scary,” she says.

“It is a really tough place to work and one way of processing that is to not process it. To shut off that it happened. We are not very good at communicating and supporting each other to talk about our experiences in the emergency departments.”

Which is why Nerida is supportive of the Last Drinks campaign and its goals.

“Any initiative to tackle our society’s drinking problem is positive and necessary.

The effects of this problem are dumped into our emergency departments daily.

“We do suffer the effects of a problem that doesn’t just belong to the individuals who are drinking or to the hospital system that is treating them, but to all of us as a society.

“We, as nurses, are supported to protect ourselves. There is training and there is security. But there is only so much that hospitals can do. It is about tackling the problem outside the hospitals and outside the police stations and taking it into the broader community and making it everybody’s responsibility.”

T H E L A M P A U G U S T 2 01 2 | 1 9

COVER STORY

Super insurance Nurses are now more vulnerable to financial distress if they are injured, thanks to the state government’s changes to workers’ compensation.

The Lamp asked health sector industry super funds how they can help.

HESTA INSURANCE CAN BE LIFE-SAVING FOR FAMILIES HESTA CEO ANNE-MARIE CORBOY says Australians are underinsured even though the stakes can be high for not doing so.

“Australians will insure their house or their car but not themselves. This (insurance) can be life saving for families,” she says.

Anne-Marie says the changes to workers comp in NSW are a moment for nurses to reflect on what they need to do to make sure they and their families have protection in the event of an injury.

“Insurance is really important. It is an opportune time to assess what you’ve got.”

If you are a member of HESTA and you don’t opt out you get 2 units of death cover and 2 units of income protection for those who can’t work on a temporary basis or on a permanent basis.

If your injury is temporary you are covered by income insurance for two years.

After two years you need to be permanently disabled to get the benefit which is paid to age 67.

Anne-Marie says HESTA improved the length of cover following changes to the age eligibility of pensions.

“With the aged pension now extended to 67, we’ve extended the cover to 67. It’s unique – not many funds offer this. So, for example, a nurse who is 35 who is injured at work with permanent incapacity is entitled to the benefit till age 67.”

HESTA allows you to increase your cover and Anne-Marie says ‘we encourage members to do so’.

“Insurance is really important.

It is an opportune time to assess what you’ve got.”

— anne-marie corboy

“All the information is on the HESTA website along with a calculator to assess what your needs are and what it would cost to meet those needs.”

This year HESTA introduced a Life Events Option which allows members to increase their Death and Total and Permanent Disablement cover or their income protection on achieving a life milestone without providing medical evidence.

These milestones can include: obtaining a tertiary qualification, getting married or divorced, giving birth, turning 25, 30, 40 or 50 years of age or when taking out a

mortgage among other events.

If you go on parental leave you get 12 months cover at no cost.

Anne-Marie says the big advantages of getting your insurance from your super fund are the competitive cost and the fact that premiums are deducted from your super account.

“Most will find that it is cheaper than a retail policy.The group buying by the super fund gives a lower premium and so long as there’s enough money in your account to cover the premiums you don’t have to worry about remembering to pay for them.”

T h e i n fo r m a t i o n p rov i d e d h e r e i s o f a g e n e r a l n a t u r e a n d d o e s n o t t a ke i n to a c c o u n t i n d i v i d u a l c i rc u m s t a n c e . Fo r m o r e i n fo r m a t io n yo u 2 0 | T H E L A M P A U G U S T 2 01 2

First State Super IF YOU’RE INJURED YOU NEED BACK UP KAREN VOLPATO, FIRST STATE SUPER’S

marketing manager, knows from personal experience the importance of having back-up in case you are injured at work.

“It’s just so critical. In my past jobs, I’ve seen families wonder how they can cope — because insufficient insurance cover has been taken out” she says.

Karen says that if a nurse is a member of First State Super through the NSW Public Sector or through a private sector employer who has signed up with the Fund, generally they are entitled to default insurance that covers death and total and permanent disability.

“This default insurance is a good start. If they are totally or permanently incapacitated or they die they get this cover if they meet the definitions. For example, if you are 25 you would get about $250,000 as a lump sum. If you were 45, you would get about $129,000.

If you were 53, you would get about $45,000.”

These insurance scales decrease with age as they are based on assumptions of what you would have put into your super by that age.

Karen says if you are proactive you can build even more security into your life for a

small additional cost by taking out income protection insurance which sits on top of the default insurance.

“Income protection can cover you for up to 2 years after your injury.You can choose a scheme that will cover 50% of your income or 75% of your income. And you can choose to be paid over two years or over 5 years.”

First State Super has start-up bonuses of insurance cover which you can apply for when you join the Fund. You have 180 days to decide if you want to take extra cover on top of the default cover.

Karen says the Fund has some very useful online tools to help with making decisions and to facilitate processes.

“Generally, you can be assessed right away on our website through Insurance Express Online. You can calculate how much cover you need, how much it will cost or apply to transfer your insurance from another fund or from an insurance company.

“We have a financial planning service as well (www.fssfp.com.au.) They can also give advice about insurance — and other things as well.

Karen Volpato

“I used to manage claims in another fund so I understand how important insurance is.

I’ve taken out additional cover and I’ve got income protection. You can have extra units of cover (the value of which decreases with age) or fixed amount cover (which doesn’t decrease with your age)to make sure your debts are covered. I’ve done that as well. My husband will have that covered if anything happens to me.”

Health Industry Plan THINK ABOUT YOUR NEEDS HEALTH INDUSTRY PLAN (HIP) CEO Ross Bernays says there are no two insurance offerings that are exactly the same, but he is sure that industry super funds offer the best deal.

“The advantages of the industry super funds is that the insurance attached to super is done on a group basis therefore the funds through the insurer can give a wider range of cover for lower premiums.

“It is hard to compare apples with apples.

Other industry funds options are not better or worse they are just different.”

Ross says if you are in an industry fund you generally have automatic cover on entry at a minimum level, but you need to assess whether that is appropriate for your individual circumstances.

“For example if you are a young person you may not have to worry about a mortgage, compared with a family breadwinner with other responsibilities.”

All nurses who are members of an industry fund most likely have some death cover offered on a default basis. As you get older your

Ross Bernays

insurance cover goes down as your super goes up but even then you get “aggregated substantial cover”. You should review and check your insurance periodically to ensure that you have sufficient cover.

“HIP takes a different view to most. We have compulsory income protection if you are unable to earn income because of health problems. Where most funds offer Total or Partial Disability (TPD) with the option of taking out income protection, we take the reverse. It has a more immediate benefit and the more who have it the less the premium.

“Our emphasis has always been on death

and income protection (IP) as opposed to death and TPD but TPD is offered as an optional extra.You can get up to 75% of your salary, which runs for two years via your income protection insurance.”

HIP’s rate of cover for income protection is $1500 per unit per month. Each unit costs 91c. The minimum amount is four units, which gives you $6,000 per month income protection.You can take out more and there is no medical assessment on entry.

Ross says everyone should review their insurance to ensure adequate cover especially with the introduction of the new workers’ comp changes in New South Wales.

“You should have an eye to the future. It is easy to put it in to the ‘later on’ or the ‘too hard’ basket. If you take an interest in super it is better to do it sooner rather than later.

Extensions to existing insurance are usually subject to medical assessment, which may be harder to satisfy, as you get older.

“There is a simple way to start. Think about your needs and your likely needs then extend your cover so you protect yourself.”

should read your super fund product disclosure statement and you may wish to seek the advice of a qualified independent financial planner.

T H E L A M P A U G U S T 2 01 2 | 2 1

DON’T PUT YOUR NSWNA MEMBERSHIP AT RISK! The State Government could at any time stop payroll deductions.

As a matter of urgency please convert to the Direct Debit or Credit method of paying your fees.

BE PREPARED. CHANGE TODA TODAY. ODAAY. Download, complete and return your Direct Debit form to the Association.

www.nswnurses.asn.au www .nswnurses.asn.au Alternatively call us on Metro 8595 1234 or Rural 1300 367 962 Authorised by B.Holmes, General Secretary Secretary,, NSWNA

Q&A

ASK JUDITH

When it comes to your rights and entitlements at work, NSWNA Assistant General Secretary JUDITH KIEJDA has the answers.

Sent home is not sick leave

Sick leave on long service

I have returned to work after sick leave and provided my employer with a medical certificate for the three-day absence. My employer has told me that they are not confident I am well enough to return, and I have been sent home. I have been told to go to my doctor to obtain a medical clearance to return to my full duties.

Can my employer send me home and pay me sick leave for these days?

Yes, the employer can raise concerns with regards to your capacity to function in your full role. If your employer directs you to go home then you must go, and you must get a medical clearance if they have directed you to do so. However, they cannot pay you sick leave for that period.

