RCNA offering freebee to student nurses.......

On reflection............It came to my attention when teaching the undergraduate nurses that the RCNA was offering free membership to student nurses.....now I pride myself on being pro-active and passing this enthusiasm onto the students... I thought what a great incentive for the students to have free membership to a professional body that offers them support, information, collegiality and professional support.... so I thought i would engage the students on a discussion about professional bodies and their usefulness and ask how many of the students had taken up the RCNA's offer of free membership.... to my surprise...not one of the 31 students had picked up on this fabulous offer.... this was a shock to me...when I asked them why...one said she didn't know what the RCNA had to offer her , 2 others said it was for a limited time and the rest just were not interested.... is this a sign of the times? or a societal problem... do our students get everything to easy...? or am I making a mountain out of a mole hill.... I don't think so. I think that this is apathy starting as a student....yes I know students have a lot of work...but so does everyone... or maybe it is that they really do not appreciate the benefits of belonging to a professional body... or is this the problem with nursing... how many doctors do you think would never consider belonging to their professional body? I wonder if they have this problem?
It begs the question, do nurses and student nurses really believe in the profession of 'nursing' and its professional body? what do you do to increase membership to professional bodies?

Reflections of March

Wow this month has flown by and what a month, I feel I have been plane hopping all month: as I look back it has been action packed and some of it I will reflect in more detail, a quick synopsis of the month will give you some idea of the places I have been and what I have been up to.

The new semester started at the end of February, I was on the back foot as I was still marking tri-semester work from Singapore (Dec – Feb), which in effect creates a greater work load. The beginning of semester is always hectic and exciting, having revamped your course work and set new assessments it’s always a challenge then seeing the student’s progress through their course gives me a great sense of satisfaction.

Singapore was the first trip of the year, again exciting, challenging and rewarding we start the first session with what are the students expectations of me over the three day teaching period…… if I do not do this I feel that there could be a danger of just vomiting the course information to the all students – my style of teaching is quite animated and I use a lot of case examples to illustrate the use of legal and ethical points and the students seem to respond to this format of teaching…….. I really love it….. And the feedback is always good. Each time I visit Singapore I have my favorite places I like to visit such as Borders & Kinokuniya Bookshops.


I also like to visit somewhere different. This time I went to Sentosa Island to see the new casino and Universal Studios…. However the studio will not be opened until after I leave so I will have to return. Never the less I did manage to find a new bookshop called Page One and I bought Ian a book about his beloved Leeds. I never mind travelling alone, as I can please myself as to where and what I see and if you have a vivid imagination you would be surprised as to how you never feel alone…….but I do miss sharing those special moments with my husband….. “like when I finished teaching and feel on cloud nine because it went really well”. Next trip to Singapore will be August….. so watch this space….


On a personal level we took a weekend out and went to a family friends wedding which was held at Rivendell Winery Yallingup. I worked on the Friday night and enabled a woman to have a wonderful normal birth of a healthy beautiful little girl, so we left early Saturday morning and drove down …….. It was a brilliant wedding……Kate looked enchanting and deliriously happy everyone had a wonderful time……the company, weather, food and wine was divine, what more could you ask for…… but Monday came around all too fast and the working week began again….

The following week was the ACM Board and Strategic meeting…. In Canberra………leaving on Wednesday evening and returning on Sunday night…. It has been three days of intensive meetings, brain storming, networking and sharing with some incredible, talented, wonderful people…. I am so inspired this will have to be another blog…


