June 2022 College Communique

WHAT’S INSIDE?

• ACCYPN – Join the Conversation
• Chairperson’s Letter
• ACCYPN Membership
• ACCYPN National Scholarships
• ACCYPN New Board Member Profiles
• Queensland Chapter Virtual Forum
• Nurses & Midwives: Income & Work-Related Deductions
• Training for Health Professionals: Lung Health in First Nations Children
• Join the Launch of the National Sepsis Care Standard
• Every Nurse’s Business – Free CPD Engagement Program

EMAIL LISTING

To ensure that all emailed ACCYPN correspondence reaches you, please add info@accypn.org.au to your address book and/or safe senders list. 

DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING OUR MEMBERS WOULD BE INTERESTED IN HEARING ABOUT?

• An interesting article
• Something happening in your workplace
• An event you would like to share

We warmly welcome member newsletter contributions.  Please email your items to info@accypn.org.au

CHAIRPERSON’S LETTER

Dear ACCYPN Members

As the new Chair of the College I welcome you to the June 2022 issue of College Communiqué. I hope that you enjoyed a safe and happy International Nursing and Midwifery Day and celebrations in May. Again, we mark the ongoing impact of COVID-19 on the global shortage of nurses.

I am sure there will be many items that will interest you in this month’s newsletter.

We will be sending an invitation to new members to join, and existing members to renew their membership. There are great benefits and special offers as per our website including 15 months membership for the price of 12 months for new members joining between 1 April and 20 June, and a chance for renewing members to go into the draw for a free 12 month membership of the Australian College of Nursing (valued at $360).

ACCYPN is now affiliated with the Australian College of Nurses and benefits include:

• 5% Discount on all ACN CPD Course
• 20% Discount on affiliate membership 
• Networking Opportunities 
• Developing academic profiles through representation opportunities 

Please share these offers with your work and professional colleagues and encourage them to take advantage of the many benefits of membership to ACCYPN and ACN. 

Activities including our very popular Webinar series are also ramping up. Please ensure you review the list of upcoming events for CPD and opportunities to connect with peers and colleagues. It is also an opportunity for your friends and peers to join ACCYPN and enjoy the benefits of membership. 

You may also notice in the coming months changes to our ACCYN website such as higher security and a more streamlined approach to the website content. The changes will afford all of us advanced cybersecurity and quicker access to our information, knowledge and activities. 

The Australian College of Children and Young People’s Nurses (ACCYPN) remains the only national nursing professional organisation acting on behalf of children, young people, families, and the nurses who care for them. Our recognition of the children and young people’s nursing as specialty nursing practice allows us to advocate for the specialty irrespective of the setting in which children and young people receive care. We are here to help so please let us know if there is an issue you believe needs action chairperson@accypn.org.au.

Warm regards

Yvonne Parry – ACCYPN Chairperson 

ACCYPN MEMBERSHIP

Annual Membership Renewal Fees are due by 30 June.  Renewal from 1 July will incur a $15.00 late fee.

If you have have not yet renewed please check your email for your Membership Renewal Invitation – if you can’t find the email please check your junk mail folder.

New Member Application click here!  For more information regarding membership, please visit our website www.accypn.org.au/membership 

ACCYPN NATIONAL SCHOLARSHIPS

The ACCYPN National Scholarships information, eligibility and application form for 2022 are now available via the ACCYPN website. Click here for full details.

The following scholarships are available to ACCYPN Members only:

• Margaret Sullivan Research Scholarship
• Sr Mary Dorothea Sheehan Professional Development Scholarship
  Dorothy Clarke Scholarship – Western Australian Members Only
  HURRY: Scholarships closing date is 1 July 2022!!!

To apply – please complete the Application Form and email your application to info@accypn.org.au.

If you have any queries please do not hesitate to contact the ACCYPN Secretariat info@accypn.org.au or phone +61 7 3348 7380.

ACCYPN NEW BOARD MEMBER PROFILES

CHARITY CHOLA
Clinical Nurse Specialist, Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS), Western Australia
Clinical Nurse Specialist, Royal Perth Hospital, Western Australia 

Charity is a Clinical Nurse Specialist in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services [CAMHS].  She has a keen interest in children and young people’s psychiatry nursing. Charity is a Credentialed Mental Health Nurse and general trained here in Australia. She is a recipient of multiple scholarships and was recently nominated to partake in the inaugural 2022 Shaping Health Systems Program coordinated by the Institute for Health Leadership. Charity was
invited to attend the upcoming Risk to Resilience Summit in Sydney being held on 29-30 June 2022 which will contribute to the design of the second National Action Plan for Australia.
Charity completed two graduate nursing programs, one in public sector as a Registered Nurse and another in private sector as an Enrolled Nurse. Charity is also an Emergency Department Registered Nurse and works at Royal Perth Hospital as a Clinical Nurse Specialist in the Consultation Liaison – Psychiatry and Addiction Medicine division. Charity volunteers for St. John Ambulance and has vast experience in therapeutic interventions for children and young
people, utilising Dialectical Behavioural Therapy [DBT]; Mentalization Based Therapy [MBT] amongst other therapeutic models.
Charity attained the following qualifications:

