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RCNA video update
Top links
Legislation introduced to allow nurses and midwives to access MBS and PBS
Landmark day for nurses and midwives
Roxon says maternity boost will improve services
AMA to work with government on nurse legislation
ANF welcomes legislation to increase access to quality health care
Taxpayers will foot bill for services by nurses, midwives
Australian swine flu update
Indigenous Australians recognised in H1N1 Influenza 09 Health Response
Australia exports swine flu to region
Third Australian dies of swine flu
What else happened this month?
Nurses seen as most honest professionals
Government to spend $5 million on rural health
Tough new laws to make home births illegal
NHHRC report to be the biggest shake up since Medicare
Online therapy helps treat depression in rural areas
The big issue - Health Workforce Australia Bill
RCNA has supported a Federal Government move to establish a national health workforce authority, Health Workforce Australia (HWA) under the Health Workforce Australia Bill 2009 (the Bill).
The establishment of HWA aims to improve governance and management of clinical training placements in order to ensure the adequate provision and matching of placements across Australia. It is intended that under the new legislation, the HWA will streamline and integrate clinical training arrangements by taking responsibility for funding, planning and coordinating pre-professional entry clinical training for all health professional groups. It would also undertake research and manage data collection at a national level to support national health workforce planning.
In a recent submission to the Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee on the Bill, RCNA recognised the merit of a centralised, integrated national system that will allocate clinical places to nursing students and streamline national health workforce planning. However, RCNA raised concerns that the Bill does not specify a requirement for professional representation in the membership structures of HWA. RCNA noted that the nursing profession, which requires the bulk of clinical placements, will not be adequately represented under the proposed arrangements.
RCNA’s submission also stressed that any systems implemented under national arrangements must be flexible and responsive to local needs, reduce administrative burdens, and enhance the student clinical experience. The importance of collaborations between education and health service providers to ensure shared ownership of students and to promote consistency between curriculum and clinical experience was also highlighted.
On 11 June 2009, RCNA representatives attended the Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee hearing to answer queries regarding the submission and issues surrounding the legislation. This important opportunity allowed RCNA to reinforce and expand on key messages raised in the submission. The Committee was due to report on its findings on 15 June 2009.
Read the RCNA submission by clicking here.
Read more on this topic:
Health Workforce Australia Bill 2009
Opposition will not oppose health workforce bill
House of Representatives second reading speech
AMA response to the Health Australia Workforce Bill
The big issue - new National Women's Health Policy
The Federal Government has recently undertaken to review the National Women’s Health Policy, first introduced in 1989. Twenty years on, the new policy proposes to ‘emphasise prevention, health inequalities and the social determinants of those inequalities.’ A consultation discussion paper released by the Department of Health and Ageing in early 2009, entitled Development of a new national women’s health policy, focused on addressing contemporary women’s health issues through five underpinning principles: gender equity; health equity among women; a focus on prevention; a strong and emerging evidence base and; a life course approach.
RCNA provided a response to the discussion paper through the Jean Hailes Foundation, informed by feedback from the Pilot Advisory Council.
RCNA agreed with the underpinning principles of the new policy direction, particularly the prominent discussion of health equity among women, as well as recognition given to the need for a robust body of gender-relevant evidence. Violence against women, in terms of intimate partner violence and family violence, was addressed in the paper, an area highlighted by RCNA as requiring greater focus under the new policy.
In the submission, RCNA also noted that the discussion paper displayed a heightened awareness of the contemporary issues surrounding Australian women’s health, and stressed that health issues identified in 1989 remain relevant and will continue to need on-going support in 2010 and beyond. Such issues included reproductive health and sexuality, health of ageing women, emotional and mental health, and violence against women.
Read more on this issue:
Towards a new national women’s health policy
New National Women’s Health Policy: consultation discussion paper
Policy in nursing
QUM in palliative care and end of life care
In mid 2008, the National Prescribing Services (NPS) consulted key health organisations and individuals on the perceived gaps in achieving quality use of medicines (QUM) in palliative care or end of life care. Following these consultations, the 2009 report, Understanding the issues and exploring the strategies to achieve quality use of medicines in palliative care and end of life was developed in collaboration with Palliative Care Australia (PCA).