Beyond Q Books, Curtin ACT

However today we that being Tracy and I did get into a bit of bother with the Federal Police at Capital Hill… We decided to visit Parliament House so we could take the obligatory photo out the front…… however not realizing we had parked at the back entrance….. Which I did think this looks different to the last time I visited…… however we continued…. Walked up the path and took as usual a multitude of pictures….. What would we do without out digital cameras……. We were laughing joking and admiring the building and the beautiful fauna….. Walked around the building and into an alcove which had a very tall gate…. Behind the gate were the most beautiful climbing wisteria bushes I had seen….. And so proceeded to take the pictures beyond the gate….. We then walked back to the car…… as we reached the stairs…. I noticed several police officers and did wonder why all of a sudden there were three of them….two of which were on bicycles and the other had come in a car….. The one on the stairs approached us and said “good morning, nice day” I responded and said “yes’’….. Carefully looking at his uniform making sure they were Police and not security….. The officer then asked me if I had been taking photos of the building……. I did think carefully before answering as I did consider saying ‘no’ however I decided that honesty was the best policy in this instance…..as we live In Australia and it’s a free country in terms of taking photos….. And I needed to be at the airport within the next 2hrs so now was not them time to be difficult. The officer then informed us that we had set of the silent alarm when we entered the alcove and took photos beyond the gate….. This was illegal. I then informed the officer that I had not seen any notices to let me know that 1 – I could not enter the alcove and 2 – I could not take any photos…..to which he responded…. “No there isn’t”….. “we have bought this up before and the powers to be think that the signs would spoil the image or ascetics of the building”. He then asked to examine our cameras and proceeded to delete three photos that were illegal…. From both our cameras…. The officers were very polite and friendly and said it was an honest mistake on our part…… which of course it was…. However I do feel that there should be warnings for the general public not to take photos or enter the restricted area….. To prevent this from happening……I not appreciate my photos being examined and deleted….. However the alternative was not good either…..missing my flight…. On a positive note it is good to see that security is at a premium and that our Parliament House is well protected…. My estimate was that the officers were there within 5 mins of us taking the photos….. So a job well done by the diligent Federal Police and I am grateful to know they are doing their job.



Flying home from Canberra can be tiresome, three hours time difference and several airports to navigate…… I managed to do some shopping at the Melbourne airport during my stopover and of course now I have my 6 hour battery for my Acer laptop I can get some blogs, emailing and work done…… I am looking forward to being home…… have missed everyone…. I am hoping to have a quieter time for Apri, to catch up on some work, blogging etc…. As I have not had a weekend at home for the whole of March…….I just want to sit and chill………………….

Watch for the next blogs. ACM Strategic meeting summary, Group Midwifery Practice plans..... I am so inspired...... its time to move and make it happen......

This is inspiring...... Randy Pausch "The last Lecture"

I have watched the You Tube video and read the book.... and I have found it sad and inspiring so much so that I thought I would share it.... I also show my students this clip and when i feel that life is not going to plan, or I get despondent, I play it again to remember what my dreams and passions are so that I can continue and achieve them.
Randy Pausch Last Lecture: Achieving Your Childhood Dreams

Soooo busy marking papers! no time for blogging!

I am so busy marking papers I can not see the forest for the trees. I am dreaming case studies, law and ethics. Marking is fun when your students are getting it right - however marking is so much harder when they get it wrong, there has got to be a better way of testing knowledge. The biggest issue I am facing is incorrect referencing, paraphrasing or incorrect paraphrasing and PLAGIARISM, role on next semester when I will use a computer system that detects plagiarism for you. I am sure that will make both the students life and mine easier. I found this great site that helps you understand referencing, paraphrasing and plagiarism - have a look and pass it on to others who may be interested it is called The Owl at Purdue:
Must go, marking calls, the joys of lecturing/teaching.....................

Stealing a long weekend away

We have been back from our overseas holiday just over 2 months and our feet have not touched the ground with work, family & new grandchildren. We are waiting for our latest grandchild to be born, due in about 3 weeks or so, that will be the last one for this year. Currently this little one is still breech, here’s hoping he will turn in the next few weeks. So Ian thought this would be an opportune time to steal a long weekend away, or so he thought. Ian did not count on me having approximately 50 analytical essays to finish marking, so he booked a romantic weekend away, also forgetting he was on call. Great stuff, typically male, don’t you just love them. I will say in his defence, I would always have a reason not to go away due to work commitments, he did well.

