In comparison to other disciplines, Australian nursing has only come relatively lately to academia. Traditionally, academic qualifications were not viewed as necessary for nurses. The movement of nursing education to the tertiary sector has seen many changes from the ...
More »Author Archives: Conor Burke
‘Every day I felt like killing myself’: the young in aged care speak
My number one goal is to get the fuck out of the nursing home.” Lisa Corcoran is sworn in to give evidence to the royal commission in the usual fashion. Council assisting Bergin then begins the day with the ...
More »Do nurses really understand pain?
Research has found that pain care for hospitalised patients over 65 years old is assessment driven and lacks sufficient patient input. The research found that pain care was hampered due to the lack of appropriate and meaningful pain care provision, ...
More »The Old People’s Home for 4 Year Olds: take a peek behind the scenes
“Maureen, hurry up!” Michaela urges her friend. Aiden does much the same with his older buddy Eric, who has sat down to rest. "We are coming last," he tells Eric as he pleads for him to carry on. This scene ...
More »The struggle for legitimacy: nursing in Australia
At the recent ACN National Nursing Forum Georgina Willetts gave the key note speech on nursing's past, present and future. Willetts joined the profession aged 17 because she "didn’t want to go to university," and had no aspirations of leadership or pursuing a ...
More »How one nurse’s experience of family violence shaped her career
Sarah* is a survivor of multigenerational family violence. She grew up in what she describes as a “dysfunctional home”. Her mother was an alcoholic who was emotionally abusive. And at age 20, her uncle sexually assaulted her. Sarah is not ...
More »Into the wild: Recovery camp brings students and mental health consumers together
Nursing Review spent a day at Recovery Camp, a joint program for health students on clinical placement and people with lived experience of mental illness. I put my left foot in and take it back out. I put my left foot ...
More »Nurse jailed for manslaughter and assault occasioning bodily harm
Curtis Powell was a 10-year-old boy who relied on his aunt Jodie - but she failed him. He was covered in bruises because of a medical condition which led to him having issues with spatial awareness. But the condition also ...
More »Government announces long term health blueprint, Medicare priorities
The government has released Australia’s Long-Term National Health Plan, promising to make the health system “the world’s number one”. “The story of health in Australia is sometimes viewed through the prism of large numbers, such as $435 billion for the ...
More »Can working in aged care produce better nurses?
Research by academics at Western Sydney University has found that nursing undergrads who work in aged care while completing their studies are learning valuable skills and enter the profession ahead of their graduate peers. The research surveyed new graduate nurses ...
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