ncah issue 15 2013

www.ncah.com.auNursing Careers Allied Health - Issue 15

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Regional & Remote Health Feature

Taking the leap into remote nursing

Queensland nurses vow to �ght job attacks

Pharmacies employ nurses to �ll health care gaps

A third of New Zealand graduate nurses unable to �nd jobs

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Page 6 | www.ncah.com.auNursing Careers Allied Health - Issue 15 | Page 27

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Queensland nurses have warned they will continue to � ght plans to replace 145 experienced nurses with graduate nurses at Metro North Hospital and Health Service.

The Queensland Nurses’ Union has labelled the workforce restructure a cost-cutting exercise which will target grade � ve and six nurses and midwives at four major hospitals on Brisbane’s northside.

“Our members are incredibly angry and very distressed,” QNU secretary Beth Mohle said.

“Our members are absolutely committed to taking further protest action. They are not going to take this lying down. They are furious and we are going to oppose this change tooth and nail.”

Nurses held meetings at Prince Charles Hospital and Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital and recently held a protest meeting to coincide with the annual Budget Estimates hearing outside Parliament House.

Ms Mohle said more than 3000 nurses and midwives across the service were left reeling

after recently receiving a letter outlining the restructure.

“Some of them were in tears, they were so distressed that they couldn’t face going to work,” she said.

“They feel like they are just not valued and that they are disposable.

“They are absolutely shell-shocked and the shock is turning to anger now. They are just not going to take this anymore; they are going to � ght back.”

Ms Mohle said the union had been campaigning for jobs for nursing graduates but said the axing of loyal and experienced nurses was “not the right way to go”.

She said the graduate nurses would be employed on a temporary basis while the move to axe experienced nurses would compromise safe patient care.

“It’s not about a graduate workforce strategy at all,” she said.

“They are also going to employ these graduates as part time, at .7 rather than full-time and they will be temporary. They are not secure, they are temporary jobs.”

Metro North Hospital and Health Service chief nurse Lesley Fleming said there had been some confusion around the planned changes to its workforce.

Ms Fleming said nurses will be offered voluntary redundancies in a bid to designate 140 places to graduate positions before the end of the year.

‘I would like to make it clear no nursing staff member will be forced to apply for, or take, a redundancy as part of this change,” she said.

Ms Mohle said the restructure was latest attack on jobs in the state, with 850 nursing and midwifery positions axed since the election of the Liberal State Government.

Queensland nurses vow to fi ght job attacksby Karen Keast

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| www.ncah.com.au Nursing Careers Allied Health - Issue 15 | Page 29

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Nurse-to-patient ratios for regional, rural and remote hospitals and clinics were one focal point of a widespread strike that took place in Sydney and across numerous sites throughout New South Wales on Wednesday 24 July.

Hundreds of nurses and midwives joined the statewide strike, with Sydney Olympic Park as the focal point for the state’s capital, to protest against the O’Farrell Government’s inadequate funding of the sector. The strike was intended to highlight the government’s failure to provide guaranteed, safe nurse staf� ng levels in public hospitals, public hospital clinical units and community health services and equal ratios in all hospitals around the state.

Brett Holmes, NSWNMA general secretary told NCAH rural nurses and midwives were particularly burdened by poor nurse-to-patient ratios.

“Nurses and midwives are taking action to demonstrate their commitment to the expansion of the nurse-to-patient ratio system and the improvement of the ratios themselves. A major issue is certainly the delivery of care in rural and regional areas. At the moment in cities the ratios are one to four, one to four and one to seven across the three working day shifts, while in rural areas the ratio is one to � ve, one to � ve and one to seven. There’s a marked difference.”

“Rural nurses and midwives want to deliver good levels of care in emergency departments and across all wards and units. They believe nurse-to-patient ratios in their places of work should be the same as those in the cities.”

“The Government seems to be saying that their need is not so great, but our members are saying: ‘Look at what we have to deal with. Nurses and midwives are trying to delivery care with scarce resources and little backup.’”

Holmes said the strike demonstrated a uni� ed front by the nurses and midwives of New South Wales.

