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New app secures patient photos
Date of Posting: 18-06-2013
An Australian-designed app that enables nurses and allied health professionals to securely capture and store images of their patients has been released. The PicSafe Medi app, developed by two Victorian doctors, allows health professionals to obtai Read More...
The PicSafe Medi app


Nursing and Allied Health News and Resources


ANF supports push for rural and remote funding
Date of Posting: 19-06-2013
Australia’s largest health union has thrown its weight behind a new push to fund nursing and allied health students to work in rural and remote areas. The Australian Nursing Federation is supporting the Australian Rural Health Education Netw Read More...
ANF assistant secretary Yvonne Chaperon




New occupational therapy course amid job growth forecasts
Date of Posting: 19-06-2013
Matthew Molineux decided to pursue a career in occupational therapy after his teenage sister received treatment from an occupational therapist for perceptual motor problems. Twenty three years later, and now a Professor establishing Griffith Unive Read More...
Griffith University Professor Matthew Molineux (right) with students




Queensland student nurse earns recognition for bravery
Date of Posting: 18-06-2013
Queensland based student nurse Kay Seymour has earned herself a nomination for an Outstanding Bravery Medal in News Limited's 2013 Pride of Australia Medal. The mature nursing student last month leapt on to train tracks at Wooloowin station, o Read More...
Student nurse Kay Seymour recognised for bravery




We trust in paramedics, nurses and pharmacists
Date of Posting: 18-06-2013
Who can you trust? Well, as it turns out – we trust our paramedics and firefighters the most, with nurses and pharmacists also rating high. Paramedics and firefighters tied for first place in the annual Australian Readers Digest ‘Most Read More...
Paramedics top the trust poll




Prison nurses see red over pay
Date of Posting: 18-06-2013
Victorian prison nurses are taking protected industrial action in their fight for better wages and conditions. About 60 nurses held two-hour stop work rallies today outside four prisons across the state after talks broke down between the Australia Read More...
Nurses rally at Barwon Prison and Marngoneet Correctional Centre




TAC gap fees almost cost physiotherapist her practice
Date of Posting: 14-06-2013
Crippling gaps in Transport Accident Commission fees almost cost Helen Lowe her Victorian physiotherapy practice. The Warragul physiotherapist has been forced to charge gap fees to treat motor accident victims, many with acquired brain injuries,&n Read More...
Physiotherapist Helen Lowe




NSW hospitals straining under mental health burden
Date of Posting: 14-06-2013
Emergency departments in New South Wales hospitals are being inundated by mentally ill patients due to a lack of psychiatric beds. An exclusive report by local newspaper the Newcastle Herald newspaper has revealed one in every 36 emergency departm Read More...
NSW hospitals straining under mental health burden




Pharmacist develops app for sending scripts
Date of Posting: 11-06-2013
A New South Wales pharmacist has developed an app that enables consumers to snap and send an image of their script to their local pharmacy. Wollongong pharmacy owner Fabian McCann created the allChemist app, available free from iTunes, to streamli Read More...
The allChemist send a script app




Research finds alcohol in youth predicts violence two years later
Date of Posting: 11-06-2013
Psychology researchers have discovered a link between alcohol use during early and mid-adolescence and violence just two years later. Australian Catholic University researchers Professor Sheryl Hemphill and Dr Kirsty Balog, from the School of Psyc Read More...
ACU researcher Dr Kirsty Balog




Midwifery leader pioneers new era for rural hospital
Date of Posting: 05-06-2013
When Hazel Brittain moved from the United Kingdom to work as a midwife in Australia, her first position was located at a hospital in the small rural Queensland town of Beaudesert. “Maybe I had been watching too much A Country Practice in the Read More...
Midwifery leader Hazel Brittain




More incentives the key to boosting rural and remote nursing
Date of Posting: 03-06-2013
More incentives are needed to attract nurses and midwives to rural and remote communities across Australia, according to the Australian Nursing Federation. The union says a shortage of highly trained nurses and midwives in hard-to-staff areas is c Read More...
ANF federal secretary Lee Thomas




Nurses and midwives abandon action to turn away low-risk women
Date of Posting: 03-06-2013
Nurses and midwives have shelved industrial action which would have capped new low-risk antenatal admissions at Nepean Hospital’s Women and Children’s Service. Nurses and midwives had planned to refer low-risk women from outside the ca Read More...
NSWNMA general secretary Brett Holmes