You must be paid sick leave for the three days you were off sick, then be stood down on full pay for the subsequent days that your employer has directed you off work to obtain a medical clearance.Your employer may also send you to an independent practitioner for an assessment. If this occurs, the employer must pay you from the time the original medical certificate ended and this leave should not come out of your sick leave entitlement.

I am currently on long service leave and have had to have surgery. I have been employed at a public hospital for many years and have a great deal of sick leave I have never used.

Can I access my sick leave while I am on long service leave?

Yes you can. The sick leave clause of your award, clause 37 (vi) states: Subject to the provision of a satisfactory medical certificate and sick leave being due, annual leave or long service leave (extended leave) shall be reaccredited where an illness of at least one week’s duration occurs during the period of annual or long service leave: Provided that the period of leave does not occur prior to retirement, resignation or termination of services, and provided further that the employer is satisfied on the circumstances and the nature of the incapacity.

If you require any further information please contact an Information officer at the Association on 1300 367 962.

Extra part-time shift I work part time in a public hospital and was rostered two extra shifts in the last pay period, but I have not been paid for them. Am I entitled to be paid for these shifts in my current pay period?

Yes you are. If you were rostered to do the extra shifts, you should be paid in the following pay period.

Further, clause 27 (v) (a) of your award states in part: …. If the amount paid is equal to or greater than one day’s gross base pay the underpayment will be rectified within three working days.

Therefore, as you were rostered and worked the extra shifts you should contact your NUM and request that a Roster Adjustment Form be completed and sent to Health Support Services for payment.

Declared excess I am employed in a senior nursing role in the NSW public health system and I have been advised that my position will be declared excess. What are my options?

The health service is obligated to inform excess staff members of their options in writing, in line with Policy Directive PD2012_021 Managing Excess Staff of the NSW Health Service, which is available online at www.health.nsw.gov.au This correspondence may outline an offer of voluntary redundancy or an option to be redeployed to another position.

It is important to note that specific time limits now apply to voluntary redundancies. Once you receive any correspondence you should contact your Human Resources department to discuss the options being offered to you and to clarify any questions or concerns you may have. Additionally, you can contact the Association to seek further clarification.

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NURSES IN DANGER

Tortured for giving care Rula Al’Saffar, president of the Bahrain Nursing Society, was recently named the 11th most influential person in the Middle East. Last year she was incarcerated and tortured by the Bahraini government after treating protestors injured during an anti-government rally.

She speaks exclusively to The Lamp.

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RULA AL’ SAFFAR BECAME A NURSE because of her mother.

“When I was a little girl my Mum was sick, she had cancer and she was dying and I used to be at her bedside all the time.

That was one thing that made me think of going into nursing, that I need to help people,” she told The Lamp.

Now president of the Bahrain Nursing Society (BNS), Rula is also Assistant Professor at the (Bahrain) College of Health Sciences, head of the Emergency Nursing and Critical Care Program and the Head of the International Training Centre.

She was the first, and is the only, nurse in Bahrain to graduate with a Bachelor and Masters degree in nursing from an American university. She was Bahrain’s first nurse practitioner. She has worked for the World Health Organisation as a consultant for emergency and disaster management.

Rula first fell foul of her government when she led her union in a campaign to raise the status of nurses in Bahrain.

“Our campaign lasted for two or three years, to convince the government that nurses with bachelor degrees should be on the professional level,” she said. “We started this campaign by wearing an orange ribbon and going to work wearing a badge. We were harassed by the Ministry of Health.

The nurses who wore the badges were blacklisted. This continued for about seven to eight months.”

VIOLENT CRACKDOWN LEADS TO MEDIC DETENTION Relations with the government plummeted with the eruption of Bahrain’s own “Arab Spring” and the government’s violent crackdown on protest. Injured protestors flooded the hospitals and nurses and doctors bore the wrath of the government for giving care to the wounded.

“My colleague, the General-Secretary [of the Bahrain Nursing Society], Ibrahim Al-Dimistani, was detained for helping a protester who was shot by a bird pellet shotgun. We requested for him to be released from prison and then the government attacked us and closed the BNS.” In 2011, Rula and 19 other nurses and doctors were arrested, convicted after a sham trial in a military court, and sentenced to 15 years in jail. What followed was shocking.

“My detention is similar to all other people’s detention. The torture starts from 5pm till 3am.We were deprived from sleeping, we were beaten, we were electrocuted, we were sexually harassed, threatened with rape. I had my hair cut. I had electric stun guns used on me.

“Then they take you back to your cell

and ask you to sing the national anthem, to imitate different voices of animals, to sing songs for them, to dance for them or to run and hit a wall. All of us in Bahrain have experienced all this.”

INTERNATIONAL PRESSURE GETS RESULTS The detention of Rula and her colleagues caused international uproar. After five months custody she and some of the other clinicians were eventually released.

“Humanitarian organisations from the US and Europe have been great.The Royal College of Nursing from UK has been excellent. The Irish community is incredible.

They have had so many protests and voiced their opinion all over. They wrote letters to the Ministry of Health in Bahrain [and] the King. They had petitions.”

Rula still has a sense of disbelief about the government’s attack on its own health workers.

“The shocking thing was that my own government, my own people, detained us for working and helping the ill people and the protesters who were injured. We were all detained even though we have the Geneva Convention and the government has signed a treaty saying that, at any time during war, medics are protected.”

She says that all hospitals in Bahrain have since been militarised.

“Protesters cannot enter because once they do they are detained. People are afraid to go there. Even if you go to the Nursing College, they have soldiers all over it. The Nursing Society, because we are at the premises of the hospital, is occupied by the riot police.”

Despite this level of intimidation and coercion, nurses and doctors continue to fulfill their professional responsibilities.

“People’s homes are being arranged into clinics. We train people to be first aiders then every area self-organises their own clinics. The BNS has trained a thousand people in less than a year to be first aiders.

“We see and we treat different kinds of injuries. Lots are shotgun bird pellets and eye injuries. If you come to Bahrain, you are going to see a lot of people with one eye because the riot police make sure that they hit the eye area.”

AUSTRALIAN NURSES CAN HELP Rula says the fight for the release of health workers continues.

“We have four people who are still detained. We have 28 medics who are still in court. I can’t tell you how much I want these people to be released from prison and for my colleagues to be acquitted.

“If I am innocent then all of us are innocent. We were all together. We are one family.”

Rula says she hopes Australian nurses will stand together with their colleagues in Bahrain.

“I want to tell all the nurses that we are the spinal chord of the health field and the spinal chord, if it gets broken, you are paralysed and this is what’s happening in Bahrain.

“Nurses need to pressure their governments to pressure the government here.

“They need to voice their opinions in every arena they meet.

“It doesn’t matter where you are from, as a nurse, we are the same all over the world and if they have accused, abused and tortured nurses in Bahrain and sentenced them to jail, Bahrain is not that far from Australia or any other part of the world.

We need to stay strong and we need to stand together.”

T H E L A M P A U G U S T 2 01 2 | 2 5

MASTERCHEF

Amina recipe for success It was patience — not patients — that helped RN Amina Elshafei reach the top 12 on the television cooking show MasterChef.

2 6 | T H E L A M P A U G U S T 2 01 2

AMINA ELSHAFEI IS STILL NURSING

her passion for cooking, despite missing out on a top 10 spot in the MasterChef Australia competition.

The humble home cook won the hearts of Australian audiences with her cheerful disposition and culinary skills in combining Mediterranean tastes with Asian flavours.

Now the paediatric nurse is back at work at the Westmead Children’s Hospital, after being knocked out of the contest in a surprise double elimination.

“Since being eliminated I’ve gone back to work but in saying that, I’m probably going to be leaving, so that’s a bit sad,” Amina told The Lamp.

amina’s grilled salmon fillets with pomegranate and parsley salad serves 4

WjX ingredients: 4 salmon fillets skin on, 1 tbsp olive oil, 1 tsp salt, 1/3 tsp cracked black pepper, ½ tsp ground cumin, 2 tbsp lemon juice, ½ tsp sumac, ½ tsp of ground garlic.

Combine all ingredients except for salmon. Mix well. Add salmon fillets and cover with dressing. Leave aside for five minutes. Heat a grill pan till hot, but not smoking. Grease the pan with olive oil. Remove salmon from the marinade, shake lightly to remove excess liquid and place skin side down in the pan. Ensure the pan is on medium to high heat so as to not burn the skin. Leave skin side down till it is crispy (3-5 minutes). Brush the fillet with marinade. Turn fillets to seal and cook a further 3 minutes then remove from the heat. salad ingredients: 2 tbsp pomegranate seeds, 1 cup halved cherry tomatoes, 1 cup coarsely chopped parsley, 1 tbsp finely sliced spring onion, 1 tbsp roasted slivered almonds, 1 tsp sumac, 2 tbsp olive oil, 1/3 tsp salt, 1 tbsp lemon juice.

