Professional News 2005

August 2005

NNOs: Working for nurses

The National Nursing Organisations (NNOs), comprising more than 50 specialty nursing organisations and meet twice a year.

Nurse-specific funding
High on the agenda at the last meeting was the finalisation of a national statement on lifelong learning, and the impact on nurses of changes in the Medicare rebate system.

New Medicare items numbers have been established to improve the management in general practice of people with chronic illnesses, and there are also item numbers for care provided by nurses in the general practice setting.

In addition, item numbers for allied health care refer to services provided by mental health nurses and diabetes educators.

Nurses need to keep abreast of these changes and carefully consider the opportunities that may arise as a result.

Specialist nurses should have a greater role in general practice as the funding changes to encourage better management of chronic disease.
Diabetes, asthma and cancer care are just some of the areas that will expand over the next few years.

Nurses should be lobbying to ensure their role is recognised in any new funding models for general practice.

Government funding
The NNOs have also renewed their funding agreement with the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing for another three years.

The Government provides funds for NNO members to travel to the meetings and for some of the secretariat costs. The ANF provides the secretariat services. This funding is greatly appreciated as it assists the NNOs to achieve their goals.

The Australian Government also supported the use of some unexpended funds from the previous funding agreement to send NNO members to the International Council of Nurses Congress in Taiwan and to the International Confederation of Midwives Congress in Brisbane.

These are excellent opportunities for Australian nurses to experience nursing and midwifery in an international environment and the NNOs are looking forward to hearing reports at the next meeting from those who attended.

National priorities
The NNOs will establish their priorities for the next two years at their October 2005 meeting.

During the last three years, the NNOs focus has been on lifelong learning, research, information technology, and monitoring the implementation of the national review of nursing education.

N3ET
The national taskforce established to implement some of the recommendations from the national review of nursing education had a slow start as it negotiated its way through the bureaucratic maze of combined state/territory and Australian health and education departments and ministers.
Despite these obstacles, some work is underway in a number of areas. To find out more, visit www.nnnet.gov.au or telephone (03) 9616 6995.

Scope of practice
The NNOs were recently invited to attend a forum convened by the taskforce on the scope of nursing practice.

This is a very important subject at the moment as nursing is being depicted as a profession with limited boundaries of practice.

Nurses, however, know that nursing has few limits beyond the requirement that the nurse is competent to provide the care; the care is lawful for nurses to provide; is appropriate for meeting the health needs of the people in the care setting; the care is consistent with standards acceptable to nursing professional organisations; and the nurse is supported by the policies of the employer to provide the nursing care. (Queensland Nursing Council at www.qnc.gov.au).

The following definition, developed by the International Council of Nurses, describes the broad scope of nursing practice and nurses should be promoting their invaluable role in the health care industry at every opportunity:

Nursing encompasses autonomous and collaborative care of individuals of all ages, families, groups and communities, sick or well and in all settings.

Nursing includes the promotion of health, prevention of illness, and the care of ill, disabled and dying people. Advocacy, promotion of a safe environment, research, participation in shaping health policy and inpatient and health systems management, and education are also key nursing roles.

IT Survey
Some of you may have recently received a survey in the mail about information technology and information systems. If you have received it, please complete it and encourage others to do the same.

This survey is an important stage in the process to encourage governments to address the needs of nurses as they introduce new information technology and new information management systems. It is your chance to have a say on something that will affect your working lives now, and in the future.

Victoria Gilmore
ANF Federal Professional Officer