“The Government is sending out messages indicating that this kind of action won’t change anything, but nurses are standing up for patients by sending out their own strong message that current arrangements

Strike highlights rural nurse-to-patient ratios by Karen Keast

Rural nurses... believe nurse-to-patient ratios in their places of work should be the same as those in the cities

– Brett HolmesGeneral Secretary

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We hope you enjoy perusing the range of opportunities included in Issue 15, 2013.

If you are interested in pursuing any of these opportunities, please contact the advertiser directly via the contact details provided. If you have any queries about our publication or if you would like to receive our publication, please email us at [email protected]

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Pharmacists are employing nurses to provide maternal and child health care in a market-driven response to gaps in the public sector, according to the results of a new study.

As part of a state-wide evaluation of post-birth care in Queensland, University of Queensland researchers found short postnatal hospital stays are placing increased demands on community-based post-birth care services, with pharmacy nurses reporting high levels of demand for their services.

Researchers interviewed 19 pharmacy nurses and six general practitioners with case studies conducted in six regional and metropolitan areas for the study, recently published in BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth journal.

The study shows pharmacy nurses are providing free drop-in services ranging from maternal reassurance to support, infant weighing and monitoring in convenient locations.

It revealed while pharmacy nurses are highly quali� ed and experienced in maternal and child health, there was a lack of privacy for consultations, limited capacity for client record keeping and follow up, and limited opportunity

for professional development.

GPs also expressed concerns about inadequate public care and the lack of regulation of pharmacy-based care.

“Unlike the majority of nurses in Australia, their work is not overseen by their employer or any other professional organisation, nor are they bound by guidelines, protocols and procedures, or have clearly articulated referral pathways, an integral part of most other health care settings,” the authors stated.

“Importantly, because their practice tends to be isolated, they report little formal or informal connection with other primary health care services, exacerbating problems with lack of service coordination and integration in primary health care services more generally.”

The study found many pharmacy nurses previously worked in publicly-funded child and family health services before moving into pharmacies, with most employed on a casual basis, for reasons such as predictable hours compatible with family responsibilities.

It found consumer demand for the free services was evident in the large number of clients, and the nurses revealed they did not feel pressure to endorse or promote pharmacy products.

“A minority expressed their own perceived concerns about covering their wages; and in a few cases nurses felt their location near baby products rendered a subtle, though not explicit, endorsement of the products on sale.”

The study stated Queensland has the highest rate of hospital discharge before � ve days in Australia, with women spending an average of two days in hospital after a non-instrumental vaginal birth and four days in hospital after a lower segment caesarean section.

Pharmacies employ nurses to fi ll health care gapsby Karen Keast

It’s not just Australian graduate nurses struggling to fi nd jobs – it’s been revealed 30 per cent of New Zealand’s nursing graduates are also unable to secure employment.

New Zealand Minister of Health Tony Ryall recently told the health select committee job turnover and vacancy rates were at low levels as nurses decided to stay in their roles due to the economic climate.

The committee was told of the 1232 graduates last year, 57 per cent had a job in December, which increased to 74 per cent in February, while 10 per cent no longer wanted to work in nursing, leaving 15 per cent still seeking employment.

New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO) associate professional services manager Hilary Graham-Smith said 30 per cent of nurse graduates are missing out on jobs.

“Yes they are but NZNO is working with the offi ce of the Chief Nurse to fi nd a solution to this issue,” she said.

“The sector acknowledges that the situation is unacceptable and is focused on making the nurse entry to practice program work effectively for both our new graduates and the employers.”

Ms Graham-Smith said targeted funding was needed for entry to practice programs.

“Currently places on these programs in the district health board sector are based either on a vacancy model or the DHB ring fences the funding.

“What we need is the latter approach but with more funding available so that more places can be offered to new graduate nurses.”

Ms Graham-Smith said despite nursing

graduates being unable to secure jobs, it was

not a case of too many nurses being trained.

“We are going to need this workforce as

many of the current nursing workforce start

to retire,” she said.

“What we need to do is enable our new

graduates to stay in NZ by ensuring that there

are jobs available to them.”

The committee was told 41 per cent of New

Zealand nurses are aged over 50 and more

nurses will need to be trained from 2015 to

prepare for the large number of nurses leaving

the workforce to retire.

A third of New Zealand graduate nurses unable to fi nd jobsby Karen Keast

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Australia’s only prostate cancer specialist nursing

program will be expanded with up to 13 new

specialist nurses to be employed over the next

four years.