Mix sumac, olive oil, lemon juice and salt in a salad bowl, then add the rest of the salad ingredients. Serve salmon and salad on the same dish with a wedge of lemon. Can also be served with couscous or long grain rice.

“I love nursing. There’s nothing, there’s not a moment I regret,” the RN explained.

“I’ve enjoyed every single moment, even the bad moments and the unhappy moments, but I think that part of my life is coming to an end and I’m opening a new chapter.”

Millions of people tuned in every week to watch Amina battle it out in the MasterChef kitchens, where she cooked up a storm against hundreds of hopeful contestants to rise to her place in the top 12.

Continued overleaf…

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MASTERCHEF

…from page27

“Being on the show was fabulous,” Amina recalled. “I was just trying to live that dream of doing what you love the most and for me it was the passion of food and trying to explore that passion.”

The RN quickly became a favourite with the show’s fans through her use of cooking techniques drawn from her rich Egyptian and South Korean cultural background.

Even cooking with pork proved to be no problem for the practicing Muslim, who was not fazed in the slightest when faced with the ingredient on the show for the first time during a Mystery Box Challenge.

“I’m cooking pork because it’s a personal challenge for me,” Amina told the [MasterChef] judges during the challenge.

“I’ve put it in my mind that I can’t avoid it.

It’s a part of the competition.

“As a Muslim I don’t eat pork or handle any products derived from the pig. Obviously I’ve never cooked it before, but I’m just going to go by the touch and feel factor, so hopefully that will get me through.”

The 27-year-old found the challenge quite difficult, as she was unable to taste the dish and had to rely on her understanding of cooking with proteins to get through to the next round.

“I’m glad I did it because at least for me, I have some sort of satisfaction that I was able to cook it and the judges enjoyed it,” Amina said. “If anything, I 2 8 | T H E L A M P A U G U S T 2 01 2

“I was just trying to live that dream of doing what you love the most and for me it was the passion of food…” learnt about a cooking approach that I’d never done before.”

The paediatric RN also drew on her nursing skills to edge her way up in the competition, consoling menopausal contestant Debra Sederlans through an emotional crisis during a Pop-up Restaurant Challenge gone wrong.

“That was funny,” Amina recalls cheerfully. “She was having a bit of a hard time and rather than fight fire with more fire, we thought it would be better to give her

a little leeway and talk her through it and it worked really well.”

Amina says there was one key ingredient to her MasterChef achievements, honed from her time as a nurse. Amina chuckled as she revealed to The Lamp that the secret to her success was simply, “patience, patience, patience.

“A lot of it’s about patience, being able to be tolerant of time, being tolerant of people’s ideas and I think another thing I learnt from being on the show were time management skills,” she said.

Since being eliminated from the show, just three weeks before it ended, Amina has being exploring other options available to her within the food industry.

“The next step really is to embrace what comes my way,” Amina said. “Since the elimination there’s been some really fantastic offers and I guess it’s just a matter of seeing what I would love or what I would enjoy the most. Also I’ve got the cooking classes that I’m hosting come September.

“I want to teach people what I love to cook the most at home so that they can share the recipes with their families,” Amina told The Lamp.

The Mediterranean-inspired cooking classes, to be hosted by Amina in Neutral Bay, are a taste of what’s to come from the budding chef, who also dreams of opening a Mezze-style tea room, serving Middle Eastern cuisine, in the near future.

GIVING BLOOD

Nurses boost nation’s blood stocks Nurses along the mid and north coast of New South Wales have banded together to boost blood reserves for the Australian Red Cross.

WITH NATIONAL BLOOD STOCKS AT

dangerously low levels this winter, hundreds of nurses are rolling up their sleeves in a show of support for the Unions for Transfusions campaign.

Blood drives were held in hospitals across Port Macquarie, Kempsey, Coffs Harbour, Grafton, Lismore and Tweed Heads, as part of a statewide campaign to bolster depleted blood reserves.

Organised by the NSWNA, Unions

NSW and the Australian Red Cross Blood Service, the campaign drew a big response at the Port Macquarie Base Hospital, where more than 300 people turned up to a “blood drive barbeque” and as many as 60 nurses pledged to donate blood.

NSWNA branch secretary Lynda Binskin was pleased with the turn out, saying that all the nurses and midwives who took part were “very positive and happy to be involved.

“We ran a sausage sizzle here at the Base and publicised that. The local newspaper supported the initiative and took photos and we got a lot of publicity that way, which was very good,” Lynda told The Lamp. “We had over 60 people commit to donating blood and I was one of them.”

The barbeque and blood drive made such an impression on the Port Macquarie Base Hospital RN, that she made a pledge to give blood, for the very first time.

“I’m embarrassed to say that I’ve never given blood, but I’m happy to now that I’ve made a commitment to do that and I know that quite a few other members did the same,” Lynda told The Lamp.

Since becoming a blood donor and taking part in the campaign, Lynda has begun to see the importance of giving blood and urges other nurses to do the same.

“Just do it,” Lynda said. “You’re doing something for your community and you never know when you or your loved ones are going to need blood.”

Every blood donation helps to save the lives of up to three people, according to the Australian Red Cross, and anyone between the ages of 16 to 70 can become a blood donor if they are in good health.

NSWNA General Secretary Brett Holmes reminded nurses of the importance of giving blood at the launch of the Unions for Transfusions campaign.

“It’s easy and only takes an hour of your time,” Brett said. “It’s important to know that it is not only road trauma victims who require blood. Blood helps cancer patients, people undergoing emergency surgery, burns victims and those on renal dialysis.”

Giving blood takes approximately one hour, with the actual donation time being around 10 to 15 minutes.

To find out more about donating visit www.unionsnsw.org.au/donateblood Left to right: A member of the public, Marilyn Body (nurse), Naomi Warrell (ASU) Clarence Valley Community Unions, Mandy Short (nurse), and Tony King (Police Association) at the Coffs Harbour barbeque.

T H E L A M P A U G U S T 2 01 2 | 2 9

HEALTHY LIVING

Health benefits of carbon price The price on carbon won’t just lead to a healthier environment; it will also bring better health outcomes for all Australians.

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F I O N A A R M S T RO N G ,

convenor of the national coalition of health care organisations, the Climate and Health Alliance, says there will be clear benefits to our climate from the carbon price, even if they are far off in the future.

“The health benefits, however, are available much sooner than that,” she says.

“Health economists have evaluated the health benefits associated with emissions reductions in Europe, China, India and the UK, and the findings suggest improvements for health are available immediately. They can amount to billions of dollars saved annually from avoided ill health, and productivity gains.

“For example, in 2010 it was predicted that cleaner air from an emissions reduction target of 30% by 2020, in the European Union, would deliver savings worth 80 billion euros a year, due to reductions in the incidence of respiratory and cardiovascular diseases associated with air pollution from burning fossil fuels.”

Fiona says better health is the untold “good news story” associated with the start of our national emissions reduction strategy. She says that, contrary to popular myth in Australia, emissions reductions can actually offer a win-win-win for the community. That is, there will be improvements in health and economic savings, as well as a reduction in climate risk.

“Air pollution kills more people in Australia each year than the road toll.” fiona armstrong climate and health alliance.

European and US modelling on the health benefits of emissions reduction suggests that the savings from avoided ill health can substantially offset the costs associated with cutting emissions — and may even exceed them.

“It is clear that moving to cleaner, safer, healthier energy sources will bring significant gains for public health in Australia.

This applies to the transport sector as well as mining, where the air pollution created by the use of fossil fuels is also causing considerable harm.

“A too little-known fact is that air pollution kills more people in Australia each year than the road toll.The combustion of petrol and diesel, causing harmful pollutants such as ground level ozone and carbon monoxide, as well as tiny particulates, which not only cause respiratory disease but also enter the blood stream, causing heart attacks and stroke. But where are our national campaigns for cleaner air?

Fiona says the good news is that, with this first step of setting a carbon price, Australia is moving towards a low carbon future.

“It’s not just about the climate – it’s about us and how we can protect the environment and ourselves by adopting lowcarbon lifestyles, energy options and transport choices. This is an opportunity to achieve better health for ourselves, for the community, by taking advantage of our existing natural advantages of the sun and the wind, and supporting technologies and industries that are clearly in the national interest, not only in the interests of mining shareholders.”

L E S S C A R B O N , B E T T E R H E A LT H According to British medical journal The Lancet “policies that reduce greenhouse emissions often have more immediate and potentially large effects on population health”: • Many measures to reduce greenhousegas emissions in the sectors of household energy, transport, food and agriculture, and electricity generation, have ancillary health benefits that are often substantial.

• The resulting health benefits can help address existing health priorities, such as child mortality from acute respiratory infections, ischaemic heart disease in adults, and other non-communicable diseases.

