Caribbean Stepping up Fight Against HIV/ AIDS

Dr. Goulda A. Downer, a Jamaican-born top official at Howard University's College of Medicine in Washington, DC, was recently awarded a US$400,000 Ford Foundation grant.
The purpose of the grant will be to engage Caribbean clinicians in capacity building preceptorships that will increase interdisciplinary communication and collaboration, enhance clinical skills and improve the quality of HIV care.
Preceptorships will be open to the following groups of practitioners: physicians, registered nurses, pharmacists, dentists, nutritionists/dieticians, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants.
Jamaica Information Service, Washington DC, Dec 6/08

Reflections on Doctors: Nurses' Stories About Physicians & Surgeons

Edited by Terry Ratner, ISBN: 9781427798251, Kaplan Pub., Sept. 2008.
"Nurses share what it’s like to work with doctors—when it’s like a smooth-running machine, when communication breaks down, and how it directly affects the patient. Hear from people new to the field as well as those who have been in nursing for decades about power differences, gender dynamics, and the challenge of public perceptions.

Edited and introduced by a registered nurse, Reflections on Doctors is a resource for nurses and anyone who wants to better understand the healthcare professionals who care for them."
Read NYTimes review.

Pasqua Hospital nurses have a world of experience

Pamela Cowan, The Leader-Post, Regina Saskatchewan.
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Staff working on a medical unit at the Pasqua Hospital have a world of experience. "Many homes ... One community" is the label for three maps posted in one of the units to mark her staff's international diversity.
"On the world map, coloured pins show her staff originates from Canada, Africa, Germany, El Salvador, the Caribbean, Eritrea, Brazil, the United States and Guyana. Closer to home, staff are recognized on a Saskatchewan map, while a third demonstrates locations in the Philippines where nurses practised before they came to Regina. Engel said the maps are reminders that staff come from many cultures and may have different beliefs and varying levels of experience and education....They also bring different perspectives in terms of practice. Our multicultural group has enriched all of us. One of the things that we've discovered as a team is that there's many ways to do things right."

Looking for nursing jobs in Canada?

Managing your stress : a guide for nurses

'Managing your stress' was published by the Royal College of Nursing (RCN),UK, 2005.
This booklet is designed to encourage nurses to look at their responses to stressful situations and events. There is advice on how to recognise stress and how to reduce and manage responses to stress more effectively. Advice is also given on how to manage occupational stress. Further reading, useful contacts and websites are also included.
Caption on figurine ~ "Too blessed to stress"
[courtesy of our very own Lona].

Hand Hygiene

"Did you know that four out of five germs that cause illness are spread by hands?
That's right. And that's why cleaning hands is one of the most important steps health care providers (& all of us) can take to prevent the spread of infection-causing germs. Numerous studies show that infections can be prevented in the hospital if health care providers use proper hand hygiene. Keeping your hands clean is an important way to avoid getting sick or spreading germs to patients, coworkers, etc." Click title for proper procedures as outlined by UMHS~Michigan.

Confronting Male Nurse Myths:

How to professionally handle the stereotypes.
BY KATHLEEN WARD

"You’re about to begin your first shift as an RN.Your gut tells you that the moment you walk through those doors in uniform, people will judge you. Why? Because you’re a man...Following are the unique situations male nurses face—and practical advice for handling the stereotypes."

Click on the link to read the full article from the RealityRN website.

Caribbean Health Conference focuses on Disease Prevention & Nursing Leadership

Antigua and Barbuda will play host to over 100 delegates, representing 17 Caribbean nations, for a major health conference on "Community-Based Prevention and Management of Cardiovascular and other Chronic Diseases among Caribbean Elderly – A focus on Nursing Leadership".

The conference will be held next week, October 13-15, 2008; and is in collaboration with Duke University School of Nursing, Office of Global and Community Health Initiatives, the Ministry of Health, the Pan American Health Organisation [PAHO] and the United States Centre for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC].

Read more on Caribbean News Net ~ and in the Antigua Sun.

US Hospital Finder Website

"We have information on over 6000 hospitals. Find the nearest hospitals in your area by using the search box [full address, or city and state, or zip code]. We will find the hospitals and show them on a map. You can then click on a hospital to get its details (e.g. address, phone and services) and directions. You can also browse through our list of hospitals by our A-Z or State index."

"This is interesting not just for locating the hospitals, but for the statistics and information it also provides." Jordan Sandquist [IUON nursing student]

Thanks Jordan for your website recommendation!

Here are a few other key sites for information on/about hospitals:
~ 'Quality Check' from JCAHO.
~ the American Hospital Directory.
~ 'Hospital Compare' from US Health & Human Services Dept.
~ HealthGrades, a non-profit organization.

