Nurse In Australia

Nurses Sick Leave in Winter

Ross — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 00:49:11 +0000

What are your experiences regarding nurses taking sick leave in winter?

In most places that I’ve worked I’ve noticed a sharp rise in staff off on sick leave – obviously this is in part due to the winter cough/cold/flu blues, but perhaps it may also have something to do with the run on effect from others being off sick.

In other words, constantly working one or two staff down can be pretty tiring and eventually can lead to you also getting run down & taking a day off to recuperate. This is also compounded if your work load goes up during the winter months.

While I’m on the subject of sick leave, I was interested in a recent allnurses thread that discussed different policies for calling in sick.

The hospital where I work in Australia has no time limits for calling in sick, compared with some of the hospital policies mentioned in the above thread. For instance, you could call in 8 hours before your shift or 8 minutes before your shift without any penalty or ramifications.

Common sense however dictates that calling in 8 minutes before your shift will not only infuriate your workplace and colleagues, it is pretty poor form in general and should only be done in dire circumstances. I would say that in general, most people tend to give at least a few hours notice. (Notice I say *most* people!)

Difficult New Graduate Nurse Year

Ross — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 05:29:39 +0000

I’d love to find out how our graduates are finding things in their first year out.

Likewise, how are seasoned RN’s finding our new graduates?

One of the more common questions that seems to arise with nursing students, particularly in their last year, is whether it’s better to obtain a position in a grad year program or similar transition package, or whether it’s better to just try to find employment as an RN and worry about preferences later on.

Having been on a grad program myself & worked in many different clinical areas, I’m of the opinion that to start with I don’t think it’s particularly necessary to obtain a specialised grad year rotating program, as long as your clinical area has good support for new nurses. That’s not to say that it isn’t nice to land one of these jobs & try out some different areas, just that it doesn’t really matter so much if you don’t.

What’s more important is that you receive good support from your place of employment. Whether this is through debriefing sessions, supernumary time, buddying up with seniors or ongoing education, the important thing is that you feel like you are practising safely and know where to go for answers if you are not sure of something.

Additionally, remember that the transition period is always the hardest – it’s important that you stick things out & don’t take things too personally.

Even though it may not be to the same extent, I’m sure the difficulties in a graduate year are not exclusive to nursing. Similar professions such as physiotherapists, radiographers, students who are studying for medical coding certification, or any number of a whole host of allied health positions come across similar issues in their first year out.

So, what are your thoughts or experiences – if you’re a new nurse, how is your graduate year going so far?

If you have grad nurses in your clinical area, how do you think they are going??

What can be changed or improved, and do you feel like we are practising ‘safely’?

Sheepish, Demure Nurses Pandering to Inflated Ego’s

Ross — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 01:32:34 +0000

Let me put a question to the readers here:
What are your experiences & feelings on Nurse / Doctor relationships in general?

Given the time & effort it takes to complete a nursing degree plus specialty training, I would suspect at the very least there should be some professional respect on both sides of any Nurse / Doctor relationship. Particularly when it comes to senior or experienced staff.

Not so, says Nurse In Australia reader Nighean, responding to a post on nursing shortages. See if you can identify with anything in this reader’s contribution:

Doctors still believing they are the bastions of all knowledge?

This retention of nurses is an interesting thing. Yes the extra pay would be welcome and an improvement in conditions also.

But for me the reason I moved out of acute nursing as an experienced Grade 2 and later in my career as ANUM was due to being completely done with doctors still believing they are the bastions of all knowledge and therefore completely within their rights to be abusive or rude to you.

I got sick of having phones hung up in my ear when calling about a patient and reporting adverse pathology or a turn in their condition. I got sick of being sneered at when I suggested a course of treatment-often in consultation with the patient. Being the ‘advocate’ of the patient caused no end of sniggers, snide remarks, blatant commentary ‘all nurses are stupid’…etc. Professional status??? I think not. Not while the AMA rules with an iron fist.

Why are NP’s so slow to take their place? Because in the AMA’s eyes we are no more advanced than the sheepish, demure nurses that pandered to doctors over inflated ego’s in the ’50’s. Sure I’ve worked with some great doctors, but regrettably they are the exception not the rule. My education? Far exceeds the time it takes to become a GP but that counts for nothing apparently.

In my opinion there needs to be an investigation into the bullying of nurses from the medical profession. When we are treated with respect we might retain some great nurses, until then they will leave once they realise that another allied health professions or other career paths not only pay better, but allows true quality of life time, respect and professional recognition.

Thoughts, anyone?

Making the Pain Chart more.. real

Ross — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 06:29:35 +0000

I must admit, I’ve never been a major fan of the traditional pain score chart.

You know the ones I’m talking about? We use them mostly on children (actually I’ve never used them on anyone other than children) to try and understand their level of pain.