• Improvement of access to affordable clean energy can contribute to a reduction in the risk of dangerous climate change, while improving health, reducing poverty, and supporting development.

• Specific policies that can reduce greenhouse-gas emissions and result in health benefits include increased active transport (walking and cycling) and generation of electricity from renewable or other low-carbon sources rather than from fossil fuels, particularly coal.

• Health professionals have an important role in the design of a low-carbon economy, motivated by evidence of the projected benefits to public health.

Five myths about the carbon price MYTH 1: The price of groceries will go up 5% under a $26 a tonne carbon tax.

FACT: Food and grocery prices will increase by 0.4% under the federal government’s carbon price.

This is less than 80 cents per week for the average household, which gets $10.10 a week from the Gillard Government to help with increased costs.

MYTH 2: Hospitals around Australia will pay about $100 million a year more under the carbon tax. It will come out of the pockets of patients.

FACT: Where there are increases in public hospital costs due to the carbon price, federal funding arrangements will automatically increase to help these impacts.

MYTH 3: A carbon price will lead to massive increases in power prices.

FACT: The carbon price will increase household electricity prices by $3.30 a week on average, and many households will receive $10.10 a week on average under the government’s household assistance package.

MYTH 4: We won’t be able to get on a bus or a train, ultimately to drive our cars, without being impacted by this tax.

FACT: There will be no carbon price on fuel used by households or light commercial vehicles. Buses using LPG, LNG, CNG or biofuels will not face a carbon price.

MYTH 5: A carbon tax means death to the coal industry.

FACT: The Australian coal mining industry’s output will more than double over the period from 2010 to 2050, according to Treasury modelling. More than $96 million worth of investment in the coal industry is currently in the pipeline.

T H E L A M P A U G U S T 2 01 2 | 3 1

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Narrabri nurses help Filipino hospital

Father Vic Ignacio receives the cheque from NSWNA Narrabri branch secretary Debbie Reid.

From left Jan McKenzie, Father Vic Ignacio, Rotarian Ron McKenzie, Narrabri Health Services Manager Sharon Simpson, Rotarian Phil Norrie and Nurse Manager Michelle Wilkinson.

The NSWNA joined forces with Narrabri nurses and the local community to equip a new hospital in the Philippines.

MUCH-NEEDED HOSPITAL equipment has reached the Isabela Hospital in the Philippines, following an outpouring of community support from the small town of Narrabri, in the North Western Slopes of New South Wales.

More than $7000 worth of equipment, including medical furniture, fixtures and fittings from the old Narrabri Hospital, was recently sent to the Philippines by the local district health service.

Staff at the Narrabri Hospital organised the donation of medical equipment through local priest Father Vic Ignacio, along with church members and members of the Narrabri Rotary Club.

Narrabri District Health Service manager, Sharon Simpson, told The Lamp that coordinating

the donation was a team effort.

“We moved in to the new hospital on the Tuesday and the following Saturday the Rotary came with a working bee and collected [fixtures and fittings from the old hospital] and took it all to the Narrabri Catholic Church Hall and sorted it there,” Sharon explained. “Some of my staff assisted with the loading of the equipment onto the container,” she added.

“Then it was the process of getting it off down to Sydney, then across to the Philippines.”

A ceremony was held at the hospital by the NSWNA Narrabri branch, which donated an additional $1000, as part of its Community Engagement and Support Program, to fund the shipping costs.

NSWNA General Secretary Brett Holmes commended the joint efforts of the Narrabri community, saying it was “a project worth supporting”.

“On behalf of NSWNA members around the state I congratulate the Narrabri community for undertaking this worthwhile venture. I am sure the equipment will do a lot of good,” Brett said.

The donations were received with open arms and much praise by the Filipino hospital staff.

Government health initiatives like Medicare do not exist in the Philippines and the average income is just over AUD$400 a month.

“It was very exciting for them to be receiving equipment,” Sharon told The Lamp.

“They were very grateful to the Nurses’ Association for their donation. It helped to get the equipment on its way, so it wasn’t a cost to the health service over there and it didn’t mean Father Vic being out of pocket either.”

A church service and luncheon was held in Narrabri to thank the health service and other community members for getting involved.

“It was great to be able to help somebody,” Sharon said. “This equipment would’ve just gone to waste really.We didn’t need it, so it was nice to be able to give it to somebody who does.

“We got a nice certificate to say thank-you, that we’ve put in our glass display cabinet out the front, and we’re really appreciative that we could do it.”

T H E L A M P A U G U S T 2 01 2 | 3 3

SOCIAL MEDIA

NURSESONLINE nurses are on the frontline of health care — and at the cutting edge online.

WHAT’S

HOT

Nurse Uncut – a blog for Australian nurses: www.nurseuncut.com.au Sign up for the weekly email newsletter that alerts you to the most recent posts.

Nurse Uncut is also on Facebook: www.facebook.com/NurseUncutAustralia. And on Twitter @nurseuncut

THIS MONTH

My experience volunteering on a surgical ship in Africa www.nurseuncut.com.au/my-experience-volunteering-on-a-surgical-ship-in-africa/

Kerry Warner RN shares the story of her two-month stay working on board the hospital ship Africa Mercy.

Emily: injured while doing her job www.nurseuncut.com.au/emily-injured-while-doing-her-job/

Nurse Emily Orchard spoke to the crowd protesting cuts to the workers’ compensation scheme outside Parliament House on June 13. The video of Emily attracted many visitors to the blog.

Aged care nurses – a picnic and an offer www.nurseuncut.com.au/aged-care-nurses-a-picnic-and-an-offer/

Another popular video covers the aged care nurses picnic in Hyde Park on a rare sunny day. Were you there?

Bill Nighy and the nurses www.nurseuncut.com.au/robin-hood-and-the-nurses/

What do performer Bill Nighy and the NSW Nurses’ Association have in common? We both support a financial transactions tax (FTT). In the lead-up to World Public Services Day on June 23, the FTT was in our spotlight.

Mentors and volunteers needed www.nurseuncut.com.au/mentors-and-volunteers-needed/

The call went out to Sydney University nursing alumni to mentor new graduates, while the Health Promotion Service for Older People was looking for volunteers.

A virtual nursing museum www.nurseuncut.com.au/a-virtual-nursing-museum/

Victoria’s Royal District Nursing Service now has its own online historical museum.

A fascinating look at the changing role of Australian community nurses across more than a century – well worth a look.

ONLINE Join us

New South Wales Nurses’ Association www.facebook.com/nswnursesassoc Aged Care Nurses: Time to Act for Better Pay www.facebook.com/timetoact4betterpay One2four the way to safe patient care www.facebook.com/safepatientcare

@nurseuncut

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Tweet us NSW Nurses @nswnurses Watch us on YouTube NSW Nurses

SOCIAL MEDIA

WHAT

NURSES

“Well done to all who attended on the behalf of those who were working. THANKS very much for all YOUR EFFORTS! YOU have MY FULL SUPPORT!”

SAID & LIKED on facebook

“Amazing ... a credit to all those involved in this unique presentation, congratulations.”

Nurses at the rally against cuts to workers’ compensation We posted photos of the very wet rally.

From Narrabri with love

“Thank you NSWNA Father Vic Ignazio received a cheque for Narrabri Branch $1000 from the NSWNA Narrabri Branch for helping the to assist with transporting medical hospital in the equipment to the Philippines.

Philippines!

“Am Proud to be A virtual nursing museum Filipino-born Australian!”

Australian.

Thanks for your help!”

“Most nurses/ “I manage on average one lot midwives are so out of four school holidays off busy juggling a year. The rest I’m relying on during school my husband being flexible with holidays we his work hours, friends and, Aged care nurses don’t have time occasionally, family day care.” to comment!!”

Some members use Facebook to ask questions ...

How do working nurse parents manage the school holidays?

“Can the expanded EN structure - Enrolled “Hi, I received an email to ask me attend a meeting Nurse Specialist to vote on the next stage classification be of the campaign, what explained to me?” does this mean?”

North Coast blood drive – Unions for Transfusions We published photos from the Unions for Transfusions visit to Coffs Harbour, Port Macquarie, Grafton, Lismore and Tweed Heads

… and we always provide answers.

“We hope lots of people turn up to support your great initiative!”

“Flaring the barbie ... a worthwhile cause!”

From left to right: Tony King (Police Association), Naomi Warrell (ASU) , a member of the public, Lynne Ridge (NSWNA), and Mary Yaager, Unions NSW.

Grafton Our organiser sent photos from her phone of a protest against job cuts (including nurses) at Grafton Jail

“So much for not cutting nursing jobs!

This state government is a joke!”

Changes to workers’ compensation were a hot topic on our Twitter site

“Our local member is a joke, ex-nurse and has no understanding of the difficulties we will face as a result of her actions!”