Nursing Trend Watch: Get Ready for Change

By Linda Beattie, contributor to NurseZone.com

"What does the future hold for nurses and the country’s health care system? It certainly won’t be “more of the same.” From high-tech advances to economic downturns, nurses will need to keep their eyes on a number of trends if they want to be ready for the changes ahead."
Click on the title to read the full article ~ but note one set of statistics for job seekers to keep in mind:

The projected growth rates for RN jobs in the largest areas of employment are:
Physician offices ~ 39 percent
Home health care services ~ 39 percent
Outpatient care centers ~ 34 percent
Employment services ~ 27 percent
General medical and surgical hospitals, public and private ~ 22 percent
Nursing care facilities ~ 20 percent

Caribbean Nursing Statistics

Table 1:
Number of Registered Nurses, Vacancies, and Vacancy Rates by Country.
Table 2:
Registered Nurses' Resignations with Declared Intentions to Migrate to the United Kingdom, the United States of America, or Canada, by Year and Country.
Table 3:
Health Workforce in the Caribbean Region per 10,000 Population.

Managed migration: the Caribbean approach to addressing nursing services capacity
Health Services Research, June, 2007, by Marla E. Salmon,
Jean Yan, Hermi Hewitt, Victoria Guisinger

Addressing Nurse-to-Nurse Bullying to Promote Nurse Retention

Rocker, C., (August 29, 2008) "Addressing Nurse-to-Nurse Bullying to Promote Nurse Retention" OJIN: The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing; Vol 13 No. 3.

"Nurse-to-nurse bullying in the workforce is contributing to the current nursing shortage. The literature reveals both victims and witnesses of bullying suffer silently and are often confused as to what to do when presented with bullying behavior. This confusion frequently contributes to nurses leaving their chosen profession."

"Some Examples of Nurse-to-Nurse Bullying:
Interactions:
~ Withholding information.
~ Posting documentation errors on bulletin boards for all disciplines to view and others to critique.
~ Intimidating others by threats of disciplinary procedures.
~ Writing critical and abusive letters or notes to co-workers.
~ Verbalizing harsh innuendos and criticism.
~ Using hand gestures to ward off conversation.
~ Rolling eyes in disgust.
~ Having personal values and beliefs undermined.

Power Disparities:
~ Using shift/weekend charge positions to direct/control staff assignments/breaks.
~ Controlling co-workers’ behavior by reporting them to their supervisors for perceived lack of productivity and assistances.
~ Placing others under pressure to produce work and meet impossible deadlines.
~ Withholding knowledge of policies and procedures to get co-workers in trouble.

Actions:
~ Yelling at co-workers.
~ Demanding co-workers answer the telephone, NOW!
~ Refusing to mentor and guide new staff in their practice.
~ Refusing to help those who struggle with the unknown and uncertainty.
~ Refusing to help others in need of assistance.
~ Giving public reminders of incomplete/missed documentation or work."

Full article available at: www.nursingworld.org

RNCareers: Ontario's Premiere Career Site for Nurses

"To aid nurses in their search for career opportunities, the RNAO [Registered Nurses Association of Ontario] hosts the most extensive job search available for nurses in Ontario.
This career site offers a job and resume posting service that is beneficial to job seekers and nursing employers.
Nurses have the opportunity to search for jobs and their resumes to employers while remaining in control of their confidential information."

What Nurses Want

Recruitment Plans Focus On Working Conditions Over Financial Rewards
~ Washington Post ~ Sept 13, 2008
by V. Don Haynes

"As it turns out, many nurses want better working conditions more than they do extra money. Hospitals now are responding by introducing technology to dramatically reduce paperwork, offering more flexible hours, reducing caseloads, paying for advanced training and giving them more authority."
Click on title to read full article...

The Numbers Game

Nurses Respond to Questions about Salary
article reports on notable findings in nurse's earnings by region [US].

"Of the almost 75% who responded to the question on salary, the average salary was $62,618."

by Lorraine Steelfel on Nurse.com website, posted Sept 8, 2008.

News of our IUON Students in Colorado

Some encouraging words from our nursing student cohort now at University of Colorado - Pueblo!
"I just thought I would pass on that all is well with the Colorado group. We love it here in Pueblo. I want to pass on a thank you. Thank you for all that IUON gave us. We are excited and know that we are ready for the next step in our education. Thought we would send some pictures of what we are up to, hope you enjoy.
Thank you again, Melissa"

All the best to Danielle, Melissa, Elizabeth & Sheryl (& Candice)
from all of us back in St. Kitts!