Featured Article
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
Nursing and Allied Health News and Resources
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
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
Study examines occupational therapists' role in dietary advice
Date of Posting: 02-05-2013
Australian researchers are investigating the role occupational therapists play in providing dietary advice to mental health clients. University of Canberra and University of Newcastle researchers are examining whether occupational therapists have Read More...
University of Canberra Professor Lauren Williams
12th Australian Palliative Care Conference - Canberra
Date of Posting: 02-05-2013
Quality of care at the end of life for all is a topic that affects many Australians. The 12th Australian Palliative Care Conference: Palliative Care – everyone’s business is being held 3 – 6 September 2013 at the National Convention Read More...
12th Australian Palliative Care Conference - Canberra
Conference aims to inspire dietitians to embrace future challenges
Date of Posting: 01-05-2013
More than 500 nutrition experts from Australia and overseas will converge on Canberra later this month to explore the future challenges facing dietitians. The Dietitians Association of Australia will hold its 30th national conference with the them Read More...
The national conference for dietitians
Mental health bed shortage behind assaults
Date of Posting: 01-05-2013
A death of mental health acute beds in Victoria’s hospitals has been blamed for a spate of assaults on nurses in recent weeks. Psychiatric nurses have been sexually assaulted by patients at Monash Medical Centre, where assaults broke o Read More...
Mental health bed shortage behind assaults
Physiotherapists criticise cap on self-education
Date of Posting: 29-04-2013
Physiotherapists fear the Federal Government’s plan to cap the tax deductibility for work-related self-education expenses at $2000 per person will have far-reaching ramifications for the health sector. The Australian Physiotherapy Associatio Read More...
Australian College of Physiotherapists president Dr Peter Fazey
Patch Adams prescribes joy in Sydney
Date of Posting: 29-04-2013
Patch Adams – the renowned doctor famous for believing that laughter is the best medicine – will spread his infectious cheer in Sydney this weekend. Dr Hunter ‘Patch’ Adams, made famous in the 1998 film ‘Patch Adams&r Read More...
Patch Adams
Scheme opens for graduate nurses and midwives
Date of Posting: 29-04-2013
The 2013 voluntary bonding scheme has opened for New Zealand nursing and midwifery graduates who want to work in hard-to-staff communities and specialities. The fifth intake of the incentive-based scheme, which is also open to doctors, radiation t Read More...
Jobs scheme opens for graduate nurses and midwives
Lest we forget non-military nurses
Date of Posting: 25-04-2013
Australian civilian nurses who served in the Vietnam War are suffering the same physical and mental conditions as other Vietnam veterans but have been forgotten when it comes to compensation and medical treatment. The Australian Nursing Federation Read More...
The ANF continues its fight for SEATO nurses
New hospital gown ditches breezy back
Date of Posting: 23-04-2013
A new wrap-around hospital gown that does away with the opening at the back has been unveiled in the United States. The gown, which is made of a thicker cotton and polyester blend material, has been designed to keep patients warm and give them pri Read More...
The new patient gown
Congress provides inspiration for nurse leaders
Date of Posting: 23-04-2013
The upcoming International Council of Nurses’ (ICN) 25th Quadrennial Congress will inspire nurse leaders to think beyond their boundaries, according to Australia’s chief nurse. As the countdown begins to the May 18-23 event in Melbourn Read More...
ICN president Dr Rosemary Bryant
Conference: Applying Clinical Governance to the National Standards
Date of Posting: 19-04-2013
Strengthening safety, quality & consumer partnerships 30th & 31st July 2013, Novotel Sydney Central, Sydney www.clinicalgovernancestandards.com Nursing Careers Allied Health subscribers quote CC*NCAH when register Read More...
Applying Clinical Governance to the National Standards
ANF unveils new Hobart training and research facility
Date of Posting: 18-04-2013
The Australian Nursing Federation has opened the doors to a new $2.5 million training and research facility in Hobart. The innovative Health Education and Research Centre will enable the Tasmanian branch to deliver training courses, including prof Read More...