T H E L A M P A U G U S T 2 01 2 | 3 5

OPEN YOUR WORLD TO NURSING OPEN DAY SYDNEY NURSING SCHOOL 25 AUGUST 2012, 9.30AM–4PM

When you make the decision to become a nurse you are making the first step into the wonderful, varied and rewarding world of health care.

At Open Day you’ll discover a world where where you can make a real difference to people’s lives.

Learn about Sydney Nursing School’s new Bachelor of Nursing (Advanced Studies), combined degrees and Master of Nursing graduate entry program. Meet our academic staff, current students and graduate registered nurses. Explore our state-of-the-art clinical simulation facilities and have fun with a free health check.

sydney.edu.au/nursing

CRICOS 00026A

For more information, head to

NURSING RESEARCH ONLINE

On Line Opinion (www.onlineopinion.com.au) is a not-for-profit e-journal edited by Graham Young, a former vice-president and campaign chairman of the Queensland Liberal Party. The e-journal “aims to provide a forum for public social and political debate about current Australian issues”. Articles are gathered from a variety of independent sources. Two recent posts may be of interest to nurses and midwives in New South Wales and beyond.

Fat grab misses out on tick of approval The following was posted by Lydia Turner, co-founder of Endangered Bodies Australia, a non-profit organisation dedicated to “challenging visual culture and the harmful multi-billion dollar diet industry” on Friday, 6 July 2012.

“Last week the WA state government, the Heart Foundation and the Cancer Council launched a series of anti-obesity ads in the state of WA. The ads employ scare tactics in a bid to pressure viewers into adopting a slimmer waistline. Using graphic imagery designed to provoke disgust towards fat while labelling fat ‘toxic’, the ads inform viewers that ‘a grabbable gut on the outside is a sure sign there’s toxic fat on the inside’.

As an eating disorders clinician I was surprised to see such an irresponsible and harmful public health campaign. The campaign was started because previous anti-obesity campaigns have not led to desired outcomes. Nearly 50 years of research has demonstrated that approximately 95-98% of the population regains the weight lost, after two to five years. Perhaps someone thought shouting louder was a good solution.

Yet previous research has demonstrated that harm can arise from anti-obesity campaigns, especially when young people are exposed. Unlike tobacco or alcohol, which one can abstain from, food and weight issues are far more complex. Unintended consequences of slimming include binge eating, weight cycling, food and body preoccupation, reduced self-esteem, eating disorders and higher than pre-dieting starting weight.” www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=13830

The missing element of the health equation Kay Stroud, media spokesperson for Christian Science in Queensland, posted the following on Monday, 25 June 2012.

“Who makes the health science laws of the day?

Medics? Researchers? Drug companies?

Nobel Prize-winning astrophysicist Brian Schmidt stated on Q&A last week, science is about ‘testing theories’ that when proven lead to reliable knowledge. Scientific theories that become laws have a constant, consistent outcome when tested.

Medical researchers will agree that the health sciences are often unsure what causes disease or the best ways to treat it. There is a fairly universally held belief that certain drugs and treatments provide beneficial effects for specific diseases. However, double blind studies often prove inconclusive and other studies show that the placebo effect is the only reliable effect. Considering that a drug needs to be only 15% effective to be approved for use in many countries, there’s a very strong case for concluding that drug-effectiveness is often random and not governed by a law at all.”

Other stories and reports of interest to nurses and midwives this month.

Health Access and Equity: a Discussion Paper for Medicare Locals

Overtested, overtreated and over here – the principles behind an American campaign to reduce unnecessary and often expensive medical interventions, are gaining support in Australia

Public Health Association of Australia, 2012

Melissa Sweet, Inside Story, 4 June 2012

This discussion paper, produced by the Australian General Practice Network, University of NSW and General Practice NSW, provides practical advice on how Medicare Locals can make issues of access and equity part of their day-to-day business. The major focus is on action to improve access to Primary Health Care services and programs in a fair and equitable way.

On a wet, miserable evening in Sydney not so long ago, a panel of academics came together to discuss the future of health care. As part of their preparation for the event, they and others had been asked to nominate their favourite metaphors for the challenges ahead. An assortment of powerful images was put forward – from boiling frogs to tsunamis to the doomedTitanic. A clear theme was a sense of hopelessness in the face of fragmented and dysfunctional systems, overwhelming demands and ever-escalating costs.

But a campaign recently launched in the United States suggests an alternative to these dismal pictures. It may well prove to be a landmark in efforts to steer healthcare onto a more sustainable footing by focusing on quality care and improved health, rather than throughput. The campaign is significant because it is not the work of bean counters, but of a coalition of medical and consumer groups.

www.phaa.net.au/documents/120625%20rep_ Final-Access-and-Equity-Discussion-Paper-forMedicare-Locals.pdf

Australia’s Health 2012: in brief Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW)

Australia’s Health 2012 is the 13th biennial health report of the AIHW. It is the most comprehensive and authoritative source of national information on health in Australia. Australia’s Health 2012: in brief presents highlights from this report. www.aihw.gov.au/publicationdetail/?id=10737422176

www.inside.org.au/overtested-overtreated-andover-here/ Inside Story is edited at the Faculty of Life and Social Sciences, Swinburne University of Technology.

www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=13778 T H E L A M P A U G U S T 2 01 2 | 3 7

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21. Yellow scleroprotein, the essential constituent of elastic connective tissue 22. Region, space 24. Inflammation of the ear 27. Equipment 28. Nerve fibre 30. Computerised tomography (1.1) 31. Chemical symbol for cobalt (1.1) 33. Silicon

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PS SCHOLARSHIIP

RCNA R CNA ARCHI

fr eecall 1800 117 262 freecall scholarships@r cna.org.au scholarships@rcna.org.au w ww.rcna.org.au www.rcna.org.au

Get a an n application ap p ation from: pplica frro om: www.rcna.org.au w ww.rcna.org.au | freecall freecall 1800 1800 117 117 262 262 Nursing Health Nursing aand nd Allied Allied H ealth SScholarship cholarship aand nd SSupport upport SScheme cheme overnment.

(NAHSSS) Government.

(NAHSSS) is is funded funded by by the the Australian Australian G eak p rofessional n ursing o rganisation, RCNA, peak professional nursing organisation, RCNA, Australia’s Australia’s p iiss p roud tto op artner tthe he A ustralian G overnment aass tthe he proud partner Australian Government ffund und administrator administrator for for this this program. program.

Australian Resource Centre for Healthcare Innovations

ARCHI is a free, national knowledge sharing and networking service for health professionals, supporting clinical practice improvement and innovation. ARCHI promotes discussion, sharing tools and resources as well as connecting health professionals across the country.

What’s new on ARCHI? First Case on Time Theatre Starts – aims to improve operating theatre efďŹ ciency by ensuring that patients receive quality care at the appropriate time.

Visit the ARCHI website today at

www.archi.net.au

Osteoporosis Model of Care – a multidisciplinary team-based model, creates efďŹ ciencies in detecting and managing osteoporosis with improved patient outcomes.

T H E L A M P A U G U S T 2 01 2 | 3 9

Come out in for force rcce in these t e new scr scrubs! ubs!

The new scrub crub campaign uniforms for NSWNA members are here e and nd it is time to scrub up! The purpose of having a campaign unif uniform is to show a united front front during rally and conference ence times and this new campaign uniform range has e tim been designed ned to do just that. e would like to welcome Total Image Group as the new campaign uniform supplier. w Over the past few months, NSWNA and Total Image Group have been working ew m ate a new fit for purpose scrubs range. The new campaign uniform range endorsess a m modern appearance and offers both comfort and durable features, while still embracing racin NSWNA image.

Pant. Both made from The new rangee consists con of a Unisex Scrub Top o and Unisex Classic C 35% cotton. This fabric blend is durable and of superior quality. The scrub campaign uniform orm also a has number of functional features, including jet pockets, pen wstrinng front on pants and brushed fabric coatting t for added comfort.

CAM NEW PAI SCR GN UB De sig UN S ned IFO by RM

THE SIZE The size range is from XS-5XL. This is to ensure various body shapes and sizes are catered and, most importantly, the range has been designed to ensure nsur a comfortable fit every time. Please see size chart on the bottom.

ORD ORDERING The scrub crub top and pant are $20 incl GST each. Yoou can place your order by owing methods: s Shop Shop online nlin , by registering as a user on www.totalimagegrouponline.com/ www.totalimagegrouponline.com/ nswnursess on our tailored NSWNA online store. s Browse Browse through roug the customised catalogue, complete the order form and send mage by: email sales@totalimagegroup.com.au sales@totalimagegroup.com.au 9569 62000 or post PO Box 199, W Westgate estgate NSW 2048

PAYMENT s Credit

card:: Tot otal o Image prefers and accepts Visa, MasterCard, and AMEX. (3.5% Surcharge harge on AMEX). order: Please make cheques out to ‘Total Image Group’. Note: s Cheque/Money Cheque/Money oney order: your order will nnot be processed until cheque/money order has been received by ge and cheques have been cleared.

