Health reform gives nurses a golden opportunity to develop a new vision for what the profession can be in the future. Understanding scope of practice is an important part of seizing this chance. Allison Willis, principal consultant at the Health Objective, made this point with ...

Usability and utility have been described as the missing links in evaluation of healthcare information systems. Dr Ian McGrath, from RMIT University, presented the idea at the Worldwide Nursing Conference. McGrath said usability relates to how easy the system is to ...

Avatars can compensate for literacy issues by relaying important messages to patients, an Australian researcher told attendees of an international nursing conference. Professor Robyn Clark from Flinders University, said using avatars – figures, often cartoons, that depict a person digitally ...

Intimate relationships with patients are never acceptable.  A cornerstone of nursing is the therapeutic relationship. It is a privileged relationship, which nurses should at all times protect and respect. The profession is conscious of this; hence any suspected transgressions are ...

Public health campaigns could be making expectant mothers anxious, an Australian health scientist has warned. Dr Heather Rowe, along with professor Jane Fisher, from the Jean Hailes Research Unit at Monash University, identified links between perinatal anxiety and social and ...