Nursing News from Down Under

Nurses are a cut above.

IS BEING a theatre nurse just handing a surgeon instruments: ‘Scalpel. Retractor. Swab,’? Not according to Dianne Durrington, a perioperative nurse who works at Hawkesbury Hospital.

A perioperative nurse is an operating theatre nurse, but the term indicates that the role encompasses the time both before and after the operation as well.

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Nurse who elevated her profession

Here is an inspiring story of a nurse, Pat Tarlinton (1912-2008) who worked for years to improve the quality of nursing care, professional status of Australian nurses and who had touched hundreds of nurses' lives.
Because of her numerous contributions to the nursing profession, she was awarded MBE.


PAT TARLINTON worked for years, often behind the scenes, for the education, training and professional status of Australian nurses. This was only after she had nursed around the world, in war and peace, so she knew what nurses could and should do.

She and her colleagues were rewarded for their education work in 1973 when, following the recommendations of the 1970 Truskett committee, nurse education was transferred from hospitals to the tertiary sector.

Patricia Annie Tarlinton was the fourth of the 12 children of James and Florence Tarlinton at "Woodburn", near Cobargo on the south coast. The family was descended from William Tarlinton, who first settled the Cobargo district in the 1830s and once owned all the land between the Brogo and Tuross rivers. Pat was sent to Cobargo Parish School then on to high school at Monte Sant' Angelo in Sydney.

After school, she started nursing training at St Vincent's Hospital. By the time World War II broke out she had progressed to sister and in 1940 she was one of the first to enlist in the RAAF Nursing Service.

Towards the end of the war she was selected for special training for a medical air evacuation unit. The unit's job was to fly into combat zones in transport planes converted to air ambulances and take wounded soldiers to hospitals or back to Australia.

The nurses became known as the "Flying Angels" for their hard work. At the end of the war, the unit was sent to evacuate prisoners of war from Changi Prison and prisoners from the Japanese camps in Sumatra, Malaya, Burma and other areas.

Tarlinton was the first Australian woman to enter Penang after the Japanese left, just behind two British officers who had been parachuted in. They were so impressed that a woman should arrive so close behind them that they presented her with their parachutes. She also served in Thailand, Sumatra and Morotai, in Indonesia.

After she was demobilised, she travelled for four years, working as a nursing sister in England and Scotland and seeing Europe and South America.

When Tarlinton returned to Sydney, she was offered a position as a teacher in St Vincent's newly established training school. She rose to become head tutor sister and worked tirelessly to improve the educational standards and status of the nurses under her care.

This work made her realise that nursing was a profession, and that it should be accorded that status. From her position she could influence and inspire a few hundred nursing trainees each year but she knew that she needed to change careers if she was to exert a wider influence.

She had been involved in the NSW College of Nursing (now part of the College of Nursing) since soon after it started in 1949, and served on its council for a number of years. In 1966, she took the position of executive secretary of the Australian Trained Nurses Association and the NSW branch of the Royal Australian Nursing Federation, where she stayed for 10 years working on her vision of nationally accredited tertiary training for all nurses.

For a lifetime of contribution to the profession, Tarlinton was awarded an MBE in 1978.
Patricia Tarlinton did not marry but she was a much-loved aunt to her many nieces, nephews, grand-nieces and grand-nephews. "Auntie Pat" was an adviser, a mentor, a role model, a great listener, a sharp wit, a constructive but gentle critic and a great friend. She is survived by four of her sisters, Betty, Madge, Mary and Raechel.

Mike Etheridge and Judy Tarlinton

28,924 Pass the Philippine NLE

Some 28,924 nursing graduates have passed the Philippine nursing licensure exams conducted on December 2007. The oath-taking of the new nurses will be on March 17 and 18, 2008 at the SMX Convention Center in the Mall of Asia.

