New Zealand: Luring or repelling Filipino nurses?

Filipino nurses express their concern regarding the changes in the requirements of nurses in NZ.

read the whole article here

Myths and Facts about Working as a Nurse in the Middle East

If you are a nurse, Middle Eastern countries are one of the easiest regions to get in to. Some hospitals don’t require a great degree of clinical experience from their nurses the way European and North American countries do. In fact, most nurses can be deployed in the Middle East without work experience at all (depending on the country).

Most Filipino nurses are apprehensive about the thought of working in the Middle East. A lot of them view the region as quite hostile and strange. Some are afraid that adjustment to the culture would be too difficult.

That is however, not the case. Many Filipinos (who have worked in the Middle East) would tell you that the country is very rich and accommodating. All you need is time to adjust and then you will be very happy working in the Middle East.

Below are a few presumptions that nurses have about working in the Middle East.
· Nurses Salary in the Middle East is no better than their salaries in the Philippines – This is of course a myth. Most nurses in the Middle East earns a minimum of USD 30,000 annually. That’s about Php 1.3 million (depending on the dollar exchange rate). This is nothing compared to the meager Php 150,000 or less that most nurses in the Philippines get for an entire year.

· Nurses have to be covered head to toe in required garb when they go out in public – Fact. This is just a Middle Eastern tradition that the women in the country have to adhere to. There may be some exceptions along the way, but most of the time this is the case. Female nurses need not worry though; they do not have to be dressed in that manner when they are inside their houses or compounds.

· Saving money in the Middle East is easy – There is some truth to this Middle Eastern perception. That is due to the fact that most of the basic expenses are covered by either the government or the hospital. Most hospitals provide meals for their employees during service hours. Nurses are also often housed in low cost or free compounds within the hospital grounds.
But, despite the fact that a lot of the expenses are already paid for, there is still the temptation of shopping and partying. Therefore, money stored away for a rainy day can just as easily be used in a shopping spree.

· Nurses are not allowed to leave the compound that they are housed in – Myth. The fact is that the social scene in some Middle Eastern countries is compound based. People are allowed to move from compound to compound as long as they adhere to and respect the practices imposed on them when they are in public.

Source: Nursingguide.ph

Pop Pills at your own Peril

By Sarah Scrafford


It’s not just stupid, it’s plain dangerous – this practice of popping pills without consulting a qualified physician. The drug may be available without a prescription or left over from a previous prescription and labeled safe by the FDA, but that’s certainly no reason to take it without medical supervision. If the fact that 8 percent of patients admitted to hospitals were there because of complications from self-medication is not enough to convince you to avoid OTC medication like the plague, read on:

· That common cold may be the harbinger of worse ailments and that nagging fever may be much more than a simple viral infection. Suppressing the symptoms with OTC drugs only makes you overlook the underlying disease, and this could lead to serious consequences.
· Medicines available OTC come with side effects that lead to other medical complications
· When one OTC drug is taken in combination with another (or more), they may either cancel or enhance each other’s effect.
· Most people do not read the labels properly when dosing themselves with OTC medicines and get the dosage and frequency wrong more often than not. The National Consumer League reports that of the 175 million Americans who take OTC drugs, 44 percent exceed the recommended dosage.
· Even if they do read the dosage correctly, they may take more than one dose in order to reduce symptoms and get relief more quickly, an action that is not advisable as it may lead to unforeseen consequences.
· Some medicines, when taken with alcohol or other stimulants, cause adverse reactions
· OTC drugs may contain chemicals that cause rashes or hives in people allergic to them.
· OTC drugs negate the effects of prescribed drugs for serious ailments like hypertension and lead to other complications.
· Painkillers prescribed for one kind of pain may not be suitable or apt in treating and curing another. Taking pain medication without a prescription is not advisable as most painkillers are filled with strong chemicals.


