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Roz Norman was an outstanding activist, branch official and Councillor of the NSWNMA and ANMF. In honour of her outstanding contributions, the Roz Norman Scholarship was created to further humanitarian, social or community causes.

The scholarship covers fees for an approved course promoting activism and the development of campaigning skills or public advocacy, including ongoing financial support for reasonable costs associated with campaigning for a period of one year, up to a maximum of $5,000.

NSWNMA Branch Officials or highly active members who can demonstrate leadership qualities are encouraged to apply. Successful recipients are required to report back to Committee of Delegates (COD) at the end of the scholarship period.

Applications open 1 July, closing 30 September 2023

The Australian Journal of Advanced Nursing (AJAN) is the peer-reviewed scholarly journal of the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF).

The mission of AJAN is to provide a forum to showcase and promote a wide variety of original research and scholarly work, to inform and empower nurses, midwives and other healthcare professionals to improve the health and wellbeing of all communities and to be prepared for the future.

Healthy sleep and nursing

Lisa Matricciani, et al https://www.ajan.com.au/index. php/AJAN/article/view/1105

Poor sleep among nurses (and other healthcare workers) is a growing area of concern that may have far-reaching consequences not just for themselves, but also for their patients and the workforce. Fortunately, wellness programs are starting to integrate and highlight the importance of sleep for nurses, but this area of research still has a long way to go. Here, we discuss the importance of sleep for nurses, the challenges and future initiatives.

Recognising patients at risk of deterioration and dying on general medicine wards: a nurse-led point prevalence study

David JT Marco, et al https://www.ajan.com.au/index. php/AJAN/article/view/960/182

The timely recognition of patients who are at risk of dying is often complex and inherently uncertain. Compared to cancer, non-malignant conditions often present greater challenges in identifying patients at risk of dying, as the typical illness trajectory comprises a gradual deterioration in health and functional status, with only occasional acute exacerbations requiring a visit to hospital.

The burden of suffering at the end of life can be considerable when dying is not expected, affecting not just the patient but also their families. Palliative care is proven to offer individuals and families better quality care by providing effective symptom management and psychosocial support, reducing hospitalisations, and limiting the use of non-beneficial treatments at the end of life.

However, prompt and accurate identification of the deteriorating patient is essential so that these systems can be put in place to provide the most benefit.

A recent national audit showed greater than 70 per cent of hospital patients had documentation suggesting dying was recognised by a clinician but this occurred on average only one day before death. Furthermore, 66 per cent patients had potentially non-beneficial and invasive medical procedures performed in their final 48 hours of life.

These findings are reflected internationally, demonstrating widespread challenges in the management of dying people in hospital.

The Supportive and Palliative Care Indicators Tool (SPICT) was developed to help multidisciplinary teams identify patients at risk of deteriorating and dying in all care settings.

Psychosocial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Australian nurses and midwives: a crosssectional study

Sara Holton, et al

The COVID-19 pandemic led to unprecedented and rapid changes to healthcare delivery, and evidence is emerging about the immediate impact of the pandemic on healthcare workers such as nurses and midwives. Symptoms of anxiety, depression and pandemicrelated stress or distress, as well as fear, nervousness, fatigue, frequent crying and suicidal thoughts have been reported. Nurses and midwives appear to have experienced more psychological distress than other healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

A recent Australian study conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic found that most of the hospital clinical staff surveyed were also concerned about their own health and infecting their families, friends and colleagues.

The aim of this study was to investigate the immediate psychosocial effects of the COVID19 pandemic on nurses and midwives working in acute care settings in Melbourne, Australia. The specific objectives of the study were to assess:

• nurses’ and midwives’ levels of depression, anxiety and stress;

• the proportion of nurses and midwives in the mild, