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New Zealand (NZ) has a rapidly expanding health information technology (IT) development industry and wide-ranging use of informatics, especially in the primary health sector. The New Zealand government through the National Health IT Board (NHITB) has promised to provide shared care health records of core information for all New Zealanders by 2014. One of the major barriers to improvement in IT use in healthcare is the dearth of trained and interested clinicians, management and technical workforce. Health Informatics New Zealand (HINZ) and the academic community in New Zealand are attempting to remedy this by raising awareness of health informatics at the grass roots level via free "primer" workshops and by developing a sustainable cross-institutional model of educational opportunities. Support from the NHITB has been forthcoming, and the workshops start in early 2013. This poster presents the process, development and preliminary findings of this work.

Compared to non-Māori, New Zealand Māori are at a higher risk of kidney disease which can lead to End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) and the consequent need for renal replacement therapy, including dialysis, to sustain life. This study was designed to explore the impact that dialysis has on Māori and their whānau/families. An interpretive approach was used. The purposive sample consisted of seven Māori clients having dialysis as outpatients while living in a rural area of Northland. Clients and their whānau/families were interviewed in 2008. A number of themes summarising client perspectives were indentified from analysis of the responses. Despite their differing journeys to the point of requiring haemodialysis four basic themes were revealed: facing their fear; stress from having haemodialysis; learning, adjusting and changing their attitude; and individual needs. Understanding Māori clients' experience of haemodialysis provides insight regarding their requirements, most notably in terms of education and support. Recommendations from this study include the need for early referral and effective education to promote self-management - factors which, in turn, can influence quality of life and lead to more cost effective health care.

Meaningful use is a multidimensional concept that incorporates complex processes; workflow; interoperability; decision support; performance evaluation; and quality improvement. Meaningful use is congruent with the overall vision for information management in New Zealand. Health practitioners interface with patient information at many levels, and are pivotal to meaningful use at the interface between service providers, patients, and the electronic health record. Advancing towards meaningful use depends on implementing a meaningful interface terminology within the electronic health record. The Omaha System is an interface terminology that is integrated within Systematized Nomenclature of Medicine - Clinical Terms (SNOMED CT(®)), and has the capacity to disseminate and capture information at the point of care because its codes are simple defined terms. Two community nursing and allied health providers who are considering using the Omaha System in clinical systems for gathering intervention and outcomes data within the personal EHR include Nurse Maude and the Royal New Zealand Plunket Society. Help4U is investigating using the Omaha System as a way to standardise health terminology for consumer use. The Omaha System is also a good fit with the Midwifery and Maternity Providers Organisation (MMPO) existing clinical information system to describe and capture data about interventions currently recorded as free text. As a country that promotes access to affordable primary care and free hospital care, within an environment constrained by resource limitations, maximizing the use of data is key to demonstrating health outcomes for the population.

A major event, such as a nursing informatics conference or course has been used successfully as an impetus to gather nurses interested in informatics together. This paper reflects on a 2008 nursing informatics event held in Singapore and the author's previous experiences with initiatives to support the emergence of nursing informatics in countries without a strong nursing informatics presence. Possible next steps and potential barriers are identified. It is hoped that countries new to informatics, and without an established nursing informatics group may gather ideas on how to better support nursing informatics involvement.

Future technology developments as applied to healthcare and particularly nursing were discussed. Emerging technologies such as genetics, small unobtrusive monitoring devices, use of information and communication technologies are as tools to not only facilitate but also promote communication among all parties of the healthcare process. These emerging technologies can be used for ubiquitous healthcare (u-health). The role of nursing in the u-health is fundamental and required for success and growth. Nursing's role will evolve as nurses become 'information-mediators' in a broader-sense than current role. All technologies will ultimately focus on the consumer through 'behind-the-scenes' data collection, which in turn will also allow nurses to analyze these data to improve care. We need to acknowledge an increased presence and or pervasiveness of information technologies as key components of quality healthcare. This sort of acknowledgment will help propel nursing, and healthcare, to increase use of these tools. To develop nurses with these types of skills the nursing education process will require a fundamental change to integrate these technology-sorts of tools as necessary elements for success.

Reflection was integrated into an undergraduate nursing curriculum, with different frameworks demonstrating the application of a structured approach to reflection. Reflection is defined as examination and exploration of an issue of concern to help create or clarify meaning. The aim of this qualitative study was to evaluate the usefulness of formal reflection in the context of undergraduate nursing education during the disability module. Twelve reflection assignments written by second-year nursing students were analyzed. The analysis indicated that students' reflection focused less on their experience of working with people with disabilities and more on their overall learning experience and coping with clinical practice. A central theme, Coping with Clinical Practice, and four subthemes were identified. Students acknowledged reflection as beneficial to their learning and linked to their clinical practice.