• Master of Nursing [Graduate Entry] – Edith Cowan University [ECU]
• Master of Mental Health Nursing – University of Newcastle
• Graduate Certificate in Healthcare Leadership and Management – ECU
• Graduate Certificate in Disaster and Emergency Response – ECU
• BA Psychology & Counselling – ECU
• Diploma of Management
• Diploma of Nursing
• Certificate IV in Hospitality Supervision

Charity is a mother of two young children with her eldest starting secondary school soon. She is happily married and enjoys spending time with the family, mainly at home by her fish pond in the garden; the yatch club boating & fishing or otherwise camping. Her favourite sport is golf.
Something about her she hasn’t mentioned above is: In 2017 Charity designed a line of handbags and launched a fashion lable that promotes positive body image known as Glam & Elegant Couture – Be You Be Fabulous.

Some parting words from Charity: Aim to have positive human interactions and be kind. You may have a positive impact on others and help to bring out the best in them!

ALICIA BELL
Lecturer – Teaching Specialist (Clinical/ Endorsed Nurse Practitioner)
College of Nursing and Health Sciences, Flinders University

Alicia is a Lecturer – Teaching Specialist (Clinical/Practitioner) in the College of Nursing and Health Sciences at Flinders University and is an endorsed paediatric Nurse Practitioner. Alicia had 12 years experience working in the Paediatric Emergency Department at the Women’s and Children’s Hospital prior to transitioning into the primary healthcare setting, working on a research project with homeless families. Alicia runs a variety of paediatric clinics through Health2Go at Flinders University, predominantly performing developmental screening on pre-school children, referring to specialists and linking families into cost effective and student-led allied health services. She is passionate about helping children and their families navigate the complex health system.

Alicia has worked in a variety of roles throughout her nursing career including primary healthcare, paediatric emergency, rural and remote, neurology and rehabilitation and is hoping to commence a PhD in 2023.

Alicia and her husband used to enjoy fine wine and domestic and overseas travel before having two children, now aged 3 and 5. They now spend their time perusing local playgrounds with takeaway coffee… but hope to return to travelling soon.

QUEENSLAND CHAPTER VIRTUAL FORUM

Queensland Chapter held their first clinical forum virtually on 10 June. The theme was Caring for Children and Young People – the COVID-19 Experience. We are delighted to have three guest presenters from Queensland sharing their programs and research.

Out first presenter, Karina Baigrie Nurse Educator at the Toowoomba Cunningham Centre, presented on the development and implementation of the Covid-19 Vaccination Training for Indigenous Health Workers in Queensland. For those in other jurisdictions, the Cunningham Centre is an education service in the Darling Downs Hospital and Health Service. The project partnered with the First Nations COVID-19 Response Team, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Division (Queensland Health), to develop an education program that facilitated and enabled Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Workers and Practitioners to support the COVID-19 vaccination roll out across Queensland with the aim to improve outcomes for Queensland’s First Nations people by bringing care on or closer to country. 

Our next presenter, Alysse Leicht from the Queensland Family & Child Commission (QFCC), presented on the special edition survey of children and young people Growing Up in Queensland: Living through COVID. The QFCC conducts a biennial Growing Up in Queensland survey inviting children and young people to share their experiences of their communities, their hopes and dreams, and the issues that are important to them. To read the full report and access the survey snapshot, click here.

Our final presentation was from Meaghan Hollamby NUM, CHQ at Home (Children’s Health Queensland) on the implementation and evaluation of the Virtual Covid Ward for Children and Young People at the Queensland Children’s Hospital. The COVID-19 Virtual Ward cares for children who have received a positive COVID-19 test result  and are medically stable. The virtual service develops a personalised treatment plan for the child and family to guide their care and recovery. The team of nurses, doctors, allied health professionals, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff contact families regularly to monitor the child’s progress and provide treatment if required. The service provides telephone and telehealth (or virtual/online) consultations and home visits if required.

If you missed the forum, or were unable to attend, the recordings of the presentations are available to purchase.  ACCYPN  Members, please check your email, Non Members can register here.

If you need the link to be resent please contact ACCYPN Secretariat info@accypn.org.au.

NURSES & MIDWIVES
INCOME & WORK-RELATED DEDUCTIONS

Scrub up on your tax time knowledge, with some of these tax tips!

Whether it’s buying, hiring, repairing or cleaning your work uniform or protective wear, the ATO has put together a helpful guide to work-related expenses for nurses and midwives, to help you navigate tax time this year.  You can also view this information in other languages.

