From nurse education, clinical, or workforce issues through to healthy living, Nursing Review has it covered.

In this opinion piece JED MONTAYRE responds to comments in a recent Nursing Review article: Filipino Nurses: our fastest growing nursing workforce[sitetree_link,id=2067]. In the article some Manila-based Philippine nursing leaders questioned whether Filipino nurses risk being deskilled by being pigeon-holed into working in the aged care sector in New Zealand.

Northland nursing tutor and palliative care nurse Michael McGivern reflects on providing palliative care – the skills, the rewards and the challenges – and encourages others to enter the field.

Shiftworking postgraduate students falling asleep at the wheel and queries about breastfeeding on block courses. Dr MARK JONES* recently had his eyes opened to the constant and complex juggle that is postgraduate study when he temporarily filled the shoes of his nursing school's postgraduate programmes director.

Recent nurse graduate ROSALIE DAVIS shares a poignant nursing and life lesson she learnt from a wise healthcare assistant and a frail dementia patient.

A year ago Tairāwhiti nursing leader Dr Heather Robertson had started work on a draft advanced care plan when she had a traumatic car accident. She shares some hard won advice and thoughts on advanced care planning.

KIM CARTER argues if nurses want to be nursed in their own old age in the way they expect and require, they need to spread the word about the positives of nursing as a career, and not just the challenges.

The first year of nursing can be a challenging initiation to the realities of the profession. Rosalie Davis spoke at the graduation of her NETP (Nursing Entry to Training Programme) year on the ups and downs of that journey. Her honest and touching speech is shared here.

Nursing Review asked Health Workforce New Zealand for an opinion piece on HWNZ's recent and future plans and on nursing's role in that work and vision. Chair DES GORMAN and acting director RUTH ANDERSON responded.

ROSEMARY MINTO believes the key to making a difference to patients is finding the self-belief system driving their health behaviours. Read on to find out how out the primary health care nurse practitioner has chosen New Year's resolutions to help her to do just that.

As the country heads back to work and school, memories of the festive season may already be starting to fade. For some, however, memories of a holiday trip to ED may not be forgotten so easily. Emergency nurse practitioner MICHAEL GERAGHTY shares an emergency nursing perspective of the summer silly season.

As registered nurse prescribing inches closer, MARK JONES and JILL WILKINSON argue that prescribing innovations could be better and faster in the future if the Queen wasn't involved. They are calling for the proposed new Medicines Act to see a handover in power for deciding nursing's prescriptive authority from the Queen (i.e. the Crown) to the Nursing Council.

Young Irish nurse GRACE McDONALD shares how and why she chose to get her OE nursing experience down here in NZ. Kiwis are overly keen on being barefoot, their houses are cooler inside than out but their wildlife is benign and overall she reports nursing downunder is being a fantastic experience.

KIM CARTER on why nurses may need to step out of their comfort zone to ensure good care for all clients across the spectrum of sexuality and gender identity.

Cardiology NP ANDY McLACHLAN shares his career-changing first experience of death and contemplates nursing, humanity and the ‘great circle of life-death’.

ROSEMARY MINTO calls for nurses to be informed and take a lead in educating men and their whānau about prostate cancer. The NP, who sadly lost her own father to the most commonly diagnosed cancer in men, is a member of the Prostate Cancer Working Group, which is soon to release a long-awaited best practice pathway for prostate cancer testing and management.

JANE HANNAH, a heart failure nurse specialist, says some families expect her to arrive in 'black robes and carrying a sickle' when referred for an 'end of life' discussion.  But she says anxiety falls and patients are more satisfied with their care after having a 'conversation that counts

Becoming a facilitator rather than a dictator of care…CHERYL CALVERT, a gerontology nurse specialist, shares the profound difference becoming an Advanced Care Planning facilitator has made to her practice

*Small town nurse KIM CARTER is well aware of the Rapid Response Rural Grapevine (RRRG) and even more so after her recent wedding. She reflects on when to share and not to share with patients, and on finding the balance between building a therapeutic relationship and maintaining Code of Conduct professional boundaries.*

OPINION: The perpetually curious ANDY McLACHLAN (an Auckland cardiology NP) wonders about sharks in swimming pools and whether it may be time for a fresh look at the nurse practitioner role

OPINION: NP Rosemary Minto looks back to successes of the past and looks forward to a time when the primary health care paradigm gets a bigger shove in the right direction.

