Wednesday, November 24, 2010

New Stories: iPads for Docs, Nurses Needed, Dialysis In Distress

Here are some news stories that Continental Travelnurse thought you might find interesting. You also might find interesting how in demand and valued your skills would be in the UK. Check out our website for more info on how you can become a travel nurse, see England, Ireland, Scotland and Europe and get paid to do it!

AUSSIE DOCS TO GET IPADS!

In Australia's Victoria, the new Labour head of the province detailed elaborate plans to improve the health care system. But the one detail that caught everyone's eye was his plan to provide an iPad for every doctor working in the public hospital system. Interestingly, though Apple is famous for its closed systems, of all the portable devices out there, it works best with the varied medical information systems that populate most hospitals.

WHY DON'T NURSES HAVE A BIGGER VOICE IN HEALTH CARE REFORM?

In the New York Times, a nurse writes a passionate essay about the state of health care and the many challenges facing it in the future: primarily, the sheer numbers of people entering the system while so many health professionals are leaving the system via retirement. And with all the debates, why don't nurses have a place at the table?

Nurses currently form the largest sector of health care providers, with more than three million currently registered; but few have led or even been involved in the formal policy discussions regarding the future care of patients. To address this discrepancy, the Institute of Medicine and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation assembled a national panel of health care experts that has been meeting for the last two years to discuss the role of nurses in transforming the current health care system. Their final report was published last month with no less ambitious a title than “The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health.”


Read the article to find out what this report determined about how nurses can play a vital role that takes full use of their skills and importance.

"GOD HELP YOU, YOU'RE ON DIALYSIS!"

The Atlantic Monthly has an in-depth article about dialysis, treatment which is provided to everyone by law and is the closest the US has come yet to universal health care. The piece details the many problems highlighted by the history of dialysis, which raise many questions for anyone advocating for a private OR a public solution to health care. Here's the sobering intro:

Every year, more than 100,000 Americans start dialysis. One in four of them will die within 12 months—a fatality rate that is one of the worst in the industrialized world. Oh, and dialysis arguably costs more here than anywhere else. Although taxpayers cover most of the bill, the government has kept confidential clinic data that could help patients make better decisions. How did our first foray into near-universal coverage, begun four decades ago with such great hope, turn out this way? And what lessons does it hold for the future of health-care reform?

Monday, November 22, 2010

Congratulations on Your Wedding!




We sent a birthday greeting to Ali, one of our travelnurses back in Canada, and received this wonderful news in reply: she just got married in September and is happily settling down in Calgary. Better yet, Ali had several of the friends she made in Scotland while working for Continental Travelnurse at the wedding. You do indeed make lifelong connections. As Ali told us, "I always have wonderful Continental Travelnurse memories!" Thanks Ali and again, congratulations on the happy news. Here are some snaps from the wedding. Thanks for sharing, Ali.

If you want adventure and fun while using your skills in a professional and satisfying environment where they are highly valued, contact Continental Travelnurse today. You'll work in the UK and have the chance to explore England, Ireland, Scotland and the rest of Europe while you do it. What are you waiting for? The friends of a lifetime are ready for you.

Friday, November 19, 2010

Another Continental Travelnurse Having A Blast

We love hearing from our nurses, like Lise, who is Danish but comes from New Zealand.

"Have secured another contract at Mark wd.which I'm pleased about. Everything is going well, going out with Nancy a lot and we are having fun. We're going to the opera on Thursday night to see "La Boheme" so will be dressing up for a change!"
Kindest regards, Lise."

To learn more about the opportunities offered by Continental Travelnurse, check out our website.

Monday, November 8, 2010

A Rave For Our Nurses In Brighton

Here is a very positive reference for one of our nurses working with a new client in Brighton. Happily, as you can tell, it's quite typical for the first-class professionals that Continental Travelnurse works with.

"I am very pleased to say that Kristen has in no way lowered the standard I am learning to expect for the nurses you have provided! Personally I would be very happy to work with Kirsten should her contract be renewed. I do hope that being invited to write this reference does not mean we are to lose her just as she settles in to our team! Thanks for your support of what has been a consistently impressive band of "real nurses"!"


Wonderful to hear and thanks for sharing your thoughts. If you want to be associated with the top-notch talent at Continental Travelnurse, contact us today. We specialize in recruiting nurses from the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand and placing them in first-class hospitals and medical facilities in the UK. The opportunities for work -- and to explore the Continent -- are endless. Call us.

Does Any Country Love Their Health Care System?

A columnist in Canada's Globe & Mail talks bluntly about the many ways he believes that country needs to change in order to meet its obligation of decent health care for all.

“There’s no law that says private health care is illegal. What there is instead is a whole bunch of laws that dampen the ability of private care providers to be parasitic on the public system.

The result is an oft-illogical patchwork that has left Canadians – and to a large extent policy-makers themselves – perplexed. To wit: Physician visits are covered by medicare but the drugs they prescribe are not – unless the patient is over 65; physicians cannot bill patients but they can refer them to imaging clinics and laboratories that do; private clinics can offer knee surgery but not heart surgery; a citizen cannot jump the queue for care unless they were hurt on the job and they are the responsibility of Worker’s Compensation; homecare nursing is provided by private companies but hospital nursing is not.

“There seems to be confusion about the legitimate role of the private sector in the health system,” as the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development says in a recent report. That’s quite an understatement.

Rallies in Australia For Better "Nurse To Patient" Ratios

The NSWNA (New South Wales Nursing Association) has been calling for a minimum nurse to patient ratio as the strongest, most direct step to guarantee quality patient care in the national health system. And they've been rallying to bring attention to the issue. The Sydney Morning Herald has more.

Nursing As A Second Career

The New York Times has a profile of a man who became a nurse in his 40s. What prompted the career change? Caring for his dying mother. “It was rewarding,” Mr. Van Rensselaer, 45, says. “It was important for my mother to die at home. Working with hospice nurses allowed me to do that for her. And I realized, ‘I can do this.’ ”

From One Of Our Friends In New Zealand

From our friend in New Zealand who just returned home after travelnursing for us:

Hi Roz,

Yes I am back in NZ now. It is certainly a long trip back. I am missing the UK desperately but it is great to catch up with friends and family here.
Have certainly told people about your agency, Continental Travelnurse. I have every intention of coming back to the UK in about 18 -20 months time.

Please say hi to everyone back in the office. I must say that once I had
done all those courses via osmosis it was great to know that you had
everything under control at your end so thank you very much for making my experience of nursing through Continental Travelnurse a pleasant one.
Cheers,
Freda

To find out more about all the opportunities we provide, check out our website: http://www.continentaltravelnurse.com/