A nurse’s road to recovery
Victorian nurse Mary Wong hopes her journey will help inspire other stroke survivors. The nurse who had a stroke in 2016 completed a 10 kilometre run in the Melbourne Marathon in under 60 minutes late last year. Running makes me feel free. I am so proud of how far I have come.” Mary still finds […]
Trailblazer Florence Nightingale dramatised
A new movie highlighting the trailblazing life of nursing pioneer Florence Nightingale is being made and is to be released during 2020-the bicentennial of her birth. The script, Legacy of Light, written by Nurse Researchers and Nightingale Scholars, Barbara Dossey and Deva-Marie Beck, also delves into Nightingale’s continuing impact on the world. The objective of […]
Women on boards: A leading force
Resignations of high profile women leaders last year have thrown the spotlight on the culture and gender disparity in Australian workplaces. Natalie Dragon talks to some prominent nurse leaders who are board members about their roles. The disparity between men and women in leadership roles perpetuates existing stereotypes about the role of women, both at […]
Culture shift to change aged care
Every Australian needs to roll up their sleeves, embrace their own ageing and rethink their interactions with older people, says Dr Catherine Barrett. The former nurse and passionate aged care advocate was one of five finalists selected for the prestigious 2018 Human Rights Medal announced in December. The Human Rights Awards, established in 1987, are […]
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 […]
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 […]
Bullying common among nurses: research
About half of hospital-based nurses have faced bullying in the workplace, with some going through the ordeal several times per week, a new Australia-wide study has revealed. However, the problem was less prevalent in hospitals where managers displayed strong leadership typified by positive social behaviours and open and honest dialogue. Undertaken by Professor Stephen Teo […]
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 […]
Matters of the heart
It is a scenario that is played out in emergency departments across Australia every day – a woman comes in with symptoms that don’t fit with the archetypal heart attack. She is not complaining of severe chest pain or clutching her chest. Her symptoms of extreme fatigue and shortness of breath have been happening on […]
Digital assets on death and disability poses a problem
Most Australians are unprepared for death and disability when it comes to their digital assets, a study from the Adelaide University and the Charles Sturt University has found. The study showed Australians have multiple digital assets, which includes anything that can be accessed and held online in digital form. Social media, iTune accounts, banking and […]