Journal of Advanced Nursing, 1993, 18, 4--6

NEWS

I N T E R N A T I O N A L N U R S E ' S PUBLIC H E A L T H L E A D E R S H I P R E C O G N I Z E D

Last year, Dr Amelia Mangay Maglacas FRCN, one of the journal's overseas advisers, was given an award as 'Out- standing Intemational Graduate in Public Health Leadership' from the Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.

Since retiring from the post of chief scientist for nursing at the World Health Organization, Geneva, Dr Maglacas has been very active as nursin 8 consultant and visiting professor at various universities. Recently she was involved in assignments at the University of Texas, Galveston, USA, and George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia, USA.

N E W V I S I T I N G F E L L O W AT KING'S COLLEGE, L O N D O N

Colin Ralph, registrar and chief executive, United Kingdom Central Council for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting, has been awarded the position of visiting senior research fellow at King's College, London.

This honour has been given in recog- nition of the contribution Colin Ralph has made to the nursing, midwifery and health visiting professions. The Department of Nursing Studies at King's College, London, is delighted that he will be attending research seminars and addressing undergraduate and post- graduate students on professional and philosophical issues.

E U R O P E A N A S S O C I A T I O N F O R C A N C E R E D U C A T I O N T O MEET IN S W E D E N

The sixth annual scientific meeting of the European Association for Cancer Edu- cation (EACE) will be held in Link6ping, Sweden, 5-8 May 1993.

The main topics for the 1993 EACE meeting are communication skills, ethics, counselling, palliative care, prevention, and children and cancer.

For further information contact: Dr U.S. Larsson, Department of Communication Studies, Link6ping University, S-581 83 Link6ping, Sweden.

N U R S I N G , W O M E N ' S H I S T O R Y A N D THE P O L I T I C S OF W E L F A R E

A major international conference on the topic 'Nursing, Women's History and the Politics of Welfare' will be held at the East Midlands Conference Centre, University of Nottingham, England, 21-24 July 1993.

Keynote papers will be given by nurses from Australia, Germany, South Africa, USA and the United Kingdom. Other selected papers will be presented by con- ference participants at nine concurrent sessions spread over the 4 days.

The conference fee is £270 (resident) or £210 (non-resident). It is also planned to arrange an 'accompanying persons' programme of events. The cost for the conference dinner, to be held on 23 July 1993, is £25.

Further information and registration forms are available from: Conference Secretary, Department of Nursing and Midwifery Studies, Medical School, University of Nottingham, Queen's Medical Centre, Nottingham NG7 2UH, England. Telephone: (0602) 709-453. Fax: (0602) 709-259.

R E T U R N T O P R A C T I C E F O R M I D W I V E S

Midwifery Update, a new series of open leaming materials for midwives returning to practice, has been developed by the Distance Learning Centre, South Bank University, London. The materials have been written by leading figures in the midwifery profession.

The materials have been designed specifically to assist supervisors and man- agers of midwives and midwife teachers to overcome the practical and resource con- straints of providing refresher courses for relatively small numbers. One reason why registered midwives are often deterred from returning to practice in the United Kingdom is that no appropriate course is available in their locality when they require it.

The nine Midwifery Update modules (£15.00 each or £120.50 for the complete set) can be used to overcome some of these barriers to provision and access because they have been specifically developed to contribute to the theoretical requirements of statutory refresher courses in the UK. Used in conjunction with a planned clinical allocation, their modular structure enables them to be integrated into courses in a way that best meets institutional as well as individual needs.

M A T E R N I T Y C A R E IN THE N E W N H S m A J O I N T A P P R O A C H

Following recent changes in the NHS, the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, the Royal College of Midwives and the Royal College of Gen- eral Practitioners have collaborated on a document to define and reaffirm their commitment to high-quality maternity care for women and their babies.

The document Maternity Care in the New N H S - - A Joint Approach emphasizes the absolute priority of patient care and the individual needs and wishes of women. It rejects absolutely the concept of 'demarcation disputes' and identifies the need for close co-operation between the professions as the only means of resolving difficulties at district, regional or national levels in the UK. There is no place for confrontation.

The particular skiUs of the three professions- obstetrics, midwifery and

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general practice I should be available in each pregnancy as close to home as poss- ible, but the need for close co-operation is emphasized. Moreover, the document acknowledges women's desire for conti- nuity of care from known professionals. Clear and unbiased information on all the options for antenatal care and delivery should be made available to them.