Now that I think about it, I’m not really quite sure that they’re the best way to determine what a child’s pain is at, either…

“Look over here at the chart, Madeline… MADELINE – LOOK AT THE CHART please…”

but I digress..

This week I stumbled across a brilliant reinterpretation of the pain score chart, as described by Allie of Hyperbole and a Half.

Check out the full story & second half of the New Improved! pain chart by visiting Boyfriend doesn’t have ebola. Probably. You could also click on the picture below if you would rather do that. I’m all about options here…

Controversial Midwife Laws Passed by Parliament

Ross — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 09:35:00 +0000

credit: molly darling

A dramatic but somewhat controversial reform has been passed by parliament last week allowing midwives to provide Medicare funded care in Australia for the first time.

This means that under specific guidelines, women will be eligible to receive Medicare rebates for private midwifery care, and also some Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) rebates for particular tests and medications.

The government is also supporting midwives access to professional indemnity insurance, which has been unavailable to midwives since 2001.

Summary of Reform

Midwives will be able to provide Medicare-funded care for the first time.
A national register will be set up, instead of current State bodies.
Indemnity insurance will be a registration pre-requisite.
No midwives have been indemnified since 2001.
New laws fail to provide for midwives offering home births.
Framework includes a request for midwives to form a collaborative relationship with a doctor.
Midwives will require doctor to sign-off to access Medicare insurance and pharmaceutical benefits.

- source: The Daily Examiner

These new laws represent a fairly significant step forward for midwives and have the potential to greatly improve women’s access to care by a primary midwife. They have also raised some controversy however, with home birth advocates in particular feeling that they have been left short-changed by the deal.

Under the new laws, the government will provide support for indemnity insurance for midwives and include a two year buffer for those having trouble finding providers, however the insurance support will not be extended to include home births.

Others have also raised concerns over the specifics of indemnity insurance:

“What worries me the most is that midwives’ being without indemnity insurance is going to drag on and on,” says Gail Baker, Registered Midwife and operator of home birth services. A Grafton-based midwife, who did not wish to be named, said the laws gave doctors ‘veto over midwives’. To be eligible for a Medicare provider number, midwives will need the sign-off of an obstetrician.

“This provides an opportunity for doctors to have power over a qualified, experienced midwife,” she said. The midwife called for a ‘publicly-funded home birth service’, which would come under the State hospital umbrella. “It’s a choice that should be available to all women.”

The Australian College of Midwives has also responded by saying the changes signal a significant step forward, but they call on the government to ensure that midwives who offer homebirths can also be insured.

ACT Australian Nursing Federation spokeswoman Jenny Miragaya suggests that it may take some time for the changes to filter through to the community and private sector, but agrees that “ultimately the change should lead to better healthcare.” (ABC News)

** Thanks to Peter McCartney for bringing these new laws to my attention

Titles of Nurses in Australia

Ross — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 10:15:26 +0000

Confused about different types and titles of Nurses in Australia?

Want to know the differences between an AIN, PCA, RN, EN, EEN, NP etc etc?

How long does it actually take to reach each qualification in Australia?

Find out a bit more about Categories of Nurses in Australia by checking out the new Australian Nursing Categories page.

Nurse’s Unfair Sacking?

Ross — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 06:08:21 +0000

credit: MissLPS

A Melbourne Nursing Home received a stern warning this week by the Fair Work Ombudsman over what has been described as a “heartless and shabby treatment” of one of their longstanding aged-care nurses.

The Nursing Home has been placed on notice, and will be monitored closely to ensure that it stays compliant with workplace laws after an incident involving the Nurse.

Here’s the lowdown: while at work, an aged-care nurse fell and broke her hip. After seven months of recovery at home, she was basically told not to come back to work, thank you very much.

What’s intriguing and puts a new twist on this story is the age of the nurse – she is a spritely 74 years old.

More injustices came to light when Fair Work inspectors looked further into the situation. From the article at News.com.au:

“The nurse did not believe she had received her full entitlements on termination and complained to the Fair Work Ombudsman.

When a Fair Work inspector first contacted the nursing home, it initially denied that the complainant had been employed there. However, after demanding to see employment records, inspectors subsequently found the nurse had been underpaid annual leave and long-service leave entitlements and for some hours worked.

The company has now reimbursed the nurse almost $30,000.”

My question therefore, is this:

How much of this has to do with the Nurse’s age? Would a younger worker have received the same treatment?

Additionally, how old is too old to look after ‘aged care’ patients?

From my own foray into the world of aged care several years ago, I know that some patients in Nursing Homes are actually younger then the 74 year old Nurse. Conversely, you also find 90year olds who are living quite happily on their own in the community, so I guess it depends on each individual.

Does anyone have any thoughts on this story?