Review keeps nurses up-to-date

Press, 25 February 1977, Page 10

Review keeps nurses up-to-date

Nurses wanting to return to their profession are making two major pleas for help, Mrs June Shaw, chairwoman of the Christchurch Nursing Review sub-commit-tee of the Nurses’ Association, finds. “The cries we hear most frequently are: ‘How can we get used to the modern equipment, and can we update our knowledge of the new drugs'?’ ” Nursing Review aims to provide some of the answers. Formed in 1974, it is helping non-practising nurses to keep abreast of changes in their profession. This year it will again hold seven evening meetings and two study mornings. At last week’s meeting a pane] discussion was held on “A Group Approach to the Problems of a Community.” On March 16, Dr W. M. Platts will talk about “The V.D. Situation Today.” Meetings are held at the Nurses’ Recreation Hall at Christchurch Hospital, but sometimes there is a “field

trip.” The committee organ ised a meeting at the Technical Institute to study latest developments in nursing education. That visit, Mrs Shaw believes, gave added impetus to plans for a course of part-time refresher classes for registered nurses, begun this year by the institute’s Department of Nursing Studies. There is a post-basic community health n ursing

course, an up-grading course for nurses working in specialist nursing fields, and professional review courses, including classes in human growth and development,' psychology, sociology, andl social anthropology. ; Advances in treatment andl equipment were observed in a tour of the Christchurch Hospital’s radiotherapy department. Attendance usually varies

: from 80 to 100 women, in - ail age groups. A large numI ber have young children, but 1 , the eight-strong committee • i gets a lot of enquiries from . women who nursed more ' lithan 20 years ago and want ‘ |to renew their contact withli !lthe profession. The classes have received!! an enthusiastic response 11 from nurses who have re-!< turned to work part-time atji private, usually geriatric, |<

hospitals. Care-of-the-elderly has been a very. well attended class, and is one which Mrs Shaw believes will continue to be in demand. Programmes are generally divided into two sections, with practical revision, complemented by guest speakers. The committee has found medical and nursing staff, and community workers, very willing to give their time. On most evenings there are several speakers, specialists in their subjects. Maternal and child health is a continuing concern for many of the women. A studv morning on child health, at which there was time to deal with the subject more fully, attracted an attendance of 200. And there was a similar response to an evening meeting devoted to adolescence, which included a film on the problems of an unmarried mother. Student nurses and nonregistered nurses are welcome, as well as association members. The committee hopes the courses provide community as well as personal and professional benefits. “We hope that when neighbours and relatives ask women thev know are trained nurses about health matters they will get really up-to-date answers,” says Mrs Shaw. Mrs Shaw believes the courses are helping women who want to return to nursing to gain initial confidence. [The mother of a young family, she has just returned to the I profession in. a full-time capa- ' city after four years. A tutor I in obstetrics for the Techni|cal Institute’s Department of

I Nursing Studies. Mrs Shaw |is based at a Christchurch hospital. She tutors the institute’s students during then 'regular periods of practical I work. ! “Returning to nursing after (even a short time away puts jyou at a disadvantage,” she [says. | Before starting work again Mrs Shaw spent a day at »he hospitel, "finding my way [around,” and a time just (observing. “For women who nave been away from the profession much longer, the ad- [ iustment must be much more [difficult. ! However, Mrs Shaw considers that married women i who want to nurse part-time [have a valuable role to play lin nursing care. She trained in Dunedin, and completed her midwifery training over'seas, returning to Christ[church where she tutored for [five years. The hospital at which she (trained in Dunedin employed part-time nursing staff. As a 'ward sister in a busy medical ward. Mrs Shaw found their [services invaluable. “They worked several mornings a [week, from Ba.m. to 12.” she recalls. “If J had student nurses who were having difficulty adjusting to the ward or who needed guidance in practical nursing, 1 would have them working with the mature part-time nurses as a team. It gave both the students and patients confidence. “I think part-time nursing could be fitted into hospital routine as long as the nurse has satisfactory arrangements for child care. Nursing is not the sort of job in which you can always be sure of leaving on the dot.’ she says.