*Just back from a trip to the UK and more than a little disheartened at the current state of Britain’s NHS, former chief nurse DR MARK JONES is reassured to find New Zealand’s younger generations are still inspired by traditional nursing values, and by the future opportunities and long-term rewards that nursing offers.*

*At first hearing, nine out of 10 nurses providing excellent care in a patient's dying days sounds pretty good but is it good enough?*

CAMERON TAYLOR of Clown Doctors shares while a smile is good medicine on the ward as  April 7 is New Zealand Smile Day.

Free prescriptions and more time … primary health nurse practitioner ROSEMARY MINTO argues for what could most help patients like Charlie*.

MICHAEL GERAGHTY, Nurse Practitioner in the Adult Emergency Department at Auckland City Hospital, calls for a zero tolerance policy against violence and verbal threats in our hospitals.

Sharon Hansen, NP and deputy chair of the Rural General Practice Network (NZRGPN) responds to nurse leaders concerns about barriers to NP practice in rural areas being created by new definition of general practice team

The army, the dole or nursing? NP ANDY McLACHLAN reflects on falling into the career that turned him from a boy into a man. And the need to attract more men and more Māori and Pacific into nursing.

Hand hygiene nurse champion LOUISE DAWSON recently reminded a clinician to carry out hand hygiene before cannulating her. The clinician's response was a cursory hand rub and a comment that the evidence didn't stack up for hand hygiene in most cases anyway.  Dawson wonders whether it will take more superbugs and increasing antibiotic resistance before some finally get the hand hygiene message.

Palliative care nurse advisor ANNE MORGAN asks whether feeding the dying is the right thing to do or simply the easiest option when faced with families who see withdrawing nutrition as "cruel" or "starving the person to death".

Primary health nurse practitioner ROSEMARY MINTO on the challenge of "flicking the switch" to good health habits and the need to realise the 'story' behind each reluctant quitter or non-exerciser. Plus the need to be funded to give the time required to support people make and maintain lifestyle change – particularly with the low levels of health literacy.

Nurse and general practice co-owner KIM CARTER believes one of the biggest barriers stopping nursing from making a bigger difference in primary health is nurses' attitude to money.

The country's first child and youth NP, PAULA RENOUF, says a decade on, some things have improved but still too many children are falling through the cracks.

ANDY McLACHLAN – Scotsman, cardiology NP and past-consumer of deep-fried pizza and hamburgers the size of your head – recently got lectured by an after-hours pharmacist while picking up his type 2 diabetes medication.

Former barman and now ED nurse practitioner MICHAEL GERAGHTY wonders when Kiwis will grow out of defining a great night as waking up feeling sick with no memory of the previous night and no cash in their wallet.

JO ANN WALTON defends New Zealand nursing after being alarmed by a visitor’s comments. The Victoria University nursing professor and Nursing Council member gives her own appraisal of kiwi nursing.

College of Nurses co-chair TAIMA CAMPBELL argues that climate change is a public health and nursing issue as much as an environmental issue. Read on to find out more.

Primary health nurse practitioner ROSEMARY MINTO argues why nurses and health planners and providers should sit up and take more notice of Whānau Ora – a home-grown model she believes could help overcome health inequities in New Zealand.

Addiction lecturer and mental health nurse Dr DARYLE DEERING says people affected by mental health and addiction issues need a response from compassionate and skilled nurses.

