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In Queensland, Aboriginal nurses are limited in number in comparison to the mainstream nursing workforce. More Aboriginal registered nurses are needed to cater for Aboriginal patients in our Australian healthcare system in view of today's burgeoning Indigenous health crisis. It is a foregone conclusion that Aboriginal nurses are the most suitable nurses to provide optimal cross cultural care for Aboriginal patients, due to having similar cultural backgrounds. The following paper will show how two Aboriginal registered nurses are optimistic about the possibilities of expanding the ranks of Aboriginal registered nurses through role modelling, and are channelling their research to achieve this with the aim of promoting better health outcomes for their people. A qualitative research approach has been used to examine the subjective human experience of the participants. Three dominant themes emerged from the research and will be expanded upon within the body of this paper to support the authors' thesis that Aboriginal nurses are a valuable commodity to address the Aboriginal health crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Public policy across the world is increasingly focusing on the role of mental health promotion in whole of health strategies. There is a growing evidence-base that mental health promotion, delivered by trained facilitators, is effective in promoting self-awareness and self-care to prevent the damaging effects of ongoing stress in one's life and to promote early detection of any possible emerging mental health problems. Within Australia, however, few clinicians or school staff are confident or trained in mental health promotion. Aims: This paper reports the results of a two-day training designed for facilitators of a mental health program for secondary-school students. The goal was to develop facilitators' knowledge and understanding of best practice in youth mental health promotion and to increase their confidence in delivering the program. Design: A mixed methods evaluation assessed the impact that a solution-focused training program had on participating facilitators. Methods: A questionnaire was created and included eight quantitative items and one open ended, qualitative question. Twenty-seven nurses and guidance officers from central Queensland were recruited via convenience sampling and data were analysed using descriptive statistics and thematic analysis. Results: The evaluation revealed that participants' perception of their ability to facilitate a youth mental health program significantly improved after completing the training. Qualitative data indicated that participants found the professional development experience to be valuable, provide useful and transferable skills, and believed it to be necessary for mental health promotion work. Conclusion: By providing detailed description of the program's content and processes, other mental health professionals may be inspired to further develop effective learning experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the findings of a study that interviewed Aboriginal nurses to explore their experiences of the whiteness of nursing. Despite concerted efforts to improve the health of Aboriginal Australians, it still remains equivalent to third world countries. One strategy identified to address this is to increase the participation rates of Aboriginal registered nurses within the Australian healthcare workforce. Presently Aboriginal nurses account for only a small percentage of the nursing workforce. While there has been research into the recruitment and retention strategies dedicated to improving the numbers of Aboriginal registered nurses, this paper focus on the experiences of Aboriginal registered nurses within Australia's mainstream healthcare system, where they are exposed and subjected on a daily basis to the 'whiteness of nursing.' [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2009, a nursing education model was locally designed and delivered to support the interest of a group of Aboriginal community members living in a rural and remote town in Queensland, specifically to prepare for entry into further nursing education. Named 'Tjirtamai' by the traditional owners of the area, the program was offered in recognition of the challenges faced by Aboriginal people when they enter nursing education courses and as a way to increase the local number of Aboriginal nurses. This program, while funded by the Government, had unprecedented support and involvement from both the local Aboriginal and wider community. The model offered multiple exit points, assistance with financial and other known challenges for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, and included contextualised literacy and numeracy. Of the 38 Aboriginal students who enrolled in the course, 26 students completed. Of those students, 18 have since enrolled in a bachelor degree in nursing while another 4 enrolled in a diploma of nursing. This paper provides an overview of the course and its outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

School nursing was introduced a century ago as part of a range of public health measures. However, the roles and responsibilities of school nurses varied considerably throughout the Western World. This paper explores these responsibilities during the early part of the twentieth century, with a particular emphasis on the role of school nursing in Queensland, Australia. While school nurses were initially employed to support the medical officers within the school setting, the school health system evolved to be essentially a nursing service. However, it was not a well resourced service. This meant there were unrealistic expectations placed on school nurses. Furthermore, because of the nature of the work undertaken by school nurses there were potential conflicts that needed to be negotiated on a daily basis between the nurse and the schools, parents, doctors and government departments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Aged care services and nursing roles are evolving in response to policy reform and increasing consumer expectations, however the nursing workforce is declining in numbers. Aims: To examine registered nurses' perceptions and experiences of working in aged care. Methods: Descriptive, exploratory study involving thematic analysis of individual interviews. Results: Key issues related to: professional role strain; workforce challenges; managing expectations, relationships and communication; balancing rights and risk in decision-making; changing models of care and impacts of policy and regulation. Conclusion: Expectations and perceptions of aged care nursing are unclear and conflicted. Nurses face significant challenges in meeting consumer, profession, organisational, and policy expectations amidst workforce instability and resource constraints. Structural barriers and aged care policy environments represent significant threats to sustaining nursing in aged care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Age-related hearing loss can impact adversely on the delivery of primary care and cannot necessarily be remedied by hearing aid technology. A study of 20 older Australians living in a Queensland retirement village and residential hostel complex was undertaken to investigate how communication might be advanced through an assistive listening device (ALD). Most participants were women aged over 85 years; almost all had hearing loss and wore hearing aids. Tests with an ALD found very high levels of satisfaction with understanding speech and sound quality amongst participants. However, few had heard previously of ALDs, all required individualised assistance to fit and use the device and rated ease of use less highly. The findings affirm those of previous studies that ALD technology has a role in communication for older hearing impaired people and for hearing rehabilitation. Its potential to enhance quality of life can be facilitated and promoted through nursing practice, but requires professional and consumer education so that it is not overlooked as a communication option. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]