Health Minister Tanya Plibersek has announced

$7 million in funding to expand and extend the

program which has now placed 12 nurses in

major metropolitan and regional hospitals across

every state and territory in Australia.

The Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia

(PCFA) pilot program was launched in May last

year thanks to $3.6 million in funding from the

Movember Foundation.

PCFA national chairman and prostate cancer

survivor David Sandoe said the government’s

funding would enable the program to assist more

prostate cancer survivors and their families.

“This is incredibly important,” he said.

“It’s a fantastic model that’s come to fruition. We

have had some positive outcomes already.”

PCFA health and education programs director

Julie Sykes said prostate cancer specialist

nurses help patients navigate the cancer process

while providing free expert advice and ongoing

support.

Ms Sykes said the nurses also play a signi� cant

role in helping patients manage the side effects

of the treatment.

“The prostate cancer specialist nurses are a

central point of contact for patients throughout

their entire cancer journey,” she said.

“The nurses will make sure that patients are

aware of what services there are in their local

areas to help them manage the side effects of

local treatment and enable patients to make the

decisions that are right for them.”

Mr Sandoe said details of the program’s

expansion, including where the extra specialist

nurses will be rolled out, was yet to be

established.

Prostate cancer is the second most common

cause of cancer death in men, with almost

20,000 Australian men diagnosed with the

disease in 2009.

The Australian Nursing Federation has applauded

the funding for the often “neglected area” of

men’s health.

“Statistics show that every year in Australia, more

than 3000 men die of prostate cancer, which is in

fact higher than the number of women who die

from breast cancer,” ANF federal secretary Lee

Thomas said.

Under the program, prostate cancer nurses are

now working at Austin Health, Bendigo Hospital

and Latrobe Regional Hospital in Victoria, the

Tamworth Hospital in New South Wales and

at the Royal Hobart Hospital and Launceston

General Hospital in Tasmania.

The program also includes the Townsville Hospital

and Mater Adults Hospital in Queensland, the

Darwin Hospital in the Northern Territory, the

Canberra Hospital in the ACT, the Royal Adelaide

Hospital in South Australia and the Hollywood

Private Hospital in Western Australia.

Prostate cancer nurses program to doubleby Karen Keast

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Imagine cycling machines that �t into the end of an intensive care patient’s bed to improve the patient’s muscle function and recovery?

Queensland researcher Professor Leanne Aitken is one of a team of researchers working to test innovative strategies in a bid to improve the long term recovery of patients after critical illness or major trauma.

The Grif�th University Centre for Health Practice Innovation and Princess Alexandra Hospital researcher said research shows patients face physical, psychological, cognitive and economic challenges up to two years after they have left intensive care.

“We need to be looking at how we can change our care and how we can use things like rehabilitation programs a whole lot earlier than we currently do,” she said.

“We used to think it was good to let patients rest. Now even in intensive care we want to get them up and mobilising so their muscles don’t deteriorate.

“While a patient is still in intensive care and they are not well enough to get out of bed, we are just starting to test - if we get them cycling while

they are still in bed lying down, will that help their muscle function in the longer term?”

And instead of sedation, Professor Aitken said it was important for patients to remember their time in intensive care.

“By not being able to remember intensive care they actually have more psychological problems,” she said.

“A lot of our work is around changing our practice in intensive care or introducing new interventions.”

Professor Aitken, who spent most of her 30 year clinical nursing career in intensive care nursing and has spent the last 20 years working in research, was recently recognised for her work on an international level, becoming a Fellow of the American Academy of Nurses while she was also appointed an Honorary Ambassador of the World Federation of Critical Care Nurses (WFCCN).

“I am delighted to be recognised for my work on an international level and to see that it is now in�uencing nursing care practice around the world,” she said.

Professor Aitken’s work also includes raising awareness of sepsis, one of the leading causes of death around the world.

“Prevention or early detection are the two most important things when it comes to sepsis,” she said.

“The �rst and best thing for nurses is really good infection prevention measures like hand washing and good wound care and decreasing contamination.

“The second thing is the early recognition, so picking up when a patient isn’t quite right, is deteriorating and getting early intervention…which is early antibiotics but the right antibiotics.”