DELIVERY Australia stral post, please allow 10-14 working days. Deliveries will be made ted ed aaddress on order and charged at $5 incl GST.

QUESTIONS? NS?

SCRUB SCR UB P PANTS ANTS A

SCRUB SCR UB TOP

y que questions on the new range or would like more information please mage on (02) 9569 6233 or email customer service on uniforms@ gegroup.com.au up.co

Size (cm)

XS

S

M

L

XL

2XL

3XL

4XL

5XL

Half Chest Circumference

53

56

59

62

66

69

73

77

81

Half Hem Circumference

54

57

60

63

67

70

74

78

82

General Guide for Female

8/10

10/12

12/14

14/16

16/18

18/20

20/22

22/24

24/26

Half Waist (Relaxed)

29

33

37

40.5

43.5

46.5

50.5

54.5

58.5

Half Waist (Stretched)

47

51

55

58.5

61.5

64.5

68.5

72.5

76.5

Half Hip

55

59

63

66

69

72

76

80

84

Out Seam Length

103

105

107

109

111

112

113

114

115

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T H E L A M P A U G U S T 2 01 2 | 4 1

These people are caring, compassionate and leaders in their field.

Do you know them?

2012 Leadership in Nursing and Midwifery Awards PRESENTED BY – DEAKIN UNIVERSITY AND HEALTH SUPER

Enter or nominate now at healthsuper.com.au/nursingawards Applications close on Friday 7 September 2012

$20,000 MAJOR PRIZE

$6,000 PRIZES AWARDED TO 2 FINALISTS

Health Super is a division of the First State Superannuation Scheme ABN 53 226 460 365 of which FSS Trustee Corporation ABN 11 118 202 672 AFSL 293340 is the Trustee

BOOKS

BOOK ME Australia and New Zealand Nursing and Midwifery Drug Handbook (6th ed.)

Fundamentals of Nursing: Clinical Skills Workbook

Lisa McKenna and Sanja Mirkov, Lippincott Williams and Wilkins

Geraldine Rebeiro, Leanne Jack and Natashia Scully, Mosby Elsevier (available through Elsevier Australia)

RRP $71.50 j ISBN 9781920994389 j www.lww.com

RRP $65.00 j ISBN 9780729541398 j www.elsevier.com.au

This updated edition of the Australia and New Zealand Nursing and Midwifery Drug Handbook provides information for safe and effective drug administration and comes complete with nursing considerations, drug interactions and adverse reactions, making searching for Australian and New Zealand drugs easier and quicker.

Edited by Mairead Hickey and Phyllis Beck Kritek, Springer Publishing Company

Fundamentals of Nursing: Clinical Skills Workbook supports Potter & Perry’s Fundamentals of Nursing 3E in 2012 by providing a separate clinical skills workbook. The workbook features the nursing skills from the text, accompanied by an overview at the beginning of each skill set, and supported by clinical skill competency checklists aligned to the National Competency Standards for the Registered Nurse. The Bondy Rating Scale has been incorporated to provide clearly defined levels of competency, and an opportunity for reflection is included at the end of each skill to encourage meaningful learning. A suite of clinical skills videos are available online to support the workbook. Ideal for viewing in class, the videos also provide students with valuable tools for revision prior to assessment.

RRP $65.00 j ISBN 9780801448942 j springerpub.com

Breaking Free from Persistent Fatigue

Change Leadership in Nursing: How Change Occurs in a Complex Hospital System

This book tells the compelling story of institute-wide nursing practice today, and how the opportunity for major change was embraced and successfully accomplished. Told from the perspective of 90 administrative and staff nurses from the Brigham and Women’s Hospital, it serves as a model for change in similar institutions everywhere.

SPECIAL INTEREST Managing Depression Growing Older: A Guide for Professionals and Carers.

Kerrie Eyers, Gordon Parker and Henry Brodaty, Allen and Unwin (available from Black Dog Institute)

RRP $27.99 j ISBN 9781742378800 j www.blackdoginstitute.org.au Depression can strike at any age. While older people face the same kinds of mental health issues as younger people, they can find it more difficult to deal with them owing to the stressors that accumulate with age. There is also a high incidence of undiagnosed depression in older age, presenting extra challenges for carers.

Managing Depression Growing Older offers a systematic guide to identifying depression in older people, supporting them at home or in an aged care setting, and the importance of diet, exercise and attitude in recovery. It is essential reading for anyone who works with the elderly.

Lucie Monpetit, Singing Dragon (available from Footprint Books)

RRP $32.95 j ISBN 9781848191013 j footprint.com.au Breaking Free from Persistent Fatigue explains the bodymind balance and how it can be destabilised resulting in fatigue. The pressure for increased productivity, less than ideal diet, constant technological changes, environmental pollution and unrealistic self-expectations, mean that a growing number of people are suffering from debilitating and persistent fatigue. The book has been written by a healthcare professional who has been through the chronic fatigue journey herself.

Veiled Lives: Threading Australian Nursing History into the Fabric of the First World War. Ruth Rae, The College of Nursing

RRP $44.00 j ISBN 9781921375446 j www.nursing.edu.au/Publications/ Often the history of the First World War is defined in terms of soldiers and battles. In fact, many threads created the tapestry of the most brutal global war of the twentieth century. Among the threads that have faded, been lost or removed over time, are the histories of civiliantrained nurses who left Australia’s hospitals for overseas war service.

This book restores missing parts of the tapestry, and affirms that the history of Australian nurses who served in the 1914-1918 conflict, was more than an echo of the thunderous history of the war itself.

Veiled Lives is a social history of Australia as much as it is a social history of the Australian women who became qualified nurses and served in the First World War. It explores in detail the early lives, civilian nurse training, military nursing experiences and premature deaths of Australian nurses who endured the horrors of the 1914-1918 war.

All books can be ordered through the publisher or your local bookshop. NSWNA members can borrow the books featured here, and many more, from our records and information centre (RIC).

Contact Jeannette Bromfield gensec@nswnurses.asn.au or Cathy Matias 8595 2121 cmatias@nswnurses.asn.au. All reviews by NSWNA RIC coordinator Jeannette Bromfield. Some books are reviewed using information supplied and have not been independently reviewed.

T H E L A M P A U G U S T 2 01 2 | 4 3

his win t y s o NA me te c t NSW rcha r e nd G in is

e

New ayered Ve ests

New

$40 40

Navy Bonded Polar Fleece Vests

$25

in S, M, L, nd XXXL

New

available in S, M, L, XL, XXL and XXXL

Red Heron Jackets – also available in Navy

$40

available in S, M, L, XL (Red) and M, L, XL, XXXL (Navy)

T The he lat latest est NSWNA merchandise is not only stylish and comfor comfortable, table, it is affordable and sold at cost to members.

Bonded Polar Fleece Zip Front Jackets

TTo o order, orderr, fax the order o form to Glen Ginty Ginty, y, (02) 9662 1 1414 414 or post to: N NSWNA, SWNA, Ave NA, 50 O’Dea A v ve NSW NSW 2017.

2017.

$30

available in S, M, L, XL, XXL and XXXL

ORDER FORM

www w..nswnurses.asn.au Merchandise order forms also available on www.nswnurses.asn.au

Navy Bonded Polar Fleece Vests $25.. Quantity: Size: S M L XL XXL XXXL Red Heron Jackets $40. Quantity: Size: S M L XL

Address Postcod Postcode Phone (h)

Navy Heron Jackets $40.. Quantity: Size: M L XL XXXL Navy Layered Vests $40. Quantity: Size: S M L XL XXL

Name

(w)

Method of payment

XXXL

Bonded Polar Fleece Zip Front Jacket $30.. Quantity: Size: S M L XL XXL XXXL Total o cost of or der $ Please include postage and handling of $5 per order.

(mob) Cheque Bankcard

Name of card holder Card number

Expir y date

/

Signature

Mastercard Money Order

Visa

T H E L A M P A U G U S T 2 01 2 | 4 5

HIP members beneďŹ t from great insurance

HIP works hard to offer members better income protection and death cover.

Improved policy beneďŹ ts include: • increased death cover up to a total of $618,240* without the need to supply a medical report • a 20% increase in the beneďŹ t of each unit of death cover

HIP is a national industry superannuation fund for health and associated industries, offering low fees, no commissions, great insurance, super pensions, plus much more – run for the beneďŹ t of members.

• $6,000** per month of income protection for four units of cover.

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This information from Health Industry Plan contains general advice only. It is not speciďŹ c to your personal ďŹ nancial situation, objectives or needs. Get the facts (including a Product Disclosure Statement) from www.hipsuper.com.au or talk to a ďŹ nancial advisor before making any super decisions. The Trustee of HIP ABN 50 030 598 247 is Private Hospitals Superannuation Pty Ltd ABN 59 006 792 749, AFSL 247063.* This calculation is based on members aged between 16-36 at four units of cover, and only if members apply for an additional three units of cover within 60 days of joining the Fund. Insurance beneďŹ t is reduced each subsequent year. Please refer to the HIP Insurance Booklet or PDS for full details. ** Subject to a maximum monthly beneďŹ t of 75% of the member’s monthly income. Please refer to the HIP Insurance Booklet or PDS for full details.

MOVIES

movie of the month

THE SAPPHIRES Foot-tapping soul music, fabulous frocks and an emotional punch: don’t miss this film, writes Anni Cameron.

The scene is 1968 with the war in Vietnam raging, the heady days of “free love”, drugs, hippies and psychedelic music happening amid a groundswell of global protests, riots and revolution. In Australia, this social upheaval hasn’t quite reached remote areas. But it provides the backdrop for this feel good tale of four young women from a remote Aboriginal mission who, faced with the deep racism of the time, overcame all obstacles to be catapulted onto the international scene as Australia’s answer to the Supremes.

The Sapphires is an adaptation of the successful stage musical of the same name and was co-written by Tony Briggs, the son of one of the four women who inspired the story. Wayne Blair directed this delightful, triumphant celebration of guts, family and soul music, which received a 10-minute standing ovation at the Cannes Film Festival.

Three sisters’ dream of making it singing country and western songs. They compete in a talent quest in the local town, where they are studiously ignored by locals but spotted by a down-on his luck Irish musician played by Chris O’Dowd; a white boy with “soul” in his heart. His job at the pub is terminated when he voices approval for the girls’ singing. Julie,

the cheeky youngest of the women, played by Jessica Mauboy, hassles Dave into getting them an audition in Melbourne to perform for American Marines in Vietnam. Dave’s proviso that they embrace soul music provides the perfect vehicle for Mauboy’s gutsy, powerful voice.

In Melbourne, the two older sisters, Gail (Deborah Mailman) and Cynthia (Miranda Tapsell) seek out their cousin Kay (Shari Sebbens), a member of the Stolen Generation, as a possible replacement for Julie who has been forbidden by her parents to go.

It is immediately apparent that there is feuding between Gail and Kay as the trio rehearse under Dave’s direction. When Julie runs away from the mission to rejoin her sisters, Dave has the fourpiece girl-group he wanted: The Sapphires.

Mailman and Mauboy deliver powerful, 60s foottapping soul music, ably backed by Sebbens and Tapsell in their colourful and eye-catching outfits.

Occasionally the film tries too hard and at times the roles seem clichéd, but the girls shine like bright jewels and the notion of four Aboriginal girls stylishly triumphing over adversity packs a genuine emotional punch. Not to be missed.

Anni Cameron, RN, BHA, MEd, is a Teacher of Nursing at St George TAFE, Sydney Institute, NSW IN CINEMAS 9 AUGUST

ciné files Director of photography Warwick Thornton won the Caméra d’Or at the 2009 Cannes International Film Festival for his directorial debut film Samson & Delilah.

MEMBERS GIVEAWAY the lamp has 15 in-season double passes to give away to The Sapphires, thanks to hopscotch films. the first 15 members to email their name, membership number, address and telephone number to lamp@nswnurses.asn.au will win.

T H E L A M P A U G U S T 2 01 2 | 4 7

OBITUARY

Anne Gilbey 17 MARCH 1959 — 2 JULY 2012

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ANNE GILBEY RN PASSED AWAY

unexpectedly on 2 July 2012. She began nursing in 1977 at the Royal Brisbane Hospital and had been a member of the Coffs Harbour Health Campus (CHHC) surgical ward community since 1997.

Anne had many passions, including orthopaedic nursing, horses and all animals in general.

Monday and Tuesday were her regular rostered days off. Her routine on Monday began with a 10km jog with one of her dogs (even in the pouring rain; she was known not to wear any rain gear while jogging, but the dog did!), then off to Baringa Private hospital for the Monday morning trauma meeting in her own time with the orthopaedic team. This was followed by volunteer work at the RSPCA, followed by volunteer time in fracture clinic in the afternoon (because she had a passion to learn how to plaster, suture and learn) before going home to look after her animals. When her children were at school, Anne also volunteered in the school canteen.

4 8 | T H E L A M P A U G U S T 2 01 2

Anne had a graduate certificate in orthopaedic nursing, a graduate certificate in acute care nursing and a graduate diploma in health science/orthopaedic nursing.

Anne missed out on a CNS2 position in orthopaedics (it was never offered at our hospital) so for a week she was in despair. Then she thought “stuff it – I’ll do my nurse practitioner”. Her nurse practitioner and master’s notes were plastered all over her bathroom. She would have completed it by the end of the year.

Anne was the chief organiser of our first, very successful, orthopaedic education night, and it was one of her dreams to hold a full orthopaedic conference at one of the local resorts.

Anne was a very active participant in the Coffs Harbour equestrian club and was active in Parelli horsemanship activities. If she had no time in the day to ride her horses she had been known to get out the saddle blanket and just sit on one of her “babies”.

She loved camping in the beautiful national parks surrounding Coffs Harbour and once brought an injured Tawny Frogmouth bird to work on night-duty, to nurture it overnight in our tutorial room, before delivering it to WIRES the next day.

She spent most of her income on vet bills, taking in strays and other people’s horses that needed nursing back to health.

During her adult life she had been active in the surf club, the SES and the Army Reserves. If there was an activity out there, Anne was going to give it a go. She was a karate black belt, an avid lover of the bush and the beach; a true outdoor girl.

She lost her first baby at term and would support anyone else in the same situation, bringing in books and support information, to help them cope with their grief.

Anne was a terrible patient. Once, a horse bucked her and she was a patient on our ward for some weeks.

The trick was to try and keep her on bed rest; a task most of us failed at.

The student nurses loved being with her and she had a great working relationship with the physiotherapists on our ward (who are also a big part of our ward family). Anne frequently gave staff in-services as well.

Anne was a long time NSWNA member and was thrilled that “scrubs” were finally going to be our NSW Health uniform.

Anne had a zest for life few could match. Her husband Mark said she was “like margarine – she spread herself thin”. Anne loved being a mum. She loved to socialise with her group of friends and she was a big part of the Orara community.

On the day of her memorial gathering we celebrated her life at her beautiful farm.The day was happy and sad. All the groups that Anne was a part of helped to cater. The dogs and horses were all there. Prayer flags adorned the driveway. You just felt Anne’s presence all around on that day.

She was a Buddhist and quietly went about doing good things for “all creatures great and small” in her life.

Anne leaves behind a husband, Mark, and two sons, Jack and Sam, and a big hole in the heart of her family, her friends and her colleagues. She will be sadly missed.

Mandy Short RN, surgical ward CHHC

S P I IP H S R A L O H C S G N IN I S R U N E R AGED CA

DEVELOP DEVELOP AND AND SHAPE SHAPE YOUR YOUR AGED AGED CARE CARE CAREER C AREER AGED CARE NURSING SCHOLARSHIPS ARE AVAILABLE FOR AC TIVITIES AND COURSES IN THE FOLLOWING AREAS: U UNDERGRADUATE NDERGRADUATE

DEVELOPMENT C CONTINUING ONTINUING P PROFESSIONAL ROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

For those with a demonstrated commitment to aged care

For registered and enrolled nurses working in aged care wishing to attend a short course, workshop or confe erence relating to the care of older people.

wanting to become a registered nurse.

P POSTGRADUATE OSTGRADUATE

For registered nurses working in aged care wishing to further their studies.

NURSE NURSE REďšşENTRY R E ďšş E N T RY

For fo ormerly registered or enrolled nurses whose registration has lapsed wishing to re-enter the nursing proffe ession with a fo ocus on aged a care.

N NURSE URSE P PRACTITIONER RAC TITIONER

For registered nurses working in aged care wishing to undertake studies leading to endorsement as a nurse practitioner.

F For or more more information infforma o tion on eligibility eligibility or ho how w tto o apply ffor o or a scholarship: scholars

RCNA R CNA

fr eecall 1800 11 66 96 freecall scholarships@r cna.org.au scholarships@rcna.org.au w ww.rcna.org.au www.rcna.org.au

FAIRMONT RESORT MGALLERY, BLUE MOUNTAINS

APPLY FOR A SCHOLARSHIP TODAY Aged Aged C Care arre Nursing Nurs SScholarships cholarships ((ACNS) ACNS) ar are re funded b th A ustralian G overnment. byy the Australian Government.