Hobart's new training facility. Picture: Len Gray
Facebook campaign targets jobs for nurses and midwives
Date of Posting: 18-04-2013
South Australian nurses have turned to Facebook to launch a petition calling on the State Government to fund employment for its unemployed and underemployed nurses and midwives. In its first day, the petition on the Australian Nursing and Midwifer Read More...
The Facebook page calling for jobs for nurses and midwives
Proposed social media rules for nursing and allied health released
Date of Posting: 16-04-2013
Nurses and allied health professionals should not discuss patients or post pictures of procedures, case studies, patients or sensitive material without obtaining consent in appropriate situations, according to the Australian Health Practitioner Regul Read More...
New social media guidelines released
Victorian paramedics' dispute sours
Date of Posting: 16-04-2013
Victorian paramedics are the highest trained paramedics in Australia but are paid up to 30 per cent less than their interstate colleagues, according to the ambulance workers’ union. Paramedics have taken protected industrial action with work Read More...
The Victorian paramedics' campaign Facebook page
Physiotherapists strengthen falls prevention work
Date of Posting: 12-04-2013
Physiotherapists are working at the forefront of falls prevention, helping older people to bolster their strength and their balance and to continue being active. Physiotherapy New Zealand (PNZ) is raising awareness of the success of physiotherapy Read More...
Physiotherapy New Zealand president Gill Stotter
RDNS telehealth project could be expanded
Date of Posting: 11-04-2013
Royal District Nursing Service’s (RDNS) innovative telehealth pilot project will be evaluated amid hopes it could be rolled out to assist more older Victorians to remain in their homes for longer. The Happy, Healthy and at Home project has c Read More...
Royal District Nursing Service's Stelvio Vido
New children's hospital comes to life in Queensland
Date of Posting: 10-04-2013
More than 1600 nurses and allied health professionals will be employed at Queensland’s new $1.5 billion children’s hospital when it opens its doors to the state’s littlest patients later next year. The Queensland Children’s Read More...
An artist's impression of the Queensland Children's Hospital
Injuries from falls now claims more lives than car accidents
Date of Posting: 09-04-2013
Falls among older people now cause more injury-related deaths than car accidents. A new Australian Institute of Health and Welfare report, Hospitalisations due to falls by older people Australia 2009-10, shows the number of hospitalised injury cas Read More...
Report shows falls by older people are on the rise
Rebuild of Christchurch hospitals to begin within months
Date of Posting: 09-04-2013
Construction of a new facility for older people’s health will spearhead the epic redevelopment at New Zealand’s Burwood and Christchurch hospitals. In the wake of the devastating earthquakes in 2010 and 2011, the largest hospital build Read More...
Concept plans for New Zealand's Burwood Hospital
Plan for rural Victorian nurses to perform X-rays
Date of Posting: 09-04-2013
Victoria could follow in the footsteps of other Australian states where nurses at small rural hospitals receive training to perform X-rays. In a move met with opposition from radiographers, amid reports about 300 radiographers Australia-wide are s Read More...
Australian Nursing Federation Victorian Branch secretary Lisa Fitzpatrick
Queensland's nursing casualty list escalates
Date of Posting: 04-04-2013
The axe continues to fall in Queensland amid figures showing at least 700 public sector nursing and midwifery positions have been cut and more than 3400 positions culled at Queensland Health. The Queensland Nurses’ Union has released its lat Read More...
Queensland nurses rally against cuts
Occupational therapist rebuilds lives in Bangladesh
Date of Posting: 03-04-2013
Occupational therapist Alison Hardman was walking the Kokoda Trail in Papua New Guinea with a colleague when a discussion came up about a not-for-profit organisation that works to repair bodies and rebuild lives. Six years later, the Melbourne OT, Read More...
Occupational therapist Alison Hardman