Critical care nursing researcher focuses on patient recoveryby Karen Keast

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A C H A N G E I S A S G O O D A S A R E S T

The opening of a new ‘super clinic’ in Gladstone, Queensland, looks set to provide a suite of opportunities for allied health professionals.

The Gladstone GP Super Clinic will officially open its doors to begin servicing patients on Monday 22 July. However in the week leading up to the official opening, directors Dr John Bird and Dr Evan Jones and practice manager Jodie Myers opened the $11 million facility to members of the health community for a special professional preview.

Federal Health Minister Tanya Plibersek was present at the opening of the Phillip St clinic, which will offer podiatry, audiology, physiotherapy, and radiotherapy and pathology services, and reportedly commented she was impressed with the new facility.

Meanwhile Super Clinic director Dr John Bird indicated the opening was a boon for the Gladstone region allied health sector.

“It will become Gladstone’s allied health hub,” he said.

The Gladstone Super Clinic is designed to deliver high quality, holistic care that offers a comprehensive range of health services under one roof. It is understood the Super Clinic currently provides the services of a dietician and psychologist. Pathology services are also available on site.

However the facility will continue to develop links with associated service providers with a view to broadening its service offer in future. It is anticipated that these expanded services will include X-ray and ultrasound, audiology, physiotherapy and diabetes education/services.

The super clinic will also offer education and training of doctors, nurses, and allied health students and is working on an education program with partners including: Queensland University of Technology, University of Qld School of Medicine, CSQTC (the Central and Southern Qld Training Consortium), QRME (Queensland Rural Medical Education) and the Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine, including involvement with the John Flynn placement program.

New Qld super clinic a plus for allied healthby Karen Keast

Customer Service ManagerThe Australian Council on Healthcare Standards (ACHS) is the leading Australian enterprise which encourages and assists health care organisations to continuously improve the quality of their services and provides the means for independent evaluation of those services. The ACHS is seeking a dynamic, motivated person with health care experience and a commitment to improving the quality and safety of health care.

Based in Sydney, the successful candidate will be expected to bring excellent interpersonal and relationship building skills as well as an understanding of quality programs.

Enquiries or applications addressing the selection criteria should be addressed to Laurie Leigh – Executive Director Customer Services, 5 Macarthur Street, Ultimo NSW 2007 or e-mailed to [email protected] by COB 9th August 2013.

cope with, such as the heat, which she is now acclimatised to, and the isolation.

There’s also a few unusual challenges.

“You have also got to deal with snakes, green tree frogs, the dust that gets everywhere and the camp dogs that can be quite aggressive,” she says.

“We live in places with eight to nine foot high fences because of the dogs.

“It’s also a troubled community in the Northern Territory. There are 26 different tribes that live within the community and there’s lots of tribal fighting.”

There are also many positives, from the pay package which includes Natalie’s accommodation costs, and covers her water and electricity, while she also receives three return flights to Darwin each year.

Plus the hours are great. Natalie works Monday to Friday, from 8am to 4pm, and has the school holidays off.

She has also enjoyed exploring the outback, experiencing the local culture and making friends in the community.

Natalie made the move to the outback on her own, as her partner Howard was unable to leave his position.

“It was a huge challenge…and on finishing my contract I felt very passionate about nursing the Indigenous people in the NT.”

Natalie wasn’t ready to return home, so when she saw a position advertised for a school nurse at Wadeye, the sixth most populated town in the Territory and the largest Indigenous community, she applied for it.

It was also one of the communities Natalie had been flying in and out of, and she was familiar with its challenges and issues.

Natalie obtained the position and has since set up her own small clinic at the school, where she looks after the health of the children and also its Indigenous staff members.

She works with visiting health professionals and liaises with the town clinic for serious injuries, runs health promotion, has begun writing policies and procedures, and provides much-needed health care for the Indigenous students.

“I have had 150 kids through the clinic so far,” she says.

“They have come in with scabies, school sores, cuts and bites and head injuries.”

Natalie says with Darwin a seven-hour drive away, there are the obvious challenges to




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“We have nurses who just want a new adventure away from a large hospital environment, nurses who work best in small teams and those who do it for monetary reasons,” she says.

“We rarely struggle to fi nd nurses who are interested in working in rural and remote locations.”