Nurses and midwives rally for better pay and ratios
Date of Posting: 03-06-2013
New South Wales nurses and midwives have not ruled out resorting to industrial action in their campaign for improved ratios and pay. New South Wales Nurses and Midwives’ Association (NSWNMA) general secretary Brett Holmes said it will be up Read More...
A New South Wales nurse at the rally




Nurses applaud plan to introduce school nurses
Date of Posting: 03-06-2013
Almost 300 nurses would be employed at primary and intermediate schools in low socio-economic communities across New Zealand, under a Green Party plan. The party has announced its $30 million plan, which would inject 280 public health nurses to ca Read More...
NZNO's Dr Jill Clendon




Conference: Navigating the Complexities of Consumer Directed Care
Date of Posting: 31-05-2013
Mitigating risk & delivering quality under reform 28th & 29th August 2013, The Sydney Boulevard Hotel, Sydney Following the huge success of their sold out Delivering Consumer Directed Aged Care Conference, Criterion Conferences are please Read More...
Conference: Navigating the Complexities of Consumer Directed Care




Funding crisis at Orange hospital
Date of Posting: 31-05-2013
The future of critical medical services at Orange Hospital in New South Wales is in jeopardy due to a funding crisis, which has seen the hospital exceed its budget for this financial year. The Orange’s Medical Staff Council (MSC), made up of Read More...
Funding crisis at Orange hospital




NSW nurses and midwives vow to ramp up their fight
Date of Posting: 31-05-2013
New South Wales’ nurses and midwives are vowing to escalate their claim for better ratios and pay against the state government. The NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association has accused the government of attempting to force a new “sub Read More...
NSW nurses and midwives vow to ramp up their fight




Nurses answer the call of telephone triage
Date of Posting: 29-05-2013
Sabrina Ellis is a triage nurse but she can’t actually see her patients. Instead, the Victorian-based nurse is one of the 300 nurses providing vital assistance over the phone through her work for a 24-hour health advice phone line. &ldquo Read More...
Nurse on Call triage nurse Sabrina Ellis




Date of Posting: 29-05-2013
An Auckland pharmacist has been jailed for selling unapproved prescription medicines for the treatment of male sexual dysfunction. Fadi Iskander, 32, was convicted in a hearing at the Auckland District Court and sentenced to four months and two we Read More...
Ministry of Health says the pharmacist's actions put the public's health at risk




Global platform for nurse leadership
Date of Posting: 28-05-2013
Nurse leadership was firmly in the spotlight at the International Council of Nurses’ (ICN) 25th Quadrennial Congress recently held in Australia. About 5000 nurses from across the globe converged on Melbourne for the May 18-23 event where the Read More...
Congress: ANF's Lee Thomas and ACN's Carmen Morgan and Debra Thoms. Credit: Keren Nicholson, ACN




PBS becomes a bitter pill for Medicines Australia
Date of Posting: 28-05-2013
The Federal Government and Medicines Australia are at odds over the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS). Medicines Australia, which represents pharmaceutical companies, says patients are missing out on new medicines because the process of listing Read More...
The Medicines Australia report




Nurses central to treatment of sepsis in critical care
Date of Posting: 27-05-2013
The role played by critical care nurses in early recognition of sepsis and timely, protocol-driven interventions has been highlighted by new international guidelines. Dr. Ruth Kleinpell and Dr. Christa Schorr presented on the implications of the g Read More...
Nurses central to treatment of sepsis in critical care




Dietitians call for aged care malnutrition screening
Date of Posting: 24-05-2013
A Canberra dietitian wants mandatory malnutrition screening introduced for aged care residents after her research found one in five ACT aged care residents are malnourished. Jane Kellett, an APD and lecturer in Nutrition and Dietetics at the Unive Read More...
APD Jane Kellett




Leadership the crux of staff retention
Date of Posting: 22-05-2013
Filling management roles with nursing professionals who are properly prepared for leadership will be key to fostering healthcare staff retention going forward, according to a leading voice in nursing. Australian College of Nursing (ACN) CEO, Debra Read More...
Leadership the crux of staff retention




iPod the key to recovery for trauma patients?
Date of Posting: 22-05-2013
A world first trial in Melbourne will see children and young adults recovering from trauma and severe injuries fitted with iPods to record their movements after leaving hospital. Patients from The Royal Children’s Hospital will wear the devi Read More...
iPod the key to recovery for trauma patients?