S E C O N D U P D A T E OF O V E R V I E W OF R E S E A R C H O N THE CARE OF C H I L D R E N IN H O S P I T A L

The University of Warwick, England, has published the second update of the Overview of Research on the Care of Children in Hospital by Sheila Roche and Margaret Stacky, price £10.00 (ISBN 0-947829-14-8). This series of reviews was initiated by the Department of Health, London, in order to provide a comprehensive and fully annotated bibli- ography of research in this area and help identify areas of priority for future research.

The original overview was published by the University of Warwick in 1989 and included over 340 annotated references to research, much of it unpublished, under- taken in the UK from 1976 to 1986. In 1990, the first update of this review was published, extending the bibliography to include research in this area undertaken in the UK from 1978 to 1988.

The current update follows the format of the previous reports. It updates the bib- liography to include research undertaken or published in the UK in 1989 and 1990; over one-third of the references are to unpublished research. An analysis is pre- sented comparing the patterns of research in the three reports and recommendations for further research are made. The report also includes a register of current projects (as of 1991) in the field.

THE P R I N C E S S R O Y A L VISITS S C O T T I S H M A R I E CURIE CENTRE

The Princess Royal opened a new day care unit for cancer patients at the Marie Curie Hospice Centre in Edinburgh, Scotland,

in 1992. The centre, known locally as Fairmile, is one of the largest of Marie Curie Cancer Care's 11 hospices in the UK which has practised a free and compre- hensive palliative care service on a continually expanding basis for 25 years.

The day care unit is for cancer patients who, although well enough to remain at home, would benefit greatly from being able to come to Fairmile for the day to relax and talk, receive physiotherapy and to be monitored for pain and symptom control if necessary. It also allows the rela- tives and carers some time to themselves.

The £311 000 needed to build the day care unit was raised locally by hundreds of donors, individuals, groups and commercial firms.

THE I N F O R M A T I O N NEEDS A N D I N F O R M A T I O N - S EEKING B E H A V I O U R OF NURSES

The project on information-seeking behaviour of nurses, conducted at Anglia Polytechnic University, England, has sought to identify the kinds of infor- mation sought by practising nurses, student nurses undergoing pre- registration training and nurses follow- ing post-registration courses. The use of libraries by nurses was also investigated.

The survey found that an individual's own journals and nursing colleagues were the main sources of information. Library and information services were found to be used relatively little, except when research or coursework were being under- taken.

Books and journal papers were the most used forms of information. The most fre- quent suggestions made by respondents for improving library services were to increase resources available for materials, to change opening hours and to improve promotion of services.

REVIEW OF O C C U P A T I O N A L H Y G I E N E T R A I N I N G

An important new review of education and training facilities available on occu- pational hygiene has been prepared on behalf of the Health and Safety Executive

(HSE), London. The review looks at train- ing, especially in relation to toxic sub- stances at work, from postgraduate level to the needs of those on the shop floor.

The review, carried out for the HSE by the Institute of Manpower Studies (IMS) at the University of Sussex, England, finds that about 200 000 people attended occupational hygiene and hazardous sub- stances training courses during 1990. This degree of interest is expected to continue in the shorter term, but longer-term interest was likely to depend on the con- tinued recognition of the importance of training and of competent staff in occu- pational hygiene. There was a particular need for employers with poor health and safety management to interest themselves in such training.

The review reports a shortage of people with qualifications in occupational hygiene. This, it says, affects education and training providers themselves, the level of expertise within industry, and potentially the ability of the relevant examining bodies to expand provision. However, some progress was being made on incorporating health and safety and occupational hygiene into relevant first- degree and vocational courses.

O P E N L E A R N I N G IN THE P R E P A R A T I O N A N D C O N T I N U I N G E D U C A T I O N OF NURSES, M I D W I V E S A N D HEALTH VISITORS

Open learning is an exciting concept and offers both a challenge and an oppor- tunity to teachers and students of nursing, midwifery and health visiting.

Five monographs, emanating from the English National Board's 'Development and Promotion of Open Learning Systems Project (1989-1992)', have been written by appropriately experienced authors. They are very commendable publications. The monographs relate to flexible leam- ing, development and validation, good practice, costing, and open learning in the changing world. They cost £6.50 each or £30.00 per set of five.

Copies can be obtained from the English National Board for Nursing, Mid- wifery and Health Visiting, Resource and

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Careers Department, Woodseats House, 764a Chesterfield Road, Sheffield $8 0SE, South Yorkshire, England. Telephone: (0742) 551-064.