Kidney failure, blindness, rashes, allergic reactions, stroke, kidney and liver damage, stomach bleeding and ulcers are just a few of the complications that arise from irresponsible use of OTC drugs. So instead of reaching for the medicine cabinet every time you feel a headache coming on or a cold creeping in, try alternative, natural remedies to relieve yourself. A hot bowl of soup, a warm bath, a brisk walk in the park, or even an hour of sleep or relaxation will do you a world of good. Exercising is an excellent way to get your body to release natural pain killers like dopamine. Remember, drugs are life-saving only if they are used judiciously; if not, they can turn the tables on you and turn killers.




Sarah Scrafford is an industry critic, as well as a regular contributor on the subject of RN. She invites your questions, comments and freelancing job inquiries at her email address: sarah.scrafford25@gmail.com.

Is nursing still the caring profession?

Nurses are increasingly coming under attack. Patients groups say they are too busy to see to their basic needs such as eating and washing, while politicians have labelled them lazy and grubby.

What is happening to nursing?

Looking towards the future: St. John’s builds a foundation of nursing

A foundation, as defined by Webster, is "a basis on which a structure is built or a concept supported."

It is the underpinning of a physical or conceptual structure. Upon questioning, many nurses would define "foundational" nursing as medical/surgical nursing.
However, medical/surgical nursing is much more than a foundation for specialty nursing practice.

Medical/surgical nursing is the care of adults with acute health conditions. This practice can occur in a variety of settings, from the acute care hospital to an outpatient clinic.
Medical/surgical nurses are challenged with ever-increasing patient acuities. They manage a vast array of co-morbidities, such as diabetes and cardiovascular/pulmonary diseases.The severity and complexity of these conditions often cause our focus to narrow, and sometimes to refer to our patients as diseases or conditions. However, the practice of medical/surgical nursing is holistic and shifts our focus back to the restoration and maintenance of health in the adult population.


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Nursing Jobs

Looking for a nursing job?

Click here to go to nursingjobs.org

2nd Philippine Nursing Expo

2ND PHILIPPINE NURSING OPPORTUNITIES CONFERENCE AND EXPO 2008

When: APRIL 4-6, 2008
Where: SM Megamall, Megatrade Hall 3
Time: 10AM onwards

visit philnursingexpo.com for more details.

The first 1000 pre-registrants gets the chance to win fun fun prizes!

To all BSN Graduates (2002 - 2007) - 25th Advancement Program in Clinical Nursing

What: 25th Advancement Program in Clinical Nursing

When: June 16 - November 28, 2008 (6 mos.)

Where: UP - PGHFee: 8,000 Php.

Requirements:
a. PRC License (photocopy)
b. PNA Membership (photocopy)
c. TOR
d. Board Rating (80% and above)
e. letter of Intent address to:Mrs. Ma. Rita Villanueva - Tamse Deputy Director for Nursing

SCREENING OF APPLICANTS:MAY 26, 2008 2:00 PM
NURSING SKILLS LAB., NURSES' HOMES

for more info call: DNET # 524 -0703
Trunk line: 521 8450 loc. 3915

B.C. TO FUND THREE-YEAR NURSING DEGREE PROGRAM AT BCIT

BURNABY – The Province announced today that it will provide $1.4 million in one-time funding to kickstart the first three-year accelerated nursing degree program in the province at the British Columbia Institute of Technology.

“Nurses play a critical role in our health system. An accelerated three-year nursing degree is an innovative approach to get nurses into the workforce sooner,” said Health Minister George Abbott. “One of the things we heard in the Conversation on Health and committed to in the throne speech was a three-year bachelor of science in nursing program.”

Last month’s throne speech recognized the importance of health professionals in providing quality health care and committed to substantially expand access to qualified health professionals. The throne speech included a commitment by the Province to establish a three-year bachelor of science in nursing program to permit nurses to gain their degree a year sooner with significant on-the-job training.

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Sevilla Rose Elvira-de Leon: Dedicated and Excellent Nurse in Saudi

Here is a story of a Filipino nurse who works very hard in Saudi.

As a professional nurse, Sevilla Rose knows too well that many opportunities are waiting for her abroad and that getting an overseas job can paved the way for all her dreams to be fulfilled.