RCNA recently provided comprehensive feedback to the NPS on the report, outlining some specific concerns from a professional nursing perspective. In particular, RCNA stressed the need for the report to draw a clear distinction between the terms ‘palliative care’ and ‘end of life care’ in order to ensure different issues within each mode of care are adequately addressed.
RCNA also highlighted the recognition of non-medical influences, such as lifestyle, nutrition, sleep, cultural norms and the role of carers, on QUM in palliative care and end of life care, as important to the development of a QUM framework.
Overall, RCNA’s response acknowledged the discussion of a wide range of issues in the report, while also recommending that nurse-led options be explored by the NPS as a way of improving QUM in palliative care and end of life care.
Opportunities
Australian Government nursing scholarships
The Puggy Hunter Memorial Scholarship Scheme (PHMSS)
The PHMSS provides financial assistance to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people studying or intending to study an undergraduate health course at tertiary or TAFE (Certificate IV and above) level. The Scheme provides financial assistance up to $15,000 per year for full time study or up to $7,500 per year for part time study, for the normal duration of the course. Applications for 2010 close Friday 7 August 2009. Click here to find out more.
Postgraduate Community Aged Care Nursing Scholarship Scheme
Registered nurses (division 1) across Australia who are working in the community aged care sector can apply for financial assistance toward professional development undertaken in 2009 and 2010. Funding is available towards educational study programs or courses, including relevant accredited tertiary level or TAFE level courses, workshops and conference participation in Australia. Applications close Friday 25 September 2009. Click here to find out more.
Aged Care Nursing Scholarship Scheme (ACNSS)
Undergraduate scholarships are available to applicants with a demonstrated commitment to aged care that are currently studying or intending to study undergraduate nursing at an Australian university in 2010. These scholarships are valued at up to $5000 per semester to a maximum of $30 000 per applicant. Click here to find out more.
The Postgraduate Continuing Education scholarship provides financial assistance of up to $15,000 a year for registered/division 1 nurses studying for their Masters and up to $10,000 a year to assist both registered/division 1 and Enrolled nurses working in aged care facilities to undertake further education. Undergraduate applications close Friday 30 October 2009. Postgraduate applications close Friday 25 September 2009. Click here to find out more.
Heart Foundation releases new review
The Heart Foundation has released a new summary of evidence entitled Dietary fats and dietary cholesterol for dietary health, and a position statement entitled Dietary fats and dietary sterols for cardiovascular health.
Click here to download these documents.
National STI Prevention Program: Sexual Health Campaign
The Australian Government recently launched a new National STI Prevention Program: Sexual Health Campaign to raise young people’s awareness about the risks of infection and to generate a sense of personal responsibility to help prevent the spread of STIs. For more information click here.
Registrations are now open for the 4th NSW Rural Allied Health Conference in Tamworth on 12 - 13 November 2009.
The NSW Rural Allied Health Conference 2009, entitled Beyond the Rhetoric, will provide opportunity for allied health professionals, health service managers, educational institutions and others to share valuable experiences, innovative service delivery models of care, and raise issues facing allied health practitioners and the services they deliver in rural and remote NSW.
For further information, click here.
International nursing news
Nurses arrive in Durban for the ICN 24th Quadrennial Congress
ICN press release: More than 5, 000 nurses will converge on Durban, South Africa from all corners of the globe for the International Council of Nurses (ICN) 24th Quadrennial Congress, co-hosted by the Democratic Nurses Organisation of South Africa (DENOSA).
Click here to read more about the program and activities of the 24th Quadrennial Congress.
ICN position statement review
ICN is currently reviewing a series of position statements, and RCNA members are invited to submit their comments. The position statements under review are International trade agreements, Socio-economic welfare of nurses and Medical waste: the role of nurses and nursing.
Click here to read more.
ICN, International AIDS Society and AIDS-Free World appeal to World Health Assembly
ICN, the International AIDS Society and AIDS-Free World appealed to the 62nd World Health Assembly to speed up the creation of a new UN Agency for women. In a joint press release, the organisations claim that "the HIV pandemic has hit the world's women with brutal force. All over the world, women are more likely to contract HIV, die of it, raise the children left orphaned by it, care for others who get sick and bear the brunt of associated stigma."
Read the complete press release here.
International Council of nurses international swine flu update
Swine flu timeline and resources
World Health Organisation international swine flu update
What is a level 6 pandemic? What about severity?
International tally and global update
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