Weekly Update

Dear Members,

We trust you were able to celebrate International Nurses Day this week in some way with your colleagues. The day was marked by the Federal Government when Australia's first walk-in nurses centre was officially opened in Canberra. "We're watching it very keenly, we are supporting other similar initiatives in terms of recognising the skills of nurses," Minister Roxon said. Click here to see full press release.

Conference early bird registrations are steadily rolling in with many of you taking advantage of the savings to be made. The diverse program will have something for everyone so look at your diary and join us at a conference that fosters new ideas, promotes collegiate relationships and celebrates remote area health practice.

With 2010 being the International Year of the Nurse, we will be joined by Rosemary Bryant the Commonwealth Chief Nurse and President of the International Council of Nurses. Also Leanne Miller who earlier this year was with the Australian Government’s delegation to the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women in New York. Leanne is Executive Director of the Koori Women Mean Business Inc..

Among our speakers are the Northern Territory Coroner Greg Cavanagh and John Mofflin, co-founder of the Jack Thompson Foundation. The aim of the foundation is to teach indigenous Australians how to build their own homes from materials and resources available in their own country, to better fit their own design and requirements.

Renewal forms will be out to many of you throughout the next few weeks and we encourage you to continue your support of CRANAplus and the work we do on your behalf. Thank you to those members who have renewed their membership in recent days. Knowledge of CRANAplus’ role supporting and advocating for the remote sector is getting out far and wide; we see this reflected in the surge of new membership we have received this year. We will have a membership update for you in the next edition of the CRANAplus Magazine.

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Budget Announced

CRANAplus congratulates the Rudd Government on its commitment to health reform with the injection of substantial funds for the health sector.

There are a number of measures in the budget, some of which will benefit the remote sector and others having less impact.

We particularly welcome the national locum scheme for nurses and for allied health professionals, said Christopher Cliffe, president of CRANAplus and especially the inclusion of midwives in that mix,” he added.

(click the headline of this item to read the complete media release)
 

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Final Chance to Submit an Abstract

The deadline has arrived for submitting abstracts for the 2010 CRANAplus Conference! We'll accept all submission made through the weekend, but then it's important that we get them sorted and out to the review committee.  We want to get the conference schedule finalized as soon as possible and posted on the website.  Click here for details on registering an abstract and accress to the online submission system.

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FLEC Update

As always, courses are filling fast.  Vacancies exist for the following;
REC - Gove 13-15th August
MEC - Pt Hedland 1-15th August
MEC - Walgett 17-19th September

Register online now to avoid disappointment!

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BSS Update

Mark Millard’s Bush Support Service (BSS) road trip is well and truly on the road. He is currently still in Queensland, camped near the stunningly beautiful Camooweal Lagoon. If all goes to plan, Mark will be leaving his home state of Queensland tomorrow and venture into the Northern Territory, heading to Barkly Homestead. The next step is for him to travel north on the Tablelands Highway to Cape Crawford and then Boroloola.

Next week, Mark is planning to head west on the Carpentaria Highway to join the Stuart Highway at Daly Waters. He will then travel north to Darwin through Mataranka Katherine and Pine Creek.

Mark is planning to be involved in a number of workshops with another of our BSS psychologists, Therese Forbes, in Darwin and Torres Strait Islands so there are definitely diversions in his itinerary!

If you are in any of these areas and would like a visit from Mark, please give the BSS office a call on 08 8959 1110.

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Meetings & Conferences

The 28th CRANAplus Conference
13-16 October 2010
Adelaide, SA

Supporting Sisters and Aunties to Survive!
26 May 2010
Darwin, NT

Australia's Health 2010 Conference- The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare
23 June 2010
Canberra, ACT

Aboriginal Health Conference 2010
26 - 27 June, 2010
Perth, WA

2010 Primary Health Care Research Conference
30 June - 2 July 2010
Darwin, NT

Australian Diabetes Society & Australian Diabetes Educators Association Annual Scientific Meeting
1-3 September 2010
Sydney, NSW

2nd Rural & Remote Mental Health Symposium
29-30 September 2010
Sydney, NSW

The 4th Asia Pacific Regional Conference of the International Association of Suicide Prevention‘Suicide Prevention
17- 20 November 2010
Brisbane, QLD

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Educational Opportunities & Scholarships

CRANAplus/YNA Undergraduate Scholarships
Deadline - 31st August 2010
Each year CRANAplus in partnership with Your Nursing Agency (YNA) offer a total of six $1000 scholarships. These scholarships are available to students who as part of their undergraduate course of study in a health discipline at any Australian university, undertakes a remote location placement.

PHC: Making a difference
25-26 October 2010
This short course has been developed to strengthen health professionals understanding of the social, environmental, structural, political and philosophical issues that impact upon health care provision in remote Australia. The workshop will explore primary health care, its current status and potential in Australian health care as well as the recognition of the importance of integrating health promotion and prevention strategies in remote health settings.