NP ANDY McLACHLAN enthuses about his love of technology and science fiction (even the really bad stuff with rubber monsters, polystyrene boulders, and fake eyebrows...) and how cool new tech might fit into the future of healthcare.

Former chief nurse DR MARK JONES is back in New Zealand and getting weary of being confronted with billboards of smiling politicians.The now-independent health consultant and theology student asks nurses to not take politicians at face value and to research their policy on health and other issues impacting on their community before casting their vote.

TRISTIN SLATER, a third year student nurse at the University of Auckland, reflects on trying to administer a tetanus injection to an attack victim.

Looking back on a missed moment when caring for a stabbing victim has third year student nurse TRISTIN SLATER reflecting on patient advocacy, autonomy and how learning between nursing students and registered nurses doesn't have to only be one way.*

Two Kiwi nursing academics invited to China to teach an acute care nursing workshop were nonplussed to find themselves also quasi-advisors on managing nursing shortages in the wake of China’s one-child policy coming to an end. 

Nurse manager PETER WOOD believes that a new move to start the day with an ED huddle – instead of a negative meeting focusing on breaches of the ‘shorter stay’ ED target* – has been a positive culture change for Whangarei Hospital.

As the country heads back to work and school, memories of the festive season may already be starting to fade. For some, however, memories of a holiday trip to ED  may not be forgotten so easily. Emergency nurse practitioner MICHAEL GERAGHTY shares an emergency nursing perspective of the summer silly season.

Nursing Review asked Health Workforce New Zealand for an opinion piece on HWNZ’s recent and future plans and on nursing’s role in that work and vision. Chair DES GORMAN and acting director RUTH ANDERSON responded.

As registered nurse prescribing inches closer, MARK JONES and JILL WILKINSON argue that prescribing innovations could be better and faster in the future if the Queen wasn’t involved. They are calling for the proposed new Medicines Act to see a handover in power for deciding nursing’s prescriptive authority from the Queen (ie, the Crown) to the Nursing Council.

Nursing Review ended the year by asking a wide range of nursing and health leaders to assess and fill in a ‘report card’ on how they believed nursing and health fared in 2015. 

Young Irish nurse GRACE McDONALD shares how and why she chose to get her “fantastic” OE nursing experience here in New Zealand.

OPINION: JO ANN WALTON says it is time to stop hoping some ‘mythical matrons’ – a la Florence – will emerge to lead the nursing profession to new heights. Instead, she argues, it is time to recognise the everyday leaders working amongst us.

OPINION: Nursing lecturer Jed Montayre argues nursing education could do better in teaching that critical thinking skills aren’t just needed for written assignments but also to provide safe and effective nursing care.

The last edition of Nursing Review contained an article called ‘Fad diets: what do dietitians say about the latest crop?’ that looked at some of the latest dietary trends; in particular, the Paleo diet, the 5:2 intermittent fasting diet, the no-sugar approach and the low-carb, high-fat (LCHF) approach.

ROSEMARY MINTO calls for nurses to be informed and take a lead in educating men and their whānau about prostate cancer. The NP, who sadly lost her own father to the most commonly diagnosed cancer in men, is a member of the Prostate Cancer Working Group, which is soon to release a long-awaited best practice pathway for prostate cancer testing and management.

Letters to the editor re: hand gel and skin care

One of the motivations for founding Te Kaunihera three decades ago was to see more Māori enter and graduate from nursing schools.

LINDA THOMPSON a founding and current executive member of Te Kaunihera (The National Council of Māori Nurses) writes about the early days of Te Kaunihera  - the council that was founded 30 years ago in the wake of a challenge that there were too few Māori Nurses.

So you want to say no, or want someone else to say yes, and you feel you have right on your side. You don’t want to be a doormat but neither do you want to be seen as bossy or demanding. Communications specialist ROBYN WALSHE shares some tips on how to assertively – not aggressively – put your case.

