Weekly Update

Dear Members,

This week we are pleased to welcome our newest Corporate Member, Katherine West Health Board, click on their logo on the left hand side of this newsletter and learn more about them, their health service and employment opportunities available.

Are you looking for the satisfaction that working in a challenging environment can offer? Are you a fishing enthusiast? If so, check our employment vacancies this week for details of a temporary position currently available as the Primary Health Care Manager (N5) at Wadeye, in the Northern Territory. You can find details of this position in the employment section of the CRANAplus website.

We'd like to thank everyone who submitted abstracts for this year's conference. We received over 30 submissions all of extremely high quality. It's exciting to have such an impressive pool of topics and authors for consideration by the abstract review committee. Applicants will be notified as soon as a decision has been made and accepted abstracts will be posted on the website.

Have you booked for conference yet? Take advantage of the early bird and members discount available to you. Early bird discounts apply until July 31. Click here to be taken to the registration section of the website.

The REC & MEC courses to be held in in conjuction with this year's conference in Adelaide, SA have proven to be so popular, that new applicants will be ‘waitlisted’ in the event of a vacancy. Check our website for the course program for the rest of this year.

The REC has limited vacancies in June at Halls Creek -WA, August in Gove-NT and November in Strahan –Tasmania. Those interested in MEC have the opportunity of securing a place in August in Pt Hedland-WA, September in Walgett - NSW and November in Tennant Creek-NT. These will fill quickly so book soon to avoid disappointment! Both courses attract 20 CNE points. If you have any queries about course, do not hesitate to contact the FLEC team by email or by calling 08 8408 8200.

Current usage of nurses in primary health care in Australia remains lower than in other comparable health systems such as the UK and New Zealand. The Australian Government is taking action through its National Health and Hospitals Network. An additional $390.3 million in funding over four years is being invested into supporting a broader and more flexible role for practice nurses under the Practice Nurse Incentive Program (PNIP). Click here to read this article. 

The Centre for Remote Health offers a range of short courses from 1 -14 days in Alice Springs and other locations, many in collaboration with CRANAplus. These courses are aimed at the broad remote health workforce. These short courses can be undertaken as continuing professional development and some may also be undertaken with assessment. Click here for more details.

Regards,

Anne-Marie Borchers
Business Manager

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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: A Dialogue Across Disciplines and Cultures’
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
Tuesday 25 May 2010 | Channel 4 | 8:00 pm (AEST)
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.

AUSMED: Improving Your Knowledge of Medicines Seminar
Brisbane: 19 - 20 August
Perth: 2 - 3 December
Adelaide: 15 - 16 November
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.

Live Strong: Closing the Gap on Chronic Disease DVD available to order
Live Strong is the latest of the half hour documentary style programs in the Rural Health Education Foundation’s Strong Series. The Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing has supported the distribution of this resource. To order your free DVD visit the Rural Health Education Foundation’s website www.rhef.com.au  or contact the Foundation on (02) 62325480 or support@rhef.com.au

ASISTApplied suicide intervention skills training
15-16 July 2010 - two day workshop
Melbourne, Vic
Phone: 8841 3000 - Email: mchs@mannchs.org.au

EdCaN National Cancer Nursing Education Project) has developed a National Professional Development Framework for Cancer Nursing  and a suite of Learning Resources targeted at building capacity of the nursing workforce in cancer control, with the ultimate aim of improving health outcomes for people affected by cancer.

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Articles of Interest

INDIGENOUS TRAINEESHIPS IN HEALTH
A number of local pharmacies are taking part in a new local employment project for Aboriginal high school students.

STUDY PROTOCOL: NATIONAL RESEARCH PARTNERSHIP TO IMPROVE PRIMARY HEALTH CARE PERFORMANCE AND OUTCOMES FOR INDIGENOUS PEOPLES
Strengthening primary health care is critical to reducing health inequity between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.

SENATE COMMUNITY AFFAIRS REFERENCES COMMITTEE REPORT INTO HEARING HEALTH IN AUSTRALIA EXECUTIVE SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS
The report focuses on the prevalence of hearing loss in Australia and the issues faced by those who are hearing impaired.
QLD HEALTH WORKERS PAY BUNGLE
Queensland Health workers have been warned to expect more errors in their pay cheques today.

MEDICARE, CENTRELINK ISSUE SCAM WARNING
Australians have been warned against callers pretending to work for Medicare and Centrelink, who try to obtain personal details for identity fraud.

CHEMICAL SWEEP YIELDS HOPE IN MALARIA BATTLE: STUDY
A massive screening of chemicals has turned up thousands of compounds that could lead to new drugs in the fight against malaria, a pair of studies published in Nature reported Thursday.

REDUCING HIGH SUGAR DRINK CONSUMPTION IN REMOTE COMMUNITIES (FED)
The Minister for Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs, Jenny Macklin, said the Australian Government is requesting an
urgent report from key departments on policy options to help reduce the consumption of high sugar drinks in remote communities.

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