Background: Graduate students are expected to have basic information literacy skills. Knowing how to access and select relevant information and then utilize that information is a necessary skill in today's knowledge and information-age world. In the health-care sector, the rise in evidence-based medicine has brought into focus the importance of information literacy skills for nurses. In the case described, information literacy skills are embedded in the curriculum and strengthened in collaboration with library staff., Aims: To identify graduate student nurses' use of the library, and the library's response to findings., Methods: A case-study approach was used with both quantitative and qualitative data. An anonymous questionnaire was distributed to all nurses enrolled in graduate courses in the second semester of 2002. Interviews were then undertaken with library staff., Results: The university library services were not used by 43% of graduate nursing students and the library responded by developing a number of initiatives., Conclusions: Finding a deficit in use of the library by graduate nurses, this paper outlines the response by the library to improving awareness of services, access and providing education in a bid to improve literacy skills.

An infusion of twenty-first century skills into American public education necessitates a plan for research and development to further such reform. While the nation agrees that students must obtain critical thinking, problem-solving, and communication skills to succeed in the current global marketplace, this chapter puts forth a long-term, proactive agenda to invest in targeted research to propel and sustain this shift in education. The authors examine the impact such an R&D agenda would have on pedagogy and assessment and the implications for institutions of higher education. As the United States struggles to maintain dominance in the international economy, it faces a great challenge in keeping up with European and Asian competitors' strategies for preparing youth for the global marketplace. The authors hope the global reality will help contextualize the debate around American education--the current trend toward basics and accountability needs to be broadened. Building on frameworks created by the Partnership for 21st Century Skills, this chapter proposes questions to guide research around teaching, professional development, and assessment significant to twenty-first century skills. Knowing that educational change depends on providing teachers with the tools, support, and training to make fundamental changes in their practice, the authors argue for extensive research around best practices. In addition, if assessments are created to measure the desired outcomes, such measuring tools can drive reform. Furthermore, large-scale changes in teacher preparation programs must take place to allow teachers to adequately employ twenty-first century teaching and assessment strategies.

Undergraduate pharmacology education for nurses has tended to follow one of two broad approaches, either specific courses in pharmacology or an integrated approach, where the pharmacology content is blended with other content. The School of Nursing at the University of Auckland selected an integrated approach to pharmacology education for nurses aligned with constructivist learning theory. The weaving of pharmacology through the three-year undergraduate curriculum is described, showing the development of a pharmacology curricula thread. The significance of supporting curricula content in areas such as communication skills, law and ethics, as well as sound biological science and physiology knowledge are highlighted. A sound understanding of pharmacology knowledge does not develop in isolation. Rather pharmacology education in the undergraduate nurse is the beginning of developing pharmacological reasoning and providing the skills for life-long learning in this ever changing subject.

This paper presents an updated view of progress made in health informatics in New Zealand since 2003 and also highlights current issues facing nursing informatics. The progress made in health informatics in New Zealand since the national health information development "Working to Add Value through E-information" Project was introduced is outlined. A new Health Information Strategy for New Zealand 2005 has been released to guide the use of innovative information to improve the health outcomes of New Zealanders. This strategy reflects the global trends in healthcare related to epidemiological, demographic, system structure, workforce, service delivery changes and the increase in consumer expectations.

This paper describes a survey undertaken with postgraduate nursing students in a New Zealand University based School of Nursing in 2002 to establish their access to and use of computers and information technology for study. Whilst there is minimal flexibility and use of technology to support student learning for postgraduate nurses in the University's School of Nursing presently, the University proposes increasing flexibility across all courses. This is in part a response to the increased internationalisation of education and developments in technology affecting programme design, delivery and support that can benefit teachers and students. The findings of this survey form a basis for planning the introduction of flexible learning. Results indicate that not all students have convenient access to technology for study purposes, nor are they at the same level in terms of using technology. The implications of the survey for planning flexible learning, including the need to be explicit about requirements for access to technology and upskilling opportunities are discussed.

We have examined 5 patients with typical angina pectoris and found them to have left coronary ostial stenosis without evidence of any other coronary arterial disease and without evidence of aortic disease (Takayasu aortitis, syphilitic aortitis, or familial hypercholesterolaemia). All five patients were female aged between 38 and 53 years, a striking difference from the normal 7:1 male:female ratio for atherosclerotic coronary artery disease. It may be that these patients represent a rare but distinct syndrome. The angiographic diagnosis can be difficult but a pressure drop as the catheter tip engages the ostium and lack of spill-over of contrast into the sinus of Valsalva are findings that should lead the angiographer to suspect ostial stenosis.

A patient with sinuatrial disease and implanted pacemaker was treated with amiodarone (maximum dose 1000 mg, maintenance dose 800 mg daily) for 10 months, for control of supraventricular tachyarrhythmias. He developed pneumonitis, pleural and pericardial effusions, and a predominantly proximal motor neuropathy. Immediate but gradual improvement followed withdrawal of amiodarone and treatment with prednisolone. Review of this and previously reported cases indicates the need for early diagnosis of amiodarone pneumonitis, immediate withdrawal of amiodarone, and prompt but continued steroid therapy to ensure full recovery.