Progressive Care Nursing

PCCN exam study guide

I. Clinical Judgment (80%)

A. Cardiovascular (37%)
1. Acute coronary syndromes/unstable angina
2. Acute heart failure/pulmonary edema
3. Acute myocardial infarction/ischemia
4. Acute peripheral vascular insufficiency (e.g., acute arterial occlusion, carotid artery stenosis)
5. Cardiac surgery (e.g. valve replacement, CABG)
6. Cardiomyopathies (e.g. hypertrophic, dilated, restrictive, idiopathic)
7. Dysrhythmias
8. Heart failure
9. Hypertensive crisis
10. Myocardial conduction system defects
11. Pulmonary hypertension (e.g., valvular defects, aortic stenosis, mitral stenosis)
12. Ruptured or dissecting aneurysm
13. Shock states (e.g. cardiogenic, hypovolemic)

B. Pulmonary (13%)
1. Acute pulmonary embolus, fat embolus
2. Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS)
3. Acute respiratory failure
4. Acute respiratory infections (e.g. pneumonia, strep pneumonia, RSV)
5. Aspirations (e.g., aspiration pneumonia, foreign-body aspiration)
6. Chronic lung disease
7. Pulmonary hypertension
8. Respiratory distress (e.g. emphysema, bronchitis)
9. Status asthmaticus, exacerbation of COPD, emphysema, bronchitis
10. Thoracic surgery (e.g., lung contusions, fractured ribs, hemothorax, pulmonary hemorrhage, lung reduction, pneumonectomy, lobectomy, tracheal surgery)

C. Endocrine (4%)
1. Acute hypoglycemia
2. Adrenal disorders (e.g. adrenal insufficiency)
3. Diabetes insipidus
4. Diabetic ketoacidosis
5. Hyperglycemic hyperosmolar nonketotic coma (HHNK)

D. Hematology/Immunology (5%)
1. Immunosuppression-acquired (e.g., HIV, AIDS, neoplasms)
2. Life-threatening coagulopathies (e.g. ITP, DIC, hemophilia, HITTS) and non life-threatening coagulopathies
3. Organ transplantation (e.g. liver, bone marrow, kidney, heart, pancreas, lung)
4. Sickle cell crisis

E. Neurology (4%)
1. Intracranial hemorrhage/intraventricular hemorrhage (e.g. subarachnoid, epidural, subdural)
2. Seizure disorders
3. Stroke (embolic events, hemorrhagic)

F. Gastrointestinal (5%)
1. Acute GI hemorrhage (e.g. esophageal, upper and lower)
2. Bowel infarction/obstruction/ perforation
3. Gastro-esophageal reflux
4. GI surgeries (e.g. Whipple, esophago-gastrectomy, gastric bypass)
5. Pancreatitis

G. Renal (6%)
1. Acute renal failure (e.g. acute tubular necrosis, hypoxia, dialysis)
2. Chronic renal failure and dialysis
3. Life-threatening electrolyte imbalances (e.g., potassium, sodium, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium)

H. Multisystem (6%)
1. Multisystem trauma
2. Septic shock/infectious diseases (e.g. congenital viral, bacterial, line sepsis, nosocomial infections, immunosuppression)
3. Systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS)/sepsis/MODS
4. Toxic ingestions and inhalations (e.g., drug/alcohol overdose, poisoning)

II. Professional Caring and Ethical Practice (20%)

A. Advocacy/Moral Agency (2%)
B. Caring Practices (4%)
C. Collaboration (4%)
D. Systems Thinking (2%)
E. Response to Diversity (2%)
F. Clinical Inquiry (2%)



Frequently Asked Questions


Source: AACN

Travel Nursing Demands Shift to Pacific Northwest

New Travel Nurse Markets Emerge With Superior Pay and Benefits at American Traveler

"Midseason demand in warmer areas has fallen off, and traveling nurses have begun to converge on a variety of fun and interesting cities in the Pacific Northwest such as Seattle, Washington; Vacaville, California; and Puyallup, Washington," said Deb Bacurin, clinical resource manager for American Traveler.

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Different fields of Nursing

Nursing is an exciting career. Every day is a new one so you wouldn't get bored.
Click on the link below for the different fields of nursing and see what interests you.

A career in nursing