Navigating natural disasters: Midwives are critical in every crisis
This year’s theme for International Day of the Midwife on 5 May is Midwives: Critical in Every Crisis. Midwives are trusted first responders within their communities who can prepare health systems for any crisis. For midwives to adequately respond, they must also ensure they are safe and are equipped with the training, tools, and resources […]
Meet the ANMF’s new Climate Change Officer
“I wasn’t always passionate about environmental sustainability and climate change,” admits Catelyn Richards, the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation’s (ANMF) newly appointed Climate Change Officer. “I was, first and foremost, a humanitarian, and saw my role as a nurse as one to give back to the community.” But as her nursing career evolved, the undeniable […]
Mental health recovery camp: A student consumer partnership
The first of its kind in Australia and the world, mental health recovery camps for undergraduate nurses have received awards since their inception in 2012. Natalie Dragon talks with co-founder Professor Lorna Moxham on the growing success and why the program should be funded nationally. “It’s a clinical placement, but it’s also a psychosocial intervention […]
Hot tips to stay safe in summer sun: Queensland pathologist
While social media platforms share a dangerous trend of people deliberately burning their skin into tan lines, a Queensland pathologist and researcher is spreading the message of sun safety this summer. Australian deaths from non-melanoma skin cancers have almost doubled in 20 years, shows recent research from the University of the Sunshine Coast. The research […]
First report on health effects of methane pollution
Australia’s first report on the health effects of methane pollution has been launched, with a clarion call for addressing the health impacts of coal and gas methane emissions. The report, compiled by not-for-profit organisation Healthy Futures, highlights the role of methane in causing and exacerbating climate change. Beyond the immediate climate impact, reducing methane emissions […]
Hundreds of private sector Victorian nurses and midwives stop work
Hundreds of St Vincent’s Private Hospitals’ nurses and midwives have walked out of their workplaces as part of an escalation of their unprecedented protected industrial action campaign for mandated nurse/midwife patient ratios and competitive wages and conditions with their public colleagues. “Hundreds of St Vincent’s Private Hospitals nurses and midwives have courageously taken this unprecedented […]
Australian women work for free until end of 2024
Today marks the start of the period when Australian women effectively turn up at their jobs and work for ‘free’ for the rest of the year because of the gender pay gap. According to latest figures, on average, Australian women are working for free for 42 days. This equates to the average gap between male […]
Thousands of NSW nurses and midwives strike for better pay
More than 12,000 NSW nurses and midwives took industrial action yesterday in their fight for a 15% pay raise. The 24-hour strike action was bigger than the last one held in late September with rallies held around the state after failed negotiations between the NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association (NSWNMA) and the state Labor Minns […]
NSW nurses and midwives call a second 24-hour strike
NSW public sector nurses and midwives will go on strike for 24 hours next week, after talks between the NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association (NSWNMA) and the state government failed to reach an outcome on wages. The second 24-hour strike will start on the morning shift on Wednesday 13 November, the NSWNMA has confirmed. NSW […]
Climate crisis is a health crisis: Nurses and midwives call for action
Nurses and midwives have declared the climate crisis a health crisis with an immediate call to action this Global Climate Change Week (14-18 October). The Planetary Health Collaborative for Nurses and Midwives declaration highlights the devastating impact climate change is having on human health, urging policymakers to adopt health in all policies and to act […]