Donna says Medacs Healthcare requires nurses to have a broad range of nursing skills and experience before being sent to rural and remote locations, with nurses needing at least two years’ experience in an emergency setting before being posted at very remote locations.

She also advises nurses wanting to work remotely to “be prepared to roll with anything that may happen”.

“Every day will be different and you will experience things you have never experienced before,” she says.

“Go into rural and remote nursing with an open mind and a sense of adventure.

“The remote nurses I have dealt with over the years generally fall into two categories – those who try it and never want to do it again and those who fall in love with the remote locations, the people and the nature of the job.

“It is a job that takes a special person.”

Remote nursing has certainly been a life-changing experience for Natalie.

She concedes it’s changed her both personally and professionally.

While Natalie plans to return home to Victoria next year to be closer to family, it will be a short-term stint. Remote nursing is now in her blood.

“People have said to me I have grown so much more confi dent in myself and my whole attitude has changed,” she says.

“I would say to others interested in remote nursing to go and talk to as many people as you can that have been there.

“It will change your life. It certainly changed mine.”

While Natalie says she couldn’t have made the move without the support of Howard and her two children, she says it is possible to venture to remote communities without moving your family.

“Some nurses might think their partner has to leave their job but they can actually go up alone and achieve their dream,” she says.

For nurses interested in taking the leap into remote nursing, Medacs Healthcare regularly has contract and permanent positions available.

Most contract positions range in length from four to 13 weeks, in locations as diverse as regional New South Wales and Queensland to the middle of the Western Australian desert, with opportunities to work for state health services and Aboriginal health services to one-nurse clinics and rural hospitals with less than 20 beds.

Donna, who helped Natalie move into remote nursing, says many nurses are interested in Indigenous health and want to experience it fi rst-hand.

Looking for a change of scenery?Rural Health Select specialises in recruiting nursing and allied health professionals to rural Western Australia.Our experienced recruitment team provides a personalised service to find your perfect fit. We currently have vacancies for nurses, physiotherapists, chiropractors as well as other professions. Choose from Kununurra in the red north to Esperance in the south and all places in between!You may be eligible for �nancial support to assist with relocation and other expenses.

To find out more call us today.

E [email protected] T +61 8 6389 4500 W www.ruralhealthselect.com.au

FREE AND PERSONALISED RECRUITMENT SERVICE


Five allied health clinics will take centre stage at Grif� th University’s new $150 million Grif� th Health Centre.

The centre is the latest state-of-the-art boost to allied health education in the state.

The Grif� th Health Centre will operate alongside the new Gold Coast University Hospital, due to

open in September, and will focus on chronic disease management and sports health.

Alongside teaching, learning and research, the centre has � ve individual clinical facilities, known as the Grif� th Health Clinics, which will focus on physiotherapy/rehabilitation, psychology, dentistry, exercise physiology and dietetics.

The clinics are expected to expand next year to include speech pathology, medicine, nursing and midwifery, clinical pharmacy, social work and occupational therapy.

The centre will be home to the state’s only plastination lab, designed for the preservation and exhibition of body part samples for training medical and nursing students.

Boost to allied health educationby Karen Keast

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W: www.ahnr.com.au E: [email protected] T: 1300 981 509www.ahnr.com.au

If you are looking to make a fresh start to your career or would like to register your interest in future job opportunities go to

NURSE UNIT MANAGERAre you an experienced Registered Nurse looking for a new challenge in a progressive rural health service?

This role as Nurse Unit Manager (Penshurst Campus) offers the successful applicant the opportunity to work in a progressive and stimulating aged care environment at Western District Health Service. This position requires strong leadership skills and a focus on clinical outcomes. The successful candidate for this role will need to have advanced clinical skills, demonstrate effective and professional nursing practices in planning, implementing and monitoring effective nursing practice.

Reporting to the Director of Nursing, you will be accountable for the day-to-day management of Penshurst.

To be successful in this role, you will need to demonstrate and possess:

1. Current registration with the Nursing Board of Australia.

2. Although previous experience in aged care and management is desirable this is an ideal opportunity for the suitable candidate to develop these skills in a fully supported and mentored environment.

3. The ability to co-ordinate and promote the organisations quality improvement program within Penshurst.

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Taking the leap into remote nursingby Karen Keast

Natalie’s next position was a three-month posting at Minyerri, a dry community of about 700 people located 270 kilometres south-east of Katherine.

