Kate Hackett is the Director of Nursing at Westmead Hospital in Sydney, ground zero for the treatment of COVID-19 here in Australia. Like everyone else, Hackett had seen the virus develop from afar over the summer period but could not ...
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‘This is a time for pulling out all the stops’: WHO urges COVID-19 action, unions call for more support for frontline staff
In the wake of a coronavirus outbreak at a Sydney aged care facility, with two staff confirmed to have contracted COVID-19, along with two residents – both of whom have died – health service unions are calling on the government ...
More »Royal commission urges mandatory staff minimums, better pay for aged care
The royal commission has urged the aged care sector to reform its approach to the workforce, with counsel assisting Peter Rozen telling those gathered that “the time for action … is now”. At the third Adelaide hearing, Rozen handed the ...
More »Australia’s response to coronavirus putting people at risk: RACGP President
Australia’s response to the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak has been criticised by the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP). Its president, Dr Harry Nespolon, said the lack of government planning is “risking people’s health”. The RACGP is urging the government ...
More »Sleeping on the job: NHS rolls out sleep pods for staff
Sleep pods are being installed in a number of hospitals across the NHS in the UK to help combat fatigue among health workers. The pods were first trialled by the Royal Wolverhampton NHS trust in June 2018 and a number ...
More »From the punch-card operator’s room to the boardroom: Fundraising nurse looks back on her career
Associate Professor Leanne (Lulu) Zalapa has forged an extraordinary career. Leaving school before year 10, Lulu found herself working in a punch-card operator’s room, but harboured ambitions of becoming a nurse ever since first setting foot in a hospital to ...
More »Researchers explore how confidence can affect performance for CALD nurses
Communication is the bedrock of nursing and for nurses from CALD backgrounds – one-third of nurses in Australia were born overseas – this can be sometimes challenging. Researchers at the University of South Australia’s School of Nursing and Midwifery believe ...
More »Face value: cosmetics court case a warning to nurses
Many nurses are engaging in cosmetic and beauty practices for commercial benefit, either as an employee or sole practitioner. While a recent case involved the negligent actions of a person without nursing registration and training, it contains many salient legal ...
More »Unions go to parliament, urge action on super increase
Three of Australia’s largest trade unions have joined forces to urge the government to accelerate plans for an increase in superannuation. The compulsory superannuation guarantee is set to rise from 9.5 per cent in five annual increases starting from July ...
More »From the operating theatre to the flight deck: video
https://youtu.be/HtMLcz1cbII Making the transition from nurse to commercial pilot might seem an unusual career trajectory, but that’s the path Geoff Hay took after training as a nurse at Sydney’s Royal North Shore Hospital in the 1980s and working in operating ...
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