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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.

read the whole article from hawkesbury

Saskatchewan looking to lure nurses from Philippines

Source: CBC News

Saskatchewan is off to the Philippines to hire 300 nurses.

Saskatchewan Party MLA Laura Ross and officials from five health regions and the provincial health recruitment agency are going on a hiring trip to the southeast Asian nation next week.
If they're successful, it'll take the government part of the way toward fulfilling the Saskatchewan Party's campaign promise to hire 800 more registered nurses — filling 600 vacancies and adding 200 new positions — during its first term in office.

Ross, the legislative secretary to the health minister, said hiring 300 people is an achievable goal.
Still, bringing that many nurses to Saskatchewan involves many issues, including making sure there is adequate housing, she said. Just making the move to Canada from halfway around the globe comes with its own challenges, Ross said.

"There is a certain amount of acclimatization," she said.
"That's why you know we've encouraged the community to become involved," she said.
For instance, when a dozen previously recruited nurses arrived in Regina, members of the Open Door Society were on hand to greet them, she said.

Saskatchewan Health Minister Don McMorris said the government will try to woo the nurses with competitive wages and a compensation package.
McMorris said he hopes the trip to the Philippines will help tackle what he calls the "huge problem" of the nursing shortage in Saskatchewan.

The province must also address the need for more training spaces for nurses at home, McMorris said.

Lifelong Nurse Was Born With the Caregiving Gene

Here is another inspiring story of a dedicated nurse.

As a teenager, Rundy Hamblen dreamed of being an airline stewardess. She was born in 1921, so passenger service was still in its infancy, and a nursing degree, oddly enough, was one of the requirements for the job.

Although she never got to care for the needs of cosseted passengers traveling to glamorous world capitals, the young Wisconsin woman did get to fly eventually, as an Army nurse, and she did get relatively close to Paris -- Omaha Beach, to be exact. Four months after D-Day.
Mrs. Hamblen, a longtime Arlington County resident, died Feb. 1 of pulmonary fibrosis at Capital Hospice in Arlington. She was 86.

In a way, she was a nurse pretty much her whole life -- from age 4 until her retirement as an emergency-room nurse at D.C. General Hospital nearly eight decades later.

Born Margery Rundell in Ashland, Wis., she and her sister helped their mother, a nurse, care for people in their hometown. Her dedication to the profession, she told The Washington Post in 1999, is "something you're born with, not anything you acquire."

Making house calls with her mother, she recalled, "there'd be a grandfather on the cot in a kitchen, and it would smell like high heaven. My sister couldn't take it. She'd sit outside. I don't know why, but I could always work with my mother."

She got her nursing degree at St. Luke's Nursing School in Duluth, Minn. -- still planning to be a stewardess, as flight attendants were called -- but World War II prompted a change in plans. She enlisted in the Army Air Forces in 1943.

When she and her fellow nurses took a re-outfitted Queen Mary to England and then landed at Omaha Beach, the military was still relying on its medics. The nurses lived out of tents, with whatever clothes and supplies they could pack into duffel bags. It took a while before she got assigned to a MASH unit in Normandy and then in Germany.

"I got dubbed the psychiatric nurse," she told The Post. "Guys were what we used to call shellshocked. So many guys had seen things that blew their minds. They would stand and stare into space, going off their rocker."

Although she didn't tend to the wounded at the front, she saw many severely injured patients, including Gen. George S. Patton.

The commander of the Third Army was critically injured Dec. 9, 1945, when the Cadillac in which he was riding crashed into a truck. Mrs. Hamblen was one of two nurses who cared for the general until his death at a hospital in Heidelberg 12 days later.

"It was something she never really talked about," her daughter Jill Jones said, although Mrs. Hamblen did describe him as "a very interesting and wonderful patient."

read the rest of the story at washington post

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

Nurse shortage affecting elder care

HARTFORD — Lawmakers are grappling with the demographics of Connecticut's rapidly aging population and an acute staffing shortage among the 241 nursing homes that have about 23,000 residents.

