Professional development

CAMERON TAYLOR of Clown Doctors shares why a smile is good medicine on the ward - for nurses and patients.

FIONA CASSIE talks to nursing leaders about increasing moves to shared electronic health information, about protecting privacy and why it is important for nurses – even the IT shy – to be involved every step of the way.

FIONA CASSIE finds out more about the debate and new initiatives for nurses in primary schools from Kaitaia to Aranui.

Where should villages or rest homes look to provide the right sort of training for their catering staff?

Patient privacy breaches have been hitting the headlines. The infamous ‘eel’ x-ray in Auckland led to staff dismissals, and spying on cricket star Jesse Ryder’s clinical notes resulted in four clinicians facing disciplinary action. Nurse-turned-lawyer ROBIN KAY looks at the legal and ethical issues for nurses around accessing patient records – particularly now that unauthorised reading of a file leaves an ‘electronic fingerprint’.

Care Plus entered nursing’s vocabulary a decade ago. Has it helped nursing tackle the burden of chronic conditions and better support for people to manage their health? Or has it added up to not much? FIONA CASSIE does the sums…

No doctors’ appointments ‘til Friday. Why not see the nurse instead? MidCentral is upskilling practice nurses to assess and treat patients who front up to acute care walk-in clinics with minor ailments and illnesses. FIONA CASSIE finds out more

We look at a day in the life of Sue Glover - one of the country's new Registered Nurse First Surgical Assistants working with mostly children before, during and after their heart surgery.

Technology will never replace the art of nursing … but it can make the job a darned sight easier. FIONA CASSIE talks to Michelle Honey, the chair of the Nursing Informatics group, about nurses using information technology to improve health care.

Had a good night’s sleep recently? No? You are not alone – about one in four Kiwis have chronic insomnia at some point in their lives.