As a frontline worker, an important change this tax period is of course how COVID -19 related purchases may impact your deductions. You can claim a deduction for a COVID-19 tests you paid for from 1 July 2021 as longs as you:

• used the test for a work-related purpose
• had a qualifying COVID-19 test, such as a PCR test or a rapid antigen test
• have a record of your purchase
• paid for the test yourself and were not reimbursed for the cost by your employer

And remember, if you’re planning to lodge online this year, the ATO suggests doing so in late July. By then, information from your health funds, banks, employers and government agencies will be available and are automatically included in your tax return! All you need to do then is check it’s correct and add anything that’s missing.

If you need any extra bits of info, head to ato.gov.au/nursePR. 

Lodge right, no worries!

TRAINING FOR HEALTH PROFESSIONALS
LUNG HEALTH IN FIRST NATIONS CHILDREN

Lung Foundation Australia is pleased to launch two new accredited eLearning modules: Lung Health in First Nations Children: Improving Outcomes Through Culturally Secure Care (management of chronic wet cough, protracted bacterial bronchitis and bronchiectasis) and Lung Health in First Nations Children: Asthma Diagnosis and Interpretation of Spirometry. This training is free and accredited with RACGP and ACRRM with each module worth 2 CPD points.

The training provides a supportive tool for health professionals in improving lung health outcomes. Topics include:

• Fundamentals of providing culturally secure care to First Nations families
• Respiratory diseases prevalent in First Nations children; and
• Appropriate ways of diagnosing and managing lung conditions 

Click here to access this information.

JOIN THE LAUNCH OF THE
NATIONAL SEPSIS CARE STANDARD

Have you registered for the online launch of Australia’s first standard of care for sepsis? The Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care is releasing the Sepsis Clinical Care Standard. 

When: Thursday 30 June, 12:00pm – 1:00pm AEST
Format: Webcast event and panel discussion

Learn about timely recognition of sepsis, systems to support time-critical management, the ongoing effects of sepsis, and the importance of multidisciplinary, coordinated sepsis care.  Register now!

The event will be hosted by broadcaster and commentator Julie McCrossin AM and will include the below panel:

• Dr Carolyn Hullick – Clinical Director, the Commission and Emergency Physician, Hunter New England Health NSW
• Professor Simon Finfer AO – Professorial Fellow in the Critical Care Division at The George Institute for Global Health and Adjunct Professor, University of New South Wales 
• Associate Professor Paula Lister – Director Paediatric Critical Care, Sunshine Coast University Hospital QLD and Medical Co-Chair, Queensland Paediatric Sepsis Program
• Dr Lorraine Anderson – Medical Director, Kimberley Aboriginal Medical Services WA

This event is relevant to all healthcare professionals who may need to recognise and respond to sepsis on the ward, in the emergency department or in pre-hospital and community settings.  For more information email ccs@safetyandquality.gov.au.

EVERY NURSE’S BUSINESS

A free CPD program that aims to build nursing capacity to care for people with Intellectual Disability (ID) and/or Autism (ASD) has been developed. The program is free to all registered nurses. Please feel free to share this resource with your members – Every Nurse’s Business.

In addition to the free CPD program, the team is conducting a CPD survey and encourage RNs to complete.  The programme aims to help to improve the healthcare outcomes for people with Intellectual Disability (ID) and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).

To find out more, and start your learning journey click here.

About the free CPD programme:

The learning site is separated into different learning levels and covers six domains (modules) of content including relevant to caring for people with ID and/or ASD: care imperatives; communication to individuals with ASD and/or ID; understanding communication from individuals with ASD and/or ID; environments of care; supporting positive behaviour; making things go well; and introduction to the NDIS

Foundational: A depository of foundational learning content (tiles, explainers, and videos) under the six domains that you may have previously viewed through membership of your professional nursing body is available online. You can take part in a short quiz to claim 1 hour for this level of CPD.

Intermediate: This content involves blocks of learning and a variety of information, videos, vignettes, interviews, activities, and further reading under the six domains. Following completion of the six intermediate modules, you can take part in a short quiz to claim 4 hours for this level of CPD.

Advanced: The advanced level will build upon your learnings in foundational and intermediate. You will have opportunities to take part in synchronous online learning sessions with experts in the area. This level also includes activities, videos, information, and further readings. You will also have an option to undertake an assessment and reflective essay. 
Completion of the learning material at the foundational, intermediate, and advanced levels and satisfactory completion of the optional assessment will be deemed to be equivalent to one unit of AQF level 8 postgraduate study. This can be presented to universities to consider for advanced standing.
 

Any Questions?  Please contact Senior Project Officer, Amy Pracilio at Southern Cross University amy.pracilio@scu.edu.au.