I N T E R - P R O F E S S I O N A L C O L L A B O R A T I O N AND E D U C A T I O N

An annotated bibliography on Inter- Professional Collaboration and Education, compiled by Mary Toase, is available from the Centre for the Advancement of Inter-Professional Education in Primary Health and Community Care (CAIPE), c/o Department of Social Science and Admin- istration, London School of Economics, Houghton Street, London WC2A 2AE, England.

CAIPE was formed in 1985 to create a national network which supports, stimulates and provides an exchange for ideas between people offering educational initiatives jointly to doctors, nurses, social workers, physiotherapists, occupational therapists and pharmacists.

INDEX OF N U R S I N G RESEARCH AND I N F O R M A T I O N SERVICE

The Index of Nursing Research at the Department of Health, England, has moved. Submissions of research projects for the database and requests for infor- mation should be directed to: Department of Health, Index of Nursing Research, Room 5/E/05 Quarry House, Quarry Hill, Leeds LS2 7UD, England.

CO DE OF P R O F E S S I O N A L C O N D U C T FOR NURSES, M I D W I V E S AND HEALTH V ISITOR S

The United Kingdom Central Council for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting (UKCC) has published the third edition of its Code of Professional Conduct for the Nurse, Midwife and Health Visitor.

The new edition, like the previous edi- tions, has its basis in Section 2 of the

Nurses, Midwives and Health Visitors Act, 1979, which requires the UKCC to establish and improve standards of pro- fessional conduct and empowers it to give advice to that end.

The new text, prepared following not only the regular review of the document by the council but also consultation with recognized consumer organizations and organizations with nurses, midwives and health visitors in membership, retains all the key requirements of the second edition. It differs from the second edition, however, in a number of important respects.

Clause 5 is a new clause which requires practitioners to 'work in an open and co- operative manner with patients, clients and their families, foster their indepen- dence and recognize and respect their involvement in the planning and delivery of care'.

Clause 7 requires practitioners to 'rec- ognize and respect the uniqueness and dignity of each patient and client, and respond to their need for care, irrespective of their ethnic origin, religious beliefs, per- sonal attributes, the nature of their health problems or any other factor'.

Clause 16 is concerned to ensure that each practitioner approaches his or her professional practice with unfettered judgement and is perceived in that way by patients and clients.

FIRST N U R S I N G A W A R D S FROM SMITH & NEPHEW F O U N D A T I O N

The Smith & Nephew Foundation's new nursing awards--worth a total of £200 000--were awarded for the first time in 1992, making the foundation the largest charitable supporter of the nursing profession in the United Kingdom. Fifty- five nursing professionals from a wide variety of disciplines were awarded fel- lowships (£5000--£20 000 each), scholar- ships (£1000-£5000) and bursaries (up to £1000), and funding for conversion courses.

Award-winners will be undertaking a wide range of educational courses and

research projects, on subjects as diverse as aromatherapy and the treatment of leg ulcers. Four hundred and thirty appli- cations were received from all over the United Kingdom for the awards on offer. Shortlisted candidates were interviewed by distinguished panels of nursing experts before the final selections were made.

Foundation Trustee, Dr Trevor Clay CBE FRCN (former general secretary of the Royal College of Nursing), said: 'We are delighted to have received so many applications and to have been able to reward excellence and ambition within the nursing services. We were inundated and could have justifiably offered awards to almost all of the applications received'.

ROYAL BRITISH NURSES A S S O C I A T I O N

The Royal British Nurses Association (RBNA) was founded in 1887 by Mrs Bedford Fenwick and her husband. The RBNA was the first to press for a mini- mum of 3 years' training for nurses. Its register was the first register of nurses in the world. It was also the first association to press for statutory registration of qualified nurses.

At the present time the RBNA is based in London where the honorary officers are responsible for the day-to-day running of the association and for the administration of four charities which were formed to give financial aid to elderly and disabled n u r s e s .

The RBNA also provides a 'short stay club' where any qualified nurse (men and women) may stay for as little as 1 night or for up to 4 weeks. Longer temporary periods may be arranged subject to avail- ability of recommendation. Bed and breakfast accommodation is available for £12 per night. There is also a comfortable lounge with colour television and a fully equipped kitchen for the use of guests.

For further information, please write to: The Secretary, Royal British Nurses Association, 94 Upper Tollington Park, London N4 4NB, England. Telephone: (071) 272-6821.