So away we go to Basildene Manor in Margaret River, a beautiful spot set in our wine making district, with my papers, laptop in toe and Ian with his mobile phone and his laptop. Wow I can see this is going to go well. I did not take much notice of the scenery on the way down to Margaret River; I took this time to continue marking papers. I get great satisfaction from marking a paper that has everything you anticipated it would have in it, one that follows the marking guide and the student endeavours to get it all right, and then I feel I got the message across. Conversely, it is the opposite when the student gets it all wrong, and then there is the student that is right on the line, 50%. I am not sure if that equally means I have not done my job well? I have yet to make a decision on this.

Margaret River is one of our favourite places and we try to stay somewhere different each time we come to this region, we also endeavour to try several different vineyards, of course. Basildene Manor is an old manor which was built around 1902 and owned by the Willmott family. This is a grand venue, set on 14 acres and has enchanting gardens, luxurious rooms, our room has a king size bed and a spar, sheer bliss for us, mixed with elegance and a taste of old world charm. Breakfast was set in the conservatory overlooking the 14 acres of enchanting gardens watching the exotic birds playing in the trees; it really was peaceful and relaxing. We would stroll around the grounds each morning enjoying the surroundings and thankful we live in such a beautiful country.


Cape Lavender holds a special place for us; we just adore the spot and love the wine, hence why we bought two cases– we indulged in afternoon tea – that is lavender tea, lavender scones & cream, sheer decadence and see it was tea we enjoyed, it goes to prove we do drink tea.




Dinner Saturday night was at Leeuwin Estate – what can I say except to say “exquisite” we went back the next day to see the grounds in the daytime to also enjoy the gardens. It is my aim to get to a Leeuwin concert...........


Redgate – wine tasting, you just have to try the white port it is very special, especially with lots of ice and a slice of lemon – it is to die for!

The Knights Inn –was one of the local pubs where we had dinner Sunday night – nothing beats a pub dinner watching the English football - Portsmouth vs Tottenham was playing so my hubby was in his element and I did not mind either, we had a table in front of the wood fire and the big screen what more could you ask for?
Only 20 papers left, the students are doing to badly, it does make a change to sit out in the gardens marking it gives you a different perspective.


Our last day – we visited the Voyager winery, this place has to be seen to be believed, it is just an unbelievable spot. We had lunch there and it was “outstanding”


Now it is time to go home, we feel refreshed the battery is recharged and ready to start again, until the next time, ciao from Margaret River.

Teaching in Singapore

I have just recently come back from teaching in Singapore; it is always a pleasure to teach there. People always say when you are passionate about something you do it well, that is me with teaching Professional Issues. My aim is that nurses and midwives have a good understanding about their legal responsibilities, that is, a good understanding of the legislation and professional codes that govern their practice. The university staff and students are very welcoming and the students are keen to learn, they are quite shy to start with then after a warm up session they are sharing experiences and answering questions.
On my trips to Singapore I usually spend 12 hours teaching and like to incorporate a few days off to do some sightseeing.
Singapore is an interesting country it is has a population of approximately 4.6 million and there are four main languages spoken, Chinese, Indian, Malay and English.


Singapore has a controlled democracy; this is the first time I had heard of this notion, not a bad idea really. Speakers corner is where people can express freedom of speech to a degree - you have to submit your speech and have police approval before you can deliver your speech = off course you can not talk about religion, race, politics or the government, controlled democracy.
It is a tropical island and has a humidity rating of 70-90%, this is the only thing I don’t like about Singapore is the humidity, especially for a menopausal woman, I have taken to carry a travel towel and mini fan to try and stem the flood of perspiration that often ensues after venturing outside for a walk or shopping, the only consolation is that the taxis are fabulous and have fantastic air conditioners’ it’s like going into an icebox.
I must say I don’t like travelling alone and do miss my husband when I’m away, however there are some benefits to being on your own; you can do exactly what you want when you want. I particularly like book shops and enjoy spending time in Borders and Kinokuniya – they are both fantastic shops, Kinokuniya has a much bigger reference section than Borders. My most recent acquisition apart from medico-legal books was the ‘Seven daughters of Eve” which I have not had a chance to start yet.
The other thing I enjoyed this trip was visiting about 4 or 5 temples/churches. What an array of religions there are in Singapore, I wouldn’t like to guess at the number of different ones in case I was to leave one out. However I did visit Kwan Im Thong Hood Cho Temple- the Chinese Goddess of Mercy, also believed to be a manifestation of the Boddhisattva Avlokitesyara.


