Can anyone tell me why this is so?

Every smeartaker should be able to complete the second phase of a smear- the bi-manual exam. It is not rocket science. It is a technique like many others nurses do- invasive- yes but you are already down there anyway! But not dangerous.

Makes me wonder who designed the original smeartakers courses in the first place?

I confess to having plagerised his guide to guest posting to help budding bloggers on this site….hopefully we to will build up an expert team of smart, funny, slightly contraversial maybe, addicted bloggers!

Excuse me, but care assistants may “pop in”, tea ladies may “pop in”, but nurses do planned assessments of their patients state of health whenever they see them. This is a clear case of poor use of language that continues to perpetuate the dumbing down of nursing. It brings to mind the 1997 British Columnia Nurses Union campaign:

“He thinks he’s having a conversation about the hospital Jell-O. She’s actually midway through about 100 assessments. In the seconds it takes to reach the bedside, a Registered Nurse will have made over 100 assessments. Any one of which could mean the difference between recovery and tragedy. Take away direct patient care from Registered Nurses and vital knowledge affecting the health of the patient is lost. Nurses are doing vital work. It’s that simple…..”

New research from the New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO) reveals a snapshot survey of caregivers working in residential aged care which indicates that caregivers are frequently undertaking clinical tasks more appropriately performed by Registered Nurses (RN). A “well, dhuh!” comes to mind. This issue is such an old and complex problem in terms of the stakeholders involved that, like funding streams for nursing roles in PHC or nurse prescribing, it may take even longer to untangle. Unless of course the large conglomerates that own resthomes take the ethical, moral and intelligent option of leading the way with complying with  sector standards, adopting career and clinical pathways, providing more RN hours and the money to grease the way. For this we will need the carrot and the stick.

I don’t know about you, but this competition was totally under my radar….sad but true, it again illustrates the lack of fanfare that  seems to accompany most things nursing, unless it is media worthy-i.e., strike action or involving murder, mayhem, litigation or scandal. What a great opportunity for nursing to raise the profile of of the profession, to educate the public as to the specialist expertise, skill, knowledge and dedication required to be a successful nurse. But nope- haven’t heard more than a whisper on the major news waves….or maybe I have just been distracted by the holiday season.

So now that we know about it, let’s at least vote for those nurses nominated. And congratulate those organisations/individuals who nominated them in the first place!

“One of the key findings of Health Cheque, was that it was the hard working nurses that were largely holding the public health system together.” Gareth Morgan- Health Cheque

Sadly for nursing, Marion was one of two nursing recipients on the Honours List, despite us all knowing of the many nurses out there working hard for patients and communities. Perhaps that is a sad reflection on the invisibility of nursing. I am sure the proponents of the silence of nurses voices, Suzanne Gordon for example, would agree with this sentiment.

Great to see nurses acknowledged at those kiwi icons-the Topp Twins -concert last week.Mind you, she had to have her purseknapped by the duo first!