Majority Democrats in the General Assembly want to require higher nursing ratios, but Gov. M. Jodi Rell warns that the budget that takes effect on July 1 is perilously close to the constitutional cap on spending growth. Speaker of the House James A. Amann told lawmakers last week that the recent management failures of the Middletown-based Haven Healthcare nursing homes highlight the statewide need for more staff and tougher oversight.

read the whole story here.

Make Nurses Happy, Some Hospitals Say

Despite the nursing shortage, Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital in Yakima, Washington, has no problem attracting a steady steam of job candidates.

“We’ve never offered nurses a sign-on bonus,” says Kathy Franz, the hospital’s director of human resources. “Sign-on bonuses typically keep nurses in their jobs for two years. Our goal is to attract candidates who want to work here for other reasons.”

Among those reasons are a supportive corporate culture, flexible shifts, numerous opportunities for upward mobility and benefits that include a matching 401k, onsite child care and tuition reimbursement.

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Nurses compile their own list of problems

An occupational health and safety inspection by the NSW Nurses Association has revealed another long list of safety problems at the new $98 million Bathurst Base Hospital.

find out more at bathurst

Manitoba nurses threaten strike

Mannitoba--
The province and it's nurses lurched closer to a strike today when the nurses' union asked it's members to refuse to do overtime or accept extra shifts, and scheduled a strike vote for next month.

The Manitoba Nurses Union says talks with the Doer government broke down last night over wage issues. The union says the pay raise offered by the province is not enough to stem the exodus of nurses to higher paying jobs outside the province. The union says Manitoba's health care system is short 8 hundred nurses and the situation will only get worse as more RN's retire.

The province appears to have been taken by surprise by the union's move: a spokesman for Manitoba Health says the province tabled a proposed wage increase of 4.8 per cent per year over two years and expected negotiations to continue.

The province says its offer would make Manitoba nurses the fourth highest paid in Canada behind Alberta, Ontario and BC, all of which have higher costs of living. A spokesperson for the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority says extra shifts and overtime are scheduled into March and the WRHA expects nurses to show up for those shifts. The health authority wouldn't say what plans it has to replace RN's who refuse to sign up for extra work after the scheduled overtime shifts run out.

The Manitoba Nurses Union says it has scheduled a strike vote for March 10th.

Source: canada.com

Nurses want problems at hospital fixed

Nurses at a central NSW hospital will consider industrial action if major problems at the facility are not addressed "promptly", their union says.

A senior planning official in the region has been stood down after a number of design faults were identified at the new $98 million Bathurst Base Hospital.

The problems, including undersized operating theatres and intensive care wards and sheer drops accessible from the proposed mental health unit, were revealed earlier this month.

The NSW Nurses Association (NSWNA) said on Monday officials conducted an occupational health and safety inspection of the hospital last week and the results would be handed to former state and federal MP Ian Sinclair.

NSW Health Minister Reba Meagher has appointed Mr Sinclair as an administrator to help to identify and fix design issues at the hospital.

NSWNA assistant general secretary Judith Kiejda said there were also heavy nursing workloads at the facility, with some nurses working more than 100 hours last fortnight.

"It is just unbelievable that a brand new facility can have so many occupational health and safety problems," she said in a statement.

"Nurses expect that these issues, including the heavy workloads, will be addressed promptly and properly.

"If the problems are not fixed then Bathurst nurses will meet in the next few weeks to consider what action to take to get them fixed."

DoJ dismisses nurses’ complaint vs Sentosa

MANILA, Philippines -- The Department of Justice has dismissed the illegal recruitment complaint of 13 Filipino nurses in the United States against Sentosa Recruitment Agency in the Philippines and Sentosa Care LLC of New York for insufficiency of evidence.

In a seven-page decision, Senior State Prosecutor Doris S. Alejo, said they found no substantive alterations in the employment contracts signed by the nurses to sustain their charges.

Sentosa Recruitment Agency’s lawyer, Ibaro B. Relamida Jr., in a statement Monday, said this was the third successive loss of the New York nurses since the case was filed in June 2006. The nurses also lost their cases filed with the Philippine Overseas Employment Agency (POEA) and the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC).

read the whole article here