It's time for a nursing adventure!
Date of Posting: 22-05-2013
If you've ever thought of taking your nursing career on an adventure over the seas. This is the time to do it. Representatives from The Security Forces Hospital in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, are visiting Australia in June, and they want to me Read More...




Forensic mental health staff trial aims to assist EDs
Date of Posting: 21-05-2013
South Australia will trial a plan to employ forensic mental health staff to better manage people in the state’s court system, in a move designed to alleviate demand on public hospital emergency departments. The 12-month pilot project, which Read More...
ANMF SA branch secretary Elizabeth Dabars




Date of Posting: 20-05-2013
Nurse ‘Jackie’ has been threatened by patients, who have also threatened to hunt down her family. Jackie has become the face of the new Australian Nursing Federation Victorian branch campaign calling on the State Government to enforce Read More...
Nurse Jackie and ANF Vic branch secretary Lisa Fitzpatrick




New NBN health projects unveiled
Date of Posting: 20-05-2013
A raft of healthcare related projects designed to utilise the National Broadband Network (NBN) will have educational value for the healthcare sector, as well as giving state of the art healthcare delivery a far wider geographical coverage than was pr Read More...
New NBN health projects unveiled




NAHRLS: Addressing the challenges that remote health professionals face
Date of Posting: 20-05-2013
“My name is Max Broadley; I am the Manager of Community Services at Otway Health and Community Services – in the Otway Ranges on the South Coast of South Western Victoria. “The hospital is a Multi-purpose Services, which means it Read More...
Max Broadley, Manager of Community Services at Otway Health and Community Services




New Zealand nurse awarded highest accolade
Date of Posting: 17-05-2013
For the past 10 years, Janet Askew has taken her invaluable nursing skills abroad to places where they are needed the most. The 59-year-old mother and grandmother has nursed at places such as Indonesia, Iraq and Sudan, and next month she will head Read More...
Florence Nightingale Medal recipient nurse Janet Askew




Budget boost for mental health nurses
Date of Posting: 15-05-2013
The Mental Health Nurse Incentive Program (MHNIP) has received a $23.8 million boost in the Federal Budget. The Australian College of Mental Health Nurses (ACMHN) and the Australian Nursing Federation welcomed the additional funding, which will en Read More...
Australian College of Mental Health Nurses CEO Kim Ryan




Physiotherapists feel the pain of TAC fees
Date of Posting: 15-05-2013
Victorian physiotherapists are being forced to discount their fees below the market rate to treat motor accident victims. The Australian Physiotherapy Association has revealed figures showing Victorian private practice physiotherapists are the wor Read More...
Australian Physiotherapy Association CEO Cris Massis




Dietitians mark profession's past to build its future
Date of Posting: 14-05-2013
Australian dietitians must learn the lessons of the profession’s past so they can confront its future challenges, according to a leading dietitian. Professor Susan Ash, an Adv APD and Fellow of the Dietitians Association of Australia, said i Read More...
Dietitian Professor Susan Ash




Census shows overseas nurses on the rise
Date of Posting: 08-05-2013
Nurses and health professionals from overseas look set to play a key role in fending off shortfalls of workers in the Australian health sector, according to recent findings. Recently released figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics show t Read More...
Census shows overseas nurses on the rise




Nurse researcher receives international acclaim
Date of Posting: 08-05-2013
A Queensland nurse researcher has received international recognition for her work taking research to the bedside. Professor Claire Rickard, of Griffith University’s Health Practice Innovation program and the School of Nursing and Midwifery, Read More...
Nurse researcher Professor Claire Rickard




Crunch time looms for aged care nursing pay rises
Date of Posting: 06-05-2013
Legislation must be passed through parliament before the end of June for the government’s pledged $1.2 billion in pay rises to flow through to the pay packets of Australia’s 350,000 aged care nurses and workers from July. Australian Nu Read More...
Australian Nursing Federation'sYvonne Chaperon




A career in midwifery education
Date of Posting: 06-05-2013
Kathleen Baird was drawn to midwifery but a requirement to achieve a nursing degree before becoming a midwife was a disincentive and so she instead became an accountant and auditor. When the three-year direct-entry midwifery degree was introduced Read More...
Dr Kathleen Baird




Australia's nursing, midwifery and allied health stats revealed
Date of Posting: 06-05-2013
The latest figures are out on Australia’s nursing, midwifery and allied health workforce. The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency’s (AHPRA) March 2013 registration data shows Australia is now home to 346,508 practising nur Read More...
Nursing and allied health stats revealed

