Nurse educators meet in Dunedin."Developing and nurturing practice" was the theme of the 12th Australasian Nurse Educators' Conference at the University of Otago The University of Otago (Māori: Te Whare Wānanga o Otāgo) in Dunedin is New Zealand's oldest university with over 20,000 students enrolled during 2006. in Dunedin late August/early September. The three-day event three-day eventa competition in the pleasure horse sport comprising usually one day each for dressage, cross country and show jumping. , attended by around 150 people, featured three keynote speakers: nursing school head at Southern Cross University in New South Wales New South Wales, state (1991 pop. 5,164,549), 309,443 sq mi (801,457 sq km), SE Australia. It is bounded on the E by the Pacific Ocean. Sydney is the capital. The other principal urban centers are Newcastle, Wagga Wagga, Lismore, Wollongong, and Broken Hill. , Denise Dignam; research coordinator at Victoria University of Wellington's Graduate School of Nursing and Midwifery midwifery (mĭd`wī'fərē), art of assisting at childbirth. The term midwife for centuries referred to a woman who was an overseer during the process of delivery. In ancient Greece and Rome, these women had some formal training. , Cheryle Moss; and Canberra Hospital The Canberra Hospital is a public hospital located in Garran, Canberra. It is a tertiary level centre with 500 beds and caters to a population of about 52000. It was formed when the Woden Valley Hospital and the Royal Canberra Hospital were amalgamated in 1991, and was renamed the executive director of nursing services Joy Vickerstaff. The 83-page conference programme and abstract book was a strong indication of the depth of the presentations, concurrent sessions and posters on offer. I attended only one day, the highlight of which was a presentation by two Australian nurse educators, Amanda Culver and Nancy Passlow. They told us about a Tertiary and Further Education programme for enrolled nurses (ENs) in New South Wales, that resulted in an increase in the effectiveness of patient care. What I liked most about their presentation was their obvious and evidence-based belief in the ability of ENs to benefit from ongoing education. This belief would seem to be in stark contrast to the attitude of many New Zealand New Zealand (zē`lənd), island country (2005 est. pop. 4,035,000), 104,454 sq mi (270,534 sq km), in the S Pacific Ocean, over 1,000 mi (1,600 km) SE of Australia. The capital is Wellington; the largest city and leading port is Auckland. nurse educators. What Australian ENs have that New Zealand ENs don't, is greater overall numbers. This must help in their survival. What they also have, and which seems to be lacking here, is the support of a clinical, regulatory and education environment that enables ENs to provide effective patient care. This session made me feel ashamed at the way enrolled nursing knowledge, experience and ethical commitment is being wasted in New Zealand. Over 50 other papers were presented; diverse, challenging, entertaining and practice-focused. There were also 13 posters. One of these highlighted the Nurse Educators' Roundtable, a network that meets twice a year. Overall, this conference showed that the New Zealand nursing education sector, despite the difficulties it faces, is lively and resilient. It is a sector in which NZNO NZNO New Zealand Nurses Organisation could and should play a greater part. Report by NZNO professional services manager Joy Bickley Asher |
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