Nursing reports

The New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO) has welcomed the appointment of one of its former presidents, Jane O’Malley, as chief nurse. The Ministry of Health’s Deputy Director-General of Sector Capability and Innovation, Margie Apa, announced the appointment today and O’Malley, currently director of nursing and midwifery at West Coast District Health Board, will take up the position in late September.

Current NZNO president Nano Tunnicliff said O’Malley would bring a range of strengths to the position, at a crucial time for nursing and the health sector.

“As a former NZNO president, she is well aware of the professional and industrial issues nurses face in their working lives. She has worked in a range of nursing settings, including tertiary care, rural health and mental health, so will bring a broad perspective and thorough understanding of clinical nursing to the role. She also has a strong academic track record, having completed her masters degree in New York and her PhD at Victoria University,” Tunnicliff said. “At this time of major change in the health sector, it is vital there is a strong and credible voice for nursing in the Ministry.”

O’Malley has a sound understanding of the impact of government policy on nurses’ work and was a proactive leader of nurses during the health reforms, she said. “During particularly turbulent times in Canterbury in the 1980s and subsequently as NZNO president, she was never afraid to challenge health leadership to ensure the rights of patients and nurses were protected. That gives us confidence that the needs of nurses and those they care for will be paramount for her in her new role,” Tunnicliff said.

Congratulating O’Malley on her appointment, Te Runanga o Aotearoa NZNO kaiwhakahaere Kerri Nuku, said she looked forward to working closely with her to further build a sustainable Māori nursing workforce.

NZNO chief executive Geoff Annals said O’Malley was an excellent choice. “As the director of nursing and midwifery at the West Coast DHB, she is fully aware of the challenges facing the public and primary health sectors and is particularly cognisant of the problems surrounding rural health care delivery and the rural health workforce. The West Coast DHB is one of the demonstration sites for the work of the Safe Staffing Healthy Workplaces Unit, so O’Malley has also been intimately involved in finding solutions to the problems the sector faces.”

The role of chief nurse was a very significant one, not just for nursing but for the whole health sector. “Because of her wide ranging experience and credibility, we are confident in her ability to succeed in one of the most challenging leadership roles in health,” he said.

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Nurses should wear their brains, not their hearts, on their sleeves, according to United States health care commentator and award-winning journalist Suzanne Gordon who will be presenting as the keynote speaker at NZNO’s centennial conference on September 16. 

Gordon’s keynote address – Because chicken soup isn’t enough: What the public needs from nursing in the 21st century – aims to show why the “sugar and spice and ev­erything caring” view of nursing isn’t enough. Gordon raises the issues nurses must highlight in the 21st century and emphasises nurses’ mind work.

Gordon also believes nursing management must improve. “In health care today, far too few managers know how to teach and coach. For too many, the default position is to discipline and punish. Good team work is a critical patient safety issue and managers must be experts at building and leading great teams. I think there are many interesting things going on in Australia and New Zealand in this regard that I look forward to learning about,” she said.

Minister of health Hon Tony Ryall will be making a brief appearance to speak to the conference participants. Delegates will be especially interested to hear any comments the Minister has to make about the recently released ministerial review group report which suggests significant changes to the health sector.

Other keynote speakers at the centennial conference are Emeritus Professors Nan Kinross and Norma Chick, who will speak on their ex­periences of the transfer of nursing education from hospitals to the tertiary sector, and former New Zealand Nurses Association (NZNA) president and Nursing Council registrar Marie Burgess, who will talk about the history of the Nursing Education and Research Foundation (NERF) and NERF’s oral history collection.

A highlight of the centennial conference will be an appearance by founder and inaugural president of the New Zealand Trained Nurses’ As­sociation (NZTNA) Hester Maclean (aka Ginette McDonald). After the powhiri, she will welcome conference delegates, reminisce on her time as NZTNA president and dispense some wisdom for NZNO’s next century.

Other aspects of the conference include a presentation from the National Library’s Chelsea Hughes on the inclusion of Kai Tiaki Nursing New Zealand editions from 1908 to 1929 on its Papers Past website – the first journal included on the website.

An excerpt from NZNO’s commissioned history, Freed to Care Proud to Nurse, written by Mary-Ellen O’Connor, will be read to delegates.

Chief Nurse Mark Jones, a photography en­thusiast, has been asked to present a camera to the winner of Kai Tiaki Nursing New Zealand’s photographic competition, run to mark NZNO’s centenary.

More than 200 delegates are expected at the centennial conference, including past presidents and national secretaries/chief executives.

Media are invited to attend the Centennial Conference: 16 September, Duxton Hotel, Wakefield St. Wellington (for the full agenda click here)

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The New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO) is proud to announce its current president, Marion Guy, has been elected onto the board of directors of the International Council of Nurses (ICN). The election took place during ICN’s 24th quadrennial congress held in Durban, South Africa, this month.

“INC is a federation of national nurses’ associations representing nurses in more than 133 countries and is the voice of nurses worldwide. Marion’s experience as a nursing leader in New Zealand is excellent preparation for this global leadership role and she will do a tremendous job in the international arena,” NZNO CEO Geoff Annals said.

Marion completes four years as NZNO president in September and has represented New Zealand at meetings of the World Health Assembly of the WHO for the past three years. “We are delighted that as her tenure as our president comes to a close, Marion will be able to take up this important new nursing leadership opportunity,” Annals said.

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Members of the New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO) working at Rosebank Home and Hospital in Ashburton will be striking for 24 hours from 6.45am on Friday 13^th March.

Members have been attempting to renegotiate their collective agreement since August 2008. The employer made an initial offer of an increase of 1.2% to wages in exchange for staff agreeing to a reduction in staffing levels. The employer has received funding from the District Health Board to increase wages by 2.8%. Members refused to accept this offer as they are not prepared to compromise the care of residents, which is what the consequence of fewer staff would mean. The employer has now retracted this offer and is offering a zero increase to staff.

“Rosebank workers have not made the decision to strike lightly. Members at this worksite have never taken strike action before. They feel that they have no other option open to them,” NZNO organiser Lynley Mulrine said.

“The employer has also taken the unusual step of refusing to attend Department of Labour mediation. This process is open to employers and unions to assist in resolving the issues between them to avoid industrial action,” NZNO organiser Lynley Mulrine said.

Members will be picketing outside Rosebank Home and Hospital from 6.45am throughout the day.