NICOLA RUSSELL challenges each of the country’s 47,000 or so registered nurses to this year step up and take action – small or large – in a collective effort to make a difference for the patients they care for.

Screening of the country’s Special Olympics athletes shows high levels of undiagnosed health issues. Special Olympics CEO KATHY GIBSON challenges the policy makers and the health sector to provide free health screening for people with intellectual disabilities.

JO ANN WALTON writes from London about lessons to be learned from yet another NHS bad news story – this time one where ‘bullied’ health staff falsified cancer patient waiting lists to keep funding flowing.

Michael Geraghty, Nurse Practitioner in the Adult Emergency Department at Auckland City Hospital, calls for a zero tolerance policy against violence and verbal threats in our hospitals.

Free prescriptions and more time … primary health nurse practitioner ROSEMARY MINTO argues for what could most help patients like Charlie*.

College of Nurses co-chair TAIMA CAMPBELL argues that climate change is a public health and nursing issue as much as an environmental issue. Read on to find out more.

JO ANN WALTON defends New Zealand nursing after being alarmed by a visitor’s comments. The Victoria University nursing professor and Nursing Council member gives her own appraisal of kiwi nursing.

Former barman and now ED nurse practitioner MICHAEL GERAGHTY wonders when Kiwis will grow out of defining a great night as waking up feeling sick with no memory of the previous night and no cash in their wallet.

ANDY McLACHLAN – Scotsman, cardiology NP and past-consumer of deep-fried pizza and hamburgers the size of your head – recently got lectured by an after-hours pharmacist while picking up his type 2 diabetes medication. As a reformed character with great blood sugar, cholesterol, a BMI of 24 (and only succumbing to the occasional pink iced bun) McLachlan suggests sensitivity is needed for when and how health professionals’ offer lifestyle advice to patients.

Nurses and journalists – chalk and cheese?

Wintec nurse educator JACKIE McHAFFIE shares a tale or two about the role of storytelling in teaching nursing.

Director of nursing SONIA GAMBLEN asks whether being a good nurse qualifies you to become a manager and leader, and she reflects on what characteristics and skills that nurse leaders need to foster or acquire.

Green nail polish?

Reena Kainamu, member of the Māori Caucus of Te Ao Māaramatanga New Zealand College of Mental Health Nurses (NZCMHN), shares the concerns about the under-representation of Māori students in nursing programmes and Māori nurses in the workforce.

Clinical nurse specialist Shelley McMahon reflects on the ongoing development of Northland’s Nurse-Led Preoperative Assessment Clinic.

Dr Frances Hughes doesn’t court disasters but they have a habit of finding her. The former chief nurse was in New Jersey on a Fulbright scholarship studying post-disaster lessons when Hurricane Sandy hit. FIONA CASSIE reports on her latest literal lesson.

KIM CARTER two years ago boldly went where few nurses have gone before. She shares tips and encouragement for nurses considering following in her pioneer footsteps and buying a general practice.

Nursing Review asks senior nurses in fields from health promotion to family planning and education to aged care to give a report card on how health and nursing fared in 2012 and what they want for 2013.

New Zealand Nurses Organisation policy advisor Jill Clendon took a look at the New Zealand general practice model of primary health care and found it lacking at the recent primary health care nurses conference.

JO ANN WALTON ponders self-management, partnership and how well nurses shape up as partners

Principal researcher VALERIE NORTON and novice research nurse LEANNE WALDEN reflect on how their respective roles in a palliative care research study flowed on to influence their nursing and research practice.

JO WALTON dares nurses to become everyday leaders, regardless of their role.

So you want to make friends and influence people? Nurse leader JO ANN WALTON shares her top tips for making your voice count.

JUDY YARWOOD muses over the French ‘healthy’ lifestyle.

BRENDA WRAIGHT of Health Workforce New Zealand and chief nurse JANE O’MALLEY share their overview of nursing workforce strategies past and into the future.