Australian nurse chosen to lead International Council of Nurses (ICN)
Australian remote area nurse turned research academic Dr Isabelle Skinner will represent more than 20 million nurses worldwide after being appointed the new chief executive officer (CEO) of the International Council of Nurses (ICN) last month. Founded in 1899, ICN is a federation of over 130 national nursing associations, including the Australian Nursing and Midwifery […]
National campaign pushes for staff ratios in aged care
The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF) launched a national campaign seeking mandated staff ratios for aged care on 12 May, International Nurses’ Day. Around the country, ANMF members and aged care reform advocates stood united at community rallies aiming to put pressure on federal politicians to address chronic understaffing by supporting legislated ratios and […]
Global nursing campaign aims to empower nurses to maximise influence
Nursing Now, a landmark three-year global campaign aiming to improve health and lift the profile of nursing, launched back in February at events in London and Geneva. Backed by the International Council of Nurses (ICN) and World Health Organization (WHO), the campaign will run until the end of 2020 to mark the 200th anniversary of […]
Forging a successful nursing career
National Health Workforce Dataset (NHWDS) figures show almost 16,000 newly registered nurses and midwives entered the professions in 2016. Earlier this year, 26-year-old New South Wales resident Thomas West joined the next generation when he began a 12-month transition program at St Vincent’s Hospital in Sydney designed to arm him with the skills and knowledge […]
Hazards in the workplace
Protecting yourself and your patients against workplace hazards is an essential part of the job for any nurse, midwife or carer. What are some of the physical hazards on the ward and how do you handle them? Leslea Johnson trained to become a registered nurse in the early ‘90s when unsafe manual handling techniques like […]
Spotlight on the harsh reality of suicide in Australian nursing homes
Almost 150 Australian nursing home residents took their own lives while in care between 2000 and 2013, a confronting new study has revealed. Nursing home residents who took their own lives most commonly died from hanging (31.9%), falls from height (17%) and plastic bag asphyxia (14.2%). The majority of these residents were male (68.8%) and […]
The broad value of professional indemnity insurance
Professional indemnity insurance is essential for all nurses and midwives. In 2010, the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA) set registration standards making it mandatory for all health practitioners in the 14 professions regulated under the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law Act to have appropriate professional indemnity insurance (PII) arrangements in place in relation […]
Hospital safety under the spotlight
New evidence showing wide variation in complication rates across Australian hospitals has called for a collective lift in safety performance and informing patients about the best and worst performing hospitals so they can make decisions about where they are treated. The Grattan Institute report – All complications should count: Using our data to make hospitals […]
Midwife to AFLW star: The rise of Daisy Pearce
As the lone girl in a team of boys, a young Daisy Pearce always stood out. Only it wasn’t her gender turning heads but rather an instinctive and canny ability to find the football that in years to come would see her widely regarded as one of the best players of her generation. Born into […]