Also the Chinese biggest Temple with the biggest Buddha. The Hindu temple Sri Krishana. The Relic Temple and museum of the hundred Buddhas. The Muslim temple and the Catholic Church St Joseph. Wow that’s a lot of temples in one day – it was an interesting day -


– I had an unusual experience outside a Chinese Temple, a Sikh man approached me, said hello and simultaneously reached for my hand and talked into me incessantly, he was hard to understand, however, when he said ‘I was spiritual but lazy with it’ I laughed and then the penny dropped that he was telling me my fortune and giving me a personality reading – I was astounded, I had never know Sikh people to be fortune tellers, so I was taken by surprised, I was also outside a temple a spiritual place so did not expect to be ripped off. He then held my hand and asked for paper money, when I gave him some he asked for more. Now I thought I was a fairly strong woman, but on this occasion I was weak, I was taken aback by this man and also felt I should give him more money as he still had hold of my hand and that I would not have any bad karma, more fool me, a valuable lesson learnt.


On my other free day I took a round island tour – this was an interesting day, I travelled with a multicultural group of people, German, American, British, Scottish, two I don’t knows, and myself. The tour guide was a retired engineer Singapore Chinese man ‘Abdul’ he was absolutely fantastic he had lived in Europe for 17 yrs and could speak several different languages. Abdul gave a little of Singaporean history and commentary on most places we went to. The Tiger Balm Park was interesting, showing a little of Chinese cultural background. I do find some of the festivals intriguing ‘the festival of the Hungry Ghost’. We had lunch at the Orchid Country Club; Ian would have loved to have a game of golf here, it was very colonial. The most thought provoking place we visited was the Changi Chapel and museum – this was a very sad place and it certainly made you reflect. The other place that had the same effect was the war cemetery for Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, India and UK.


I relished walking through the markets and just watching people, I enjoyed the best cup of ginger tea watching workers as they rolled and cooked pastries with such precision and wishing I could try them, but after watching them being cooked I thought twice about it, my arteries and waist line were saying ‘no don’t do it’ so I took a photo instead. It just was not the same.


I look forward to my next trip.

e-learning: Introducing the K2ms fetal monitoring (CTG) teaching package.

e-learning is this the way of the future? Yes, is the answer, the question is, how do we balance the present with the future? Our institution has introduced the K2ms (medical system) Fetal Monitoring ( http://www.k2ms.com/contact/index.html) self directed learning package. Personally I think this is a great package, it is systematic and clear, you can work at your own pace. You can repeat sections until you are satisfied that you understand the concepts being taught and you can move ahead quickly if you need to. The instructions are reasonable to follow. The program provides case studies for you to work through, it is the fun bit like a virtual game, however providing good learning examples. However I am very familiar with computers and make sure that I keep up with current trends. This program may not be so easy for someone who is not use to learning in this way.
There are some aspects of the computer world I find quite frustrating, such as, trying to add new features to my blog. Working with computer programs can be very frustrating and time consuming, and at times even a waist of time. So how does someone cope who has never used a computer?

Yes all our students now currently use computers, however if the average age of a midwife is 45yrs old - it would stand to reason that there are some midwives that will find it very challenging to move to a e-learning framework.

Do all health professionals have a personal computer? do they like using a computer, do they all use email? do they know about Facebook, myspace, Internet banking, eBay etc...... there are so many areas in life that are influenced by technology, yet e-learning is very challenging. Is this because there are issues that may influence this such as: eye strain, concentration of looking at computer screen, do they actually learn in this way if they do not like this method. For some people interaction in its self enhances the learning experience.

We have many e-learning packages, such as: Breastfeeding modules, manual handling package, emergency preparedness and the list goes on.

Are we losing the face to face teaching? is there room for both methods? do we need to ensure that both methods of teaching are still available for our health professionals?

What are some of your experiences regarding e-learning?

How can we make the transition smoother for our less technologically minded colleagues?