Patricia Davidson is a "proud Aussie nurse". She has been an RN since 1980 and has clinical, teaching and practice expertise in cardiovascular science and the care of vulnerable populations. Starting her career at Wollongong hospital, Davidson is now flying ...
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We should be optimistic: addressing mental health in aged care
This issue of psychotropics has been front and centre during the Royal Commission, but not much time has been devoted to the reason behind its use, mental illness. Approximately half of all aged care residents exhibit symptoms consistent with depression, ...
More »On the front line, twice: conversation with a defence nurse
“We'd always get the cocky doctor who wouldn't listen and so the nurses would try a few times and then you'd go, no, let him hang,” Jo Ikin jokes. “They'd learn by their mistakes. Obviously, we'd never put a patient at risk, ...
More »Angels of mercy or sex objects: perceptions of nurses in pop culture
"Nobody knows you're here. And you better hope nothing happens to me. Because if I die... you die," nurse Annie Wilkes told the injured writer Paul Sheldon in Stephen King's Misery. Paul crashed his car in a blizzard and she ...
More »Have you seen the latest National Immunisation Program (NIP) changes for toddlers?
From 1 July, the NIP Schedule at 12 months of age has changed 1-4 To ensure the NIP Schedule is aligned with changes in disease patterns, an update has been made to the recommendations on the use of pneumococcal and meningococcal ...
More »24 hours in a Bangladeshi field hospital
A Red Cross field hospital in the heart of the world’s biggest series of refugee camps is the only 24-hour emergency facility to service close to a million people. The morning call to prayer wakes me up at 5.30. I ...
More »A quick chat with… a nurse navigator
What is your name, where are you based? My name is Nikia Goldsmith from Metro North Hospital and Health Service in Brisbane’s north. What hospital do you work at and what do you do there? I work at Caboolture Hospital, ...
More »Metastatic breast cancer nurse numbers still lagging
A report by Breast Cancer Network Australia (BCNA) has revealed that thousands of Australians are still missing out on quality care despite the country having one of the best breast cancer survival rates in the world. The State of the ...
More »Nursing at 25,000 feet: what it takes to join the RFDS
The RFDS delivers a unique and vital form of healthcare to the community. As it approaches 90 years of service, we talk to one of its flying nurses. "How ya going, mate?” or something to that effect, is how I ...
More »A quick chat with… a nurse unit manager
What is your name, where are you based? Rachel Smyth, Redcliffe Hospital – Metro North Hospital and Health Service. What hospital do you work at and what do you do there? I am currently the acting nurse unit manager of ...
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