RCNA, Australia’s Austrra alia’s p eak professional professional nursing nursing or rganisation, g RCNA, peak organisation, is proud prro oud to to par tner the D epartment of Health and A geing partner Department Ageing as the fund administr ministrra ator for this pr ogrram. a administrator program.

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THE LAMP Contact Patricia Purcell on 02 8595 2139 or 0416 259 845 or email ppurcell@nswnurses.asn.au for more information.

C CPD PD Pr Programs ogr grrams a

DIARY DATES

conferences, seminars, meetings Bones on the Beach Orthopaedic Conference 13 October 2012 Wollongong Karin Tarne (02) 4222 5811 karin.tarne@sesiahs.health.nsw.gov.au National Spina Bifida Conference 19-20 October 2012 Sydney Olympic Park Julie Dicker 9845 2802 Julie.dicker@health.nsw.gov.au www.nswspinabifidacollab.org.au Australasian Society for Ultrasound in Medicine 42nd Annual Scientific Meeting 26-28 October 2012 Sydney 03 9645 6311 congress@asum.com.au www.asumcongress.com.au/ It’s a Knock Out! Anaesthetic Cocktails and PACU Pick-me-ups 27 October Terrigal Teresa Farrell 4389 9419 farrellt@ramsayhealth.com.au Nicole Field 4389 9449 Enhancing Practice 2012 31 October – 2 November 2012 Sydney www.enhancingpractice12.com.au

SYDNEY, HUNTER & ILLAWARRA Improve your bottom line Best practice continence management and falls prevention 3 August 2012, Sydney St George Leagues Club, Kogarah Marilyn Woodcock (02) 87415699 cfansw@optusnet.com.au Whitlam Orthopaedic Research Centre Symposium 10 August 2012 Liverpool Hospital maria.lingam@sswahs.nsw.gov.au Lynette McEvoy 02 8738 3886 lynette.mcevoy@sswahs.nsw.gov.au NSW GENCA Conference – Gastroenterological Nurses 18 August 2012 Sydney 1300 788 155 www.Genca.org 21st Annual Spinal Injury Conference www.sina.org.au 23-24 August 2012 Sydney jhebblewhite@bigpond.com sina.org.au Day Surgery Nurses’ Association Conference: Embracing Change 25 August 2012 Sydney DSNA Secretariat 9799 1632 nswadmin@adsna.info Pathways to a Consumer Focused Organisation 30 August, 2012, Sydney Change Champions (02) 9692 0533 info@changechampions.com.au www.changechampions.com.au Annual Enrolled Nurse Conference 20-21 September 2012 Sydney ENPA members $220, non-members $250 1300 554 249 rjroseby@gmail.com Australasian College for Infection Prevention and Control Conference 2012 8-11 October 2012 Sydney Exhibition and Conference Centre

REGIONAL 12th Rural Critical Care Conference 24-25 August 2012 Dubbo info@eastcoastconferences.com.au www.ruralcriticalcare.asn.au Australian Women’s Health Nurses’ Association Annual Professional Update 27-28 August 2012 Canberra Sue Green (02) 6298 9233 Sue.green@gsahs.health.nsw.gov.au Gundagai District Hospital Dinner Dance 27 September 2012 Gundagai Farewell Gundagai District Hospital and welcome new Gundagai Multi Purpose Service.

30 September 2012 Brunch and Hospital Tours Gundagai Health Service 02 6944 1022 gundagai.hospitalgsahs.health.nsw.gov.au

Crossword solution K I N E T O G E N I C

A O P I T I O C N E R U R I A T I G E S E A C R E T

L I D R I O O P H A R E I N I A C T A X O I N

N O V F I F H E R B O U G S R O T T I T I O S

S I S I A X A A M C A T I O N R T G H R O L E C D E M N E S S F I M C O T O M A L T A T S S M O U V O O N A L A C R A D C O P Y

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INTERSTATE & OVERSEAS Mental Health Services 22nd Annual Conference: Recovering Citizenship 21-24 August 2012 Cairns Tel (02) 9810 8700 Fax (02) 9810 8733 info@themhs.org www.themhs.org Future Health Leaders Conference Adelaide Convention Centre 1-2 September 2012 conference@futurehealthleaders.org.au futurehealthleaders.org.au/conference Union of Risk Management for Preventive Medicine (URMPM) World Congress 2012 8-9 September 2012 London head.office@urmpm.com www.urmpm.org/UWC2012/ 3rd International Conference on Violence in the Health Sector October 2012 Vancouver Canada www.oudconsultancy.nl/MAILING/ vancouver/ 4th Australian Rural and Remote Mental Health Symposium 19-21 November, 2012 Adelaide (61 7) 5502 2068 http://anzmh.asn.au/rrmh; Hospital in the Home Society of Australasia 5th Annual Scientific Conference 2012 22-23 November 2012 Melbourne Megan.Chinzani@ashm.org.au 0458 291 166 www.hithsociety.org.au/conference

REUNIONS Sydney Hospital Graduate Nurses’ Assoc.

50th Anniversary Reunion Lunch 3 October Sydney Jeanette Fox 02 4751 4829 bekysa@tpg.com.au RAHC March 1973 PTS reunion 17 March 2013 Bronwyn Exley bronwyn.exley@bigpond.com Jenny Elliott jenelliot@bigpond.com Sherran Alexander (Peck) sherran.j.alexander@gmail.com

NOTICES

I A L B A U M M I N C U R E I L A A S S T I U N

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Nurses: from Zululand to Afghanistan exhibition Australian War Memorial, Canberra Until 17 October, free www.awm.gov.au

T

NSWNA Events

C

EDUCATION DATES

A R E A S I

Check venue location with Lyn Stevens 02 8595 1234 Free call 1300 367 962.

For more information on NSWNA Education Courses, contact Carolyn Kulling (02) 8595 1234 Free call 1300 367 962 www.nswnurses.asn.au/topics/2761.html

diary dates is a free service.

Please send details of your event by the 5th of each month, in the format used here – event, date, contact details, website if applicable.

Email: lamp@nswnurses.asn.au Fax: 9550 3667 Post: 50 O’Dea Ave, Waterloo NSW 2017

ffor or NSW NSW Nurses Sept September ember 2012 2012 Aged A g ged Car Care re a and nd tthe he La Law w 3 - 4 Sep

10.5 10.5 CPD

11289 289 *

Come along to this interactive pr ogram wher e program where you can engage in a lively discussion about curr ent current aspects of the law

car e. care.

Practical Pr ra actical Palliative Palliative Car Care re 110 0 - 1111 Sep

10.5 10 .5 CPD

11102 102 *

A popular pr program ogram designed to enhance your knowledge and skills rrelating elating to a palliative approach approach to car e. This is a care. small gr oup lear ning experience. group learning

Trauma T ra auma and and Emergency Emergency Nursing Skills Skills 13 - 14 Sep

10.5 CPD 10.5

1084 1084 *

This is a highly evaluated two -day two-day e you will develop your seminar wher where trauma nursing knowledge and skills.

Not to be missed!

Advanced A d dvanced Clinical Clinical Assessment Skills Nursing As sessment Ski lls 10.5 10 .5 CPD 11268 268 * 117 7 - 18 18 Sep Sep This inter interesting esting pr program ogram uses two complex case scenarios to develop a nursing assessment challenge.

Endocrinology and nd Endocrinology a Renal Renal Nursing 20 - 2 211 Sep

12 12 CPD

1361 1361

*

program that looks at some of the A new program most challenging aspects of complex chronic illness. Book your place early. early. chronic

ausmed.com.au/register usmed.com..a au/register Use a

Reference Code R eference C ode *totQuick o easily easily rregister egister online

ph: (03) (03) 9326 9326 8101 8101

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ONLY 4 MINS FROM PROSPECT HWY TURN OFF ON THE M4

First State Super the fund for all nurses We have a range of well-priced investments which are simple to understand.

First State Super has made super a whole lot easier for nurses If you work in either a public or private hospital (or perhaps both) you can use First State Super for all your super requirements. This could include your employer’s superannuation guarantee (SG) contributions if they provide choice of fund. You may need to complete a Standard Choice form – visit Publications & forms on our website for a copy.

And stay with us when you retire with a choice of two First State Super income streams.

More information Web:

www.firststatesuper.com.au

Phone: 1300 650 873 Email: enquiries@firststatesuper.com.au

Low fees | Simple | Open Consider the First State Super Product Disclosure Statement having regard to your own situation before deciding whether becoming a member or continuing your membership is right for you. A copy is available by calling us or visiting our website. The information contained in this document is current as at June 2012. Prepared by FSS Trustee Corporation ABN 11 118 202 672, AFSL 293340, the trustee of First State Superannuation Scheme ABN 53 226 460 365.

FSS NURSES LAM 0612

First State Super – take us with you wherever you work!