A Sticky Issue: Otitis Media and Indigenous Children
Otitis media (middle ear infection) and subsequent hearing problems are a major health and development concern for many Indigenous children in Australia. In some remote Aboriginal communities, rates of tympanic membrane perforation exceed 60% and up to 50% of school children possibly require hearing aids. Studies have shown that in Aboriginal communities, the onset of otitis media frequently occurs within 3 months of birth and progresses to chronic suppurative otitis media in 60% of cases.Tuesday 25 May 2010 | Channel 4 | 8:00 pm (AEST)

Evaluating the long-term effectiveness of the Maternity Emergency Care course in remote Australia
CRANAplus delivers the MEC course which is the only short-course on maternity emergencies offered to non-midwifery qualified remote area nurses and Aboriginal Health Workers. The aim of the course is to improve the maternity emergency skills and knowledge of health service providers who do not have midwifery qualifications. There has been no long-term evaluation of the course since its inception.

 AUSMED: Improving Your Knowledge of Medicines Seminar
As medicines are one of the highest areas of risk for ALL nurses; it is essential that YOU regularly update your knowledge on this key professional area.
Brisbane: 19 - 20 August
Perth: 2 - 3 December
Adelaide: 15 - 16 November

Applied suicide intervention skills training
A two-day workshop
15 -16 July
Doncaster East

Emotional Intelligence and Mental Health: Implications for Clinical Practice
22 July 2010
Sydney, NSW
Swinburne University are developing new methods to improve resilience and psychological health in Australian schools and organisations. One new method is in the area of emotional intelligence (EI). Their research indicates that EI (the way that we understand, use and manage emotions) is related to stress, coping strategies and well-being indicators. Typically, people who report having higher levels of EI also report suffering from less stress, engage in more adaptive coping strategies and report fewer symptoms of psychological ill health such as anxiety and depression.

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Articles of Interest

PROFESSIONAL INDEMNITY INSURANCE FOR MIDWIVES
Today, on International Midwives Day, I am pleased to announce that the Government has signed the contract to provide the first ever Commonwealth-supported professional indemnity insurance for midwives.

BUDGET: Some good answers, many questions and a few disappointments
Tonight’s Federal Budget has provided clarification of some of the key elements of health
reform, but a great deal is still unclear or unknown as far as people in rural and remote areas
are concerned.

LAUNCH OF AUSTRALIA’S FIRST NATIONAL MALE HEALTH POLICY
The first National Male Health Policy has been developed through extensive consultation with health services, health professionals, and men themselves in 26 public forums attended by 1,300 people.

AUSTRALIA’S FIRST PUBLIC NURSE-LED WALK-IN CENTRE LAUNCHED IN CANBERRA
International Nurses’ Day was celebrated Wednesday by the Federal Minister for Health and Ageing, Nicola Roxon and ACT Minister for Health Katy Gallagher as they launched Australia’s first public nurse-led Walk-in Centre.

NEW HEALTH CENTRE OPENS IN TENNANT CREEK
The Minister for Indigenous Health and Rural and Regional Health, Warren
Snowdon, officially opened the new health centre at Tennant Creek.

BIGGEST EVER AUSTRALIAN HEALTH SURVEY ANNOUNCED
The health of Australians will be getting its most comprehensive check-up ever, with the announcement today of the Australian Health Survey.

WELLBEING CENTRES STRUGGLING WITH REFERRALS
The Family Responsibilities Commission (FRC) says wellbeing centres across Cape York in far north Queensland do not have the capacity to deal with the number of people that are being referred to them.

RFDS PLANS MORE FAR WEST SERVICES
The Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) says it wants to reach more people in far west New South Wales to offset reduced access to medical care for those living in remote centres.

HEALTHY FOODS 'NEED BRANDING' IN REMOTE STORES
A vision for branded health food to be sold in remote Indigenous community stores has been unveiled in Central Australia.

SENATE 'ALARMED' BY INDIGENOUS EAR HEALTH
A Senate inquiry has found there is a crisis in Indigenous ear health, with Indigenous people up to 10 times more likely to suffer ear disease and hearing loss than other Australians.

DOUBT CAST OVER MENTAL HEALTH FUNDING LEVEL
The Illawarra Forum says there are small gains in the federal budget in helping people with mental health issues and for literacy and numeracy programs for unemployed people.

LOOK TO OTHERS TO FIND HAPPINESS, EXPERT SAYS
Having trouble finding happiness? Well, thinking about the happiness of others is the key to finding it ourselves, an expert says.

PILOT OF ONLINE COUNCELLING SERVICE FOR YOUNG PEOPLE
The Australian Government, in partnership with the Western Australian Government, is conducting a 12-month pilot of drought reform measures in part of Western Australia.

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