News
This is our first annual report where we reflect on the achievements in the nearly three very exciting and busy years that mark the establishment of the school. The report contains information on Education and Professional Development, Australian Research and Consultancy Projects, International Research and Consultancy Projects and Publications.
Renal Nursing Student Program of the Northern Territory applications open 20th September - 10th October 2008
Northern Territory Department of Health and Families (DHF) Employed Renal Nursing Student Program, for the Graduate Diploma of Nursing, in partnership with Charles Darwin University (CDU).
Are you a Registered Nurse interested in working with renal clients and their families through acute and chronic renal disease?
Commencing in 2009, DHF is offering employed renal nursing student positions for Registered Nurses (Nurse 2) for 4 days per week whilst undertaking the 12-month full time Graduate Diploma of Nursing at CDU. This program provides opportunities for funded interstate specialty placements and remote placements within the Northern Territory.
The employed model is an exciting initiative of DHF and CDU. To be eligible for a position you must be eligible for employment with DHF and meet the enrolment criteria at CDU. Applications should address the Selection Criteria. A copy of the Selection Criteria and Job Description, and fact sheet and flyer are available below or at the website listed.
Download the Renal fact sheet here
Download the Renal Student program flyer here
Download the Renal Nursing job description here
Download the Employed Student Renal Model for 2009 Application form here
Should you require more information regarding this opportunity, please contact Nursing Recruitment on 1800 000 648 or email nursinginfo.ths@nt.gov.au or visit www.nursing.nt.gov
Quote vacancy number: R2009
Closing date: 3 October 2008
Dr Sue Kruske to deliver 'Musings from Down Under' at King's College, London 16th June 2008
The importance of Early Years has gained increasing recognition in the past few years with significant investment being made into the area by national and state policy makers and government bodies. Health visitors are ideally placed to work with parents to increase their capacity to provide stimulating and nurturing environments for their children. How well they do this depends on the education programmes available to them and the support and leadership they have available to them in the workplace.
Sue will provide an overview of services available to families in Australia and the skills, knowledge and attitudes the health visitor workforce require to be effective. Comparisons will be made between services for mainstream families and those available to Aboriginal families living in remote areas.
Download the flyer.
Note: You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view pdf files. Get Adobe Acrobat reader.
Date: Monday 16 June 2008
Time: 12.30 – 14.00
Place: G79, Franklin-Wilkins Building
Nursing Awards – Call for last nominations
Territorians wanting to nominate a nurse or midwife for the Territory’s annual Nursing Awards better be quick, as nominations close this week. Thousands of nurses and midwives work across the NT in various nursing fields, from maternity to aged care, mental health services, hospitals and community care, and remote health centers.
The Department of Health and Community Services hosts an annual NT Nursing and Midwifery Awards to recognise the individual achievements and contributions that nurses and midwifes make to our health sector. Principal Nursing Consultant, Greg Rickard said the awards are a great way to acknowledge the work of nurses and their individual achievements, and provide an opportunity for Territorians to say thank-you to nurses who have made a difference in their lives.
“The awards are a formal way for Territorians to highlight nurses and midwives who have stood out for their professionalism and care. “A range of award categories highlight the broad nature of nursing and special awards for new graduates and our ‘Living Legends’ award recognise both our newest nurse sand those that have contributed many outstanding years of service.
Nominations can be made by phoning our hotline or over the internet. All nurses and midwives currently employed in the NT and who hold a current certificate with the NT Nursing & Midwifery Board are eligible for nomination. There are nine award categories to nominate into including Acute Care, Aged Care and General Practice, Community Health, Enrolled Nurse, Graduate of the Year, Mental Health, Midwifery, Remote Health and Living Legend. Winners will be announced on 9th May, during a reception held at Parliament House.
Nomination forms are available at nursing.nt.gov.au, by emailing nurseawards.ths@nt.gov.au or by calling 8951 7169.
Nominations close this week.
Maternal Deaths: The Tip of the Iceberg
In Australia more than one woman dies every fortnight as a result of childbearing – some could be preventable - according a study in published by Wiley-Blackwell in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology.
The paper entitled “Making Pregnancy Safer in Australia: the Importance of Maternal Death review” outlines the maternal death monitoring and review process in Australia and presents the salient features from the recently published Australian maternal death report – calling for an improvement in the review process to prevent further avoidable maternal deaths.
“Despite being the marker of the health system’s performance, maternal deaths appear to have low priority in Australia - due to poor resourcing and underreporting of deaths and Indigenous status. The monitoring and reporting system needs to be strengthened in rigor”, says author of the paper, Associate Professor Sue Kildea, from Charles Darwin University’s Graduate School for Health Practice.
The latest report shows Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and rural and remote dwelling women are more at risk of maternal death in Australia. The importance of reviewing how and why women die in childbirth is hence brought to the fore. This study finds that leading causes of direct and indirect maternal deaths were infection, cardiac deaths, amniotic fluid embolism, psychiatric deaths, obstetric hemorrhage and hemorrhage from other causes. The paper emphasizes the need for key professionals like midwives, general practice obstetricians and obstetric specialists to work within effective health systems, to give women and newborns consistent access to skilled care throughout the reproductive cycle.
Maternal death review is an essential component of any maternity service. This study reinforces the need to further investigate Australia’s review process, and to allocate more resources to improve the quality, timeliness and capacity of maternal death and severe maternal morbidity review in Australia.” “We are not doing as well as other similar countries in this respect”.
A link to the Maternal Deaths in Australia 200-2002 report can be found here.
YAKKUM Ceremony
7 April 08
The Graduate School for Health Practice are delighted to welcome colleagues from Yayasen Kristen Untuk Kesehatan Umum/Christian Foundation for Public Health (YAKKUM) in Central Java. YAKKUM is the largest Non-Government Organisation (NGO) in Indonesia and provides national leadership particularly in areas of community development and disaster and emergency. The GSHP has been working with YAKKUM for 3 years to set up an off shore masters of nursing for their academic staff that began this year.
YAKKUM is a church-based, non-profit organisation running a comprehensive health care system. This consists of 11 hospitals, 22 maternity houses and Poly clinics, 9 community development sub-units, 2 rehabilitation units, 1 emergency unit, 2 pharmaceutical units and 3 education institutions. They have a total full-time employee complement of approximately 4000. It is the major NGO involved in leading disaster and emergency in Indonesia. Two staff from YAKKUM will assist with teaching on our short course in disaster and emergency and one will stay and participate in this course for credit towards her academic study program.
They will be accompanied by staff from the School of Business, Duta Wacana Christian University (UKDW) to discuss other collaborations sought between our university and UKCW’s Faculty of Business. The visit will occur on the 7th and 8th of April for the signing of our Letter of Intent, an agreement between YAKKUM and University for the purpose of promoting mutual understanding and academic, cultural, and personnel exchange.
Understanding institutional reform in the Chinese health sector
10 April 2008
Charles Darwin University’s Graduate School for Health Practice is proud promote our seminar: Understanding institutional reform in the Chinese health sector, 2:00-5:00pm on Thursday the 10th of April.
Our seminar aims to create a platform for the discussion of how institutional reform and policy issues related to the management of medical institutions has affected availability, access, affordability and quality of health care services in China. Speakers include academics from Charles Darwin University and the University of Technology Sydney (UTS). Professor David Goodman, Professor of Contemporary China Studies at UTS, will be making himself available in the morning to speak to government representatives, business people and academics who are interested in his experience and research into social and political change in China. Places are free but we ask that you RSVP by Monday the 7th of April 2008 for catering purposes.
For further information please contact Natasha Lawrence on 08 8946 7255, email natasha.lawrence@cdu.edu.au
To RSVP or make an appointment with Professor David Goodman please contact Taytae Teerakaew on 08 8946 6380, email nattapong.teerakaew@cdu.edu.au
Limited places – early bookings essential
'Health Aspects of Disaster' short course
7-11 April 2008
The Graduate School for Health Practice and Menzies School of Health Research will be running the 'Health Aspects of Disaster short course' from the 7th-11th of April. The course will include case studies of recent disasters, presented by those with direct experience of
these situations, and practical exercises. Attention is given to remote issues during the course. A case
study outlining disaster preparedness and response in Indonesia will be delivered by representatives of
YAKKUM, a leading NGO working with Government and other NGOs in Aceh, Jogjakarta and other
disasters over the last decade in Indonesia. For registration and further information please click on the following links.
Possibilities and Challenges for Reproduction in a Socio-Cultural Context
25-27 March 2008
Japan Society for the Promotion of Science: “New Research Initiatives in Humanities and Social Sciences” is holding a symposium titled Possibilities and Challenges for Reproduction in a Socio-Cultural Context in Tokyo, Japan from 25-27th March, 2008. Associate Professor Sue Kildea has been honoured with an invitation to attend this ground breaking symposium which will be followed by a workshop. Sue Kildea will be presenting two sessions, one entitled “Is There a Future for Rural and Remote Maternity Services?”, and at the workshop: "Birthing in small units: How should we assess risk and safety?". She will be joined by several other presenters from around the world including countries like USA, Scotland, Palestine, and Finland.
Doin' it Different
13-15 August 2008
Novotel Atrium, Esplanade, Darwin, Northern Territory
Our Theme - "Doin' it Different" - encourages submission of abstracts from mental health nurses everywhere who are practising innovatively across clinical arenas, management, education and research. The Territory is a place where "Doin' it different is a way of life. Come and share your experiences and maybe learn a little, too, in the relaxed tropical north.When it's cold and wet down south - come in search of the sun, perfect weather and exciting holiday opportunities.
Program outline
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Who should attend: Mental Health Nurse clinicians, managers, academics and policy developers - and their professional colleagues of any discipline.
Call for abstracts: Abstracts are invited (closing date of 14 March 2008) using the template provided.
Registration/Expression of interest: To register / express interest in attending, please use the document provided.
General enquiries: Contact Pat Bradley - pat.bradley@nt.gov.au (08 89228311)
NT urged to adopt Qld rural midwifery plan
(Kildea, S, ABC Country Hour, NT urged to adopt Qld rural midwifery plan, 0920, January 27, 2008)
A Darwin based-academic says a maternity model in Queensland could be adopted to remote areas in the Northern Territory, making it easier for mothers to have babies in the bush. A midwifery-led unit was formed in a far north Queensland community because of a lack of doctors. The unit allows pregnant women with low risk of complications to have their babies closer to home, while women facing higher risks are sent to the Cairns Hospital.
Associate professor of Midwifery at Charles Darwin University Sue Kildea says that model could work in the Territory. "We've seen that it can be [successful] in other places around Australia, where they're starting to get midwifery models of care up and running," She said "New Zealand has fabulous midwifery models of care across the whole rural and remote and urban settings, so I don't see why it wouldn't be sustainable. "I think it would probably draw midwives back into the profession."
Department of Making Pregnancy Safer, World Health Organization - "Technical Consultation on the Scaling up of the Workforce for Maternal and Newborn Health"
19-21 November 2007
Château de Penthes, Geneva, Switzerland
Still, hundreds of thousands of women and newborn die every year and many babies are born dead due to complications of pregnancy and childbirth and the lack of skilled health workers. Even more women suffer serious or long-term illness or disability because they have no access to skilled care. In particular countries in crisis are short of health workers, but there is a considerable need for more professionals almost everywhere.
At a three-day Technical Consultation, more than 30 experts from six WHO regions representing scientific institutions, non-governmental organizations, professional bodies, UN agencies including UNICEF, UNFPA, World Bank, and other development partners, upon an invitation by MPS, discussed how to increase coverage with skilled health professionals for maternity care. The disciplines of midwifery, obstetrics, paediatrics, public health, epidemiology, anaesthetics, health policy, education, human resources and health systems worked together to provide guidance on the workforce issues challenging maternal and newborn health. Sue Kildea, Associate Professor of Midwifery at CDU, was invited to attend
The objective of the consultation was to develop approaches to increase coverage with skilled health professionals for maternity care, building on world health reports 2005 and 2006, by addressing
- competencies and health team balance
- numbers needed
- internal distribution
- working conditions
With a focus on middle and low income countries. Questions that were addressed during the Consultation which took place in Geneva from 19 to 21 November 2007 included:
- What do pregnant women want?
- How can we make most of the existing workforce?
- How can we respond to the most urgent needs in countries with extreme shortages of health workers?
- Is there a global response to the workforce crisis?
News and events in 2007
View school news and events for 2007 >>
News and events in 2006
View school news and events for 2006 >>
Useful links
- 'Crossing Barriers', 10th International Paediatric & Child Health Nursing Conference. Holiday Inn Darwin and the Darwin Entertainment Centre, Darwin, 30 April-2 May 2008
- Call for abstracts - 28th Triennial Congress of the International Confederation of Midwives. Glasgow, 1-5 June 2008.
