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Medical-Surgical Nursing, 7th Edition - Assessment and Management of Clinical Problems, 2-Volume Set By Sharon L. Lewis, RN, PhD, FAAN, Margaret M. Heitkemper, RN, PhD, FAAN, Shannon Ruff Dirksen, RN, PhD, Patricia Graber O'Brien, APRN BC, BSN, MA, MSN and Linda Bucher, DNSc, RN 2144 pages Trim size 8 1/2 X 10 7/8 in Copyright 2007 $125.00, Hardcover This is the only book I ever needed post grad...however now I have moved on and use evidenced based research online...As a new grad though this text was invaluable to me....and I still use it sometimes when researching for my Masters. Good luck in your career!

Are you saying Djuna that the figures - quoted by the way, from both countries nursing councils...are wrong?... I am a union delegate who actually worked on the Meca negotiations...so forgive me if i assume I may know a bit about it..you may very well have worked in both countries...however with all due respect...you are out of date in your information...you point out kiwis moving to Australia. A pity you werent here "home" on the weekend when 20/20 aired a docunmentary stating in fact, that Australians are actually escaping to NZ in larger numbers these days. However, as an Evidence Based Nurse I must bow to the "facts" and state that according to the immigrations department...(one wonders whether you will believe THEM either), that and I quote: "New Zealanders make up a similar proportion of Australia’s resident population as do Australians of New Zealand’s population (1.9 Vs 1.5 percent)...I am guessing you will argue these points too... it seems some people enjoy the banter of a different opinion...or in some instances just bloody-mindedly not wishing anyone to have a more "informed" one.

In some areas yes - you can make more however for the most part the NZ Meca is on a parr with Australia - hence Kiwis heading over to aussie for a quick buck only do short 3-6 month stints. The cost of living is higher also. There is a severe nursing shortage in Australia especially in NSW: http://www.anzhealthpolicy.com/content/5/1/19 The Senate Select Committee on Nursing described workforce retention as an acute problem, and a key issue in ensuring adequate numbers in the future. The reasons given for nurses leaving the workforce include pay and conditions, increased workload, particularly in acute hospitals with higher complexity patients admitted for shorter stays, lack of childcare, and poor recognition of nurses' skills and knowledge. There is a general perception that, as workloads have increased, nurses feel undervalued and increasingly stressed, retention rates fall further increasing workloads, leading to higher levels of stress and burnout, and a further decrease in retention. Effective July 2008 a NSW nurse in her 5th year of registration makes $58,293.90 per annum compared to NZ's $57,845 which under the MECA agreement is due to go up to $60,159 in March 2009. So I, re-iterate - the wages ARE on a level. Cheers!

Hi - I am a kiwi (NZRN) We have a very multi-cultural workforce. I am in Hamilton in the Waikato (mid-north Island) I work with Kiwi's, Americans, English, Chinese, South Africa, Nigerian, Australians...andI think one swedish nurse. There are many others...we are a hotch potch lot - your typical melting pot. Everyone is great to work with. The money is average. On a level with australia. Kiwis are reknowned for being a boisterous, friendly lot. NZ is a very green and beautiful place. It is still one of the safest places in the world to bring up children. We all know about the state of the economy, and unfortunately it is a worldwide problem and New Zealand is no exception. You need to make your enquiries through: http://www.nursingcouncil.org.nz General requirements: The following information is for internationally qualified nurses applying for registration with the Nursing Council of New Zealand (the Council) following the introduction of the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act 2003 (the Act) on 18 September 2004. The Act requires that nurses must be registered in a scope of practice and applicants for registration must: • have the prescribed qualifications • be fit for registration, which includes the ability to communicate in and comprehend English for the purpose of practising nursing • be competent to practise within their scopes of practice Please note all internationally qualified applicants must supply evidence of nursing practice hours for the past three years while registered as a nurse. This must be in a written format and verified by your employer Hope I helped :dncgcpd:

Hi, hoping someone can help me with a question - I am currently working on an orthopaedic ward. Recently one of the patients I was allocated was admitted with sciatic pain which turned out to be melanoma. He was immediately commenced on a prophylactic regime of antiemetics pre-commencement of radiotherapy. The orthpaedic house surgeon charted the dexamethasone, cyclizine and a couple of other drugs on the front of the chart and dated it as commencing that day and then did a conseqential drug administration regime of altered dosages of the dexamethasone on the stat/standing order section of the drug chart for subsequent days. Flipping back and forth I made an error and started the Dexamethasone a day early, being the day of original charting. This was a total error on my part and I accept responsibility for it totally. However I have decided to exemplar my mistake for future learning. My CNL explained to me how important it was not to give the Dex on the first day of the regime, however I still dont "get it". Can anyone enlighten me on this process. The patient started his radiotherapy on day two of the regime.

I don't believe anyone in the midst of an overwhelming feeling, whether it is grief and sadness, joy or laughter or madness is having an over-reaction. Who judges whether a reaction is "over the top". Are there overreaction police out there somewhere? We are nurses, we are with the dying all the time, who are we to say that everyone should be with their loved ones as they die? For some people that is a very frightening concept. I think it is all up to the culturally competent nurse to realize that no matter what her own views on a situation, or the reasons she perceives for the families behaviors, beliefs, and actions, how a family deals with that loss is no ones business but their own. That family alone owns their reactions, any feelings, whether they are grief, guilt, or nonchalance is for THEM to have, and not us to comment on. Any feelings we as professionals have on the matter are what WE own. No one can make us feel shock, horror, amusement or disgust at someone else's personal reactions, we OWN how we react. We think what we like, and whether we are right or wrong, it's really none of our concern. Personally, I could give a toss how someone else perceives my personal choice of the grieving process. Let them grieve. I don't know how other countries do it, but in New Zealand there are cultural safety papers in our nursing degrees. I think they are marvelous for creating understanding of the different concepts different cultures portray. The New Zealand Native culture grieves for 3 to 5 days after the death of a loved one. All the extended family comes together for the full term. They all sleep in a large lodge with the departed family member right there in the same room in an open coffin. There is wailing yes, and there are stories of the loved ones past, and stories of the loved ones ancestors past, let's not fantasize here, yes, sometimes there are arguments and disagreements and longtime grievances are aired. There is laughter and sharing of food and drink and everyone sleeps together in a big lodge. I believe these ceremonies go a long way to clearing a lot of the grieving process and bringing the family together to support each other. In essence, what is sometimes really mind-boggling to some is perfectly natural to others. We are in the business of healing, sometimes, we can't heal the sick. Let's not forget to worry about the healing of those that are left behind. And at the risk of making my parting comment a negative one, I'm sure that family wasn't thinking of how badly their behavior would make you feel. And I'm sure if they could read this, they would be suitably mollified and next time they will leave their shock and grieving and yes maybe...just maybe a little guilt, until they were at home or somewhere similarly conveniently hidden from polite society.

I guess I have to agree with you Shunnaparks, however it isnt just my registration and practicing certificate I value, its my back, my stress levels, and my most of all my sanity. :rotfl:

I just cant fathom your patient ratios.Far too many nurses are leaving nursing because of work overload and many nurses feel demoralised because they can not deliver the care they went into nursing to provide. Where I am working we to keep a 5:1 ratio on our patient loads. This attributes to good patient care, less stress on nurses and less sick leave and burnouts. Ortho is a heavy work load anyway. We also have 8 hour shifts. The orthopedic ward is renowned for having a pace that most nurses dont like so really it does take dedication to stay there with the proverbial rocket where the sun dont shine. You RNs packn in the 12 hour days with huge patient loads...I fall to my knees and worship your dedication.