It was the wet season and to get there Natalie experienced her fi rst ride in a “Troopy” 4WD.

“They are like a big 4WD and they have got the side seats, you can sit fi ve people on each side; they are their ambulances,” she says.

“They picked me up from Katherine and drove three and a half hours in fl ood water to get to the community.

“I thought – what am I in for? The roads were washed away and I knew I was stuck in this community. I could access a landline but there was no mobile phone reception.

“Donna said it was a sink or swim situation and thankfully I swam. The people out there are very friendly and they welcomed me with open arms.

“I learnt so much about their culture. We had a man come in one day and he had stabbed himself in the arm.

“That’s what they do when someone dies; they self-harm. I had to adjust myself to that.”

Natalie thrived in her remote experience and when her post was completed, she went home to Victoria, packed up her house and made the move to Darwin.

Once there, she did agency nursing for eight weeks and then got her fi rst job in research at the Menzies School of Health Research.

The job was an 18 month contract that saw Natalie embark on weekly small charter plane fl ights to Tiwi Island, Wadeye and Kununurra researching two pneumococcal vaccines, aimed at reducing the incidence of otitis media in Indigenous children.

“I gained many skills from this job and worked very closely with midwives in the remote clinics and new Indigenous mothers,” she says.

What do you need to be able to thrive in remote nursing? The key lies in equipping yourself with an open mind and a sense of adventure.

Natalie Birt wakes up to sunshine every day in outback Australia.

The 41-year-old registered nurse loves the whistling kites swooping in the skies, the red sunsets and the even redder dirt.

Most of all, she loves the smiles on the faces of the Indigenous children at the school in Wadeye, 394 kilometres south-west of Darwin, where she works as the school’s fi rst and only nurse.

“Good morning nurse Nat,” the kids greet her every day, smiling.

Natalie began work at the school, which has up to 600 primary and secondary school students, at the start of this year.

Originally from Gippsland in Victoria, Natalie, a division two nurse for 17 years, worked in a variety of roles and locations before completing her division one qualifi cation in 2008 and going on to work in emergency department nursing.

It wasn’t enough. Natalie wanted a new challenge – a move into nursing Indigenous people.

“They have different challenges and illnesses to what non-Indigenous people do,” she says.

“I also love the bush and the outback and fi shing and camping. I thought I could do all of that as well as nurse.”

A friend of Natalie’s, who had ventured into remote nursing at Timber Creek in the Northern Territory, encouraged Natalie to give it a go, so Natalie searched online for nursing agencies and came across Medacs Healthcare (Australia) operations manager Donna Gould.

Donna found Natalie her fi rst position – an eight week contract in the emergency department at the Alice Springs Hospital in January 2010, where she was able to fi nd her feet and become familiar with the different surroundings, people and culture.

CQ Nurse, Australia’s premier nursing agency, has contracts available NOW.

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SPECIALIST NURSINGRemote, Theatre Critical Care, Indigenous

2013 conference

31Our 31st Conference o� ers a participative program designed for health care professionals to explore the challenges faced in deliver-ing safe, quality health care programs to remote Australians and to stimulate discussion and ideas for solutions that are accessible and appropriate.

“From the cradle to the grave”, the title of this year’s conference, is a good reminder to all of us of our responsibilities to provide the best care possible to our patients - from the moment of birth to the � nal breath.

The � rst full day of the conference kicks into life with three fantastic keynote speakers who hardly need introduction: Dr Phillip Nitschke, Director of EXIT International; Dr Yvonne Luxford, CEO of Palliative Care Australia; and Dr Peter Saul, former Head of Discipline for Medi-cal Ethics at Newcastle University. This stimulating start will set us up for the rest of the conference, with papers on topics ranging from music participation and mental health to the role of the media in the portrayal of domestic and family violence in the Northern Territory.

You have the chance to network at the tradeshow, catch up with re-mote health colleagues working throughout Australia, and recognise excellence at the awards presentations during the opening ceremony and the closing dinner.

EARLY BIRD REGISTRATIONS CLOSE AUGUST 12th.For more details go to: www.crana.org.au




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!Queensland nurses have warned they will continue to � ght plans to replace 145 experienced nurses with graduate nurses at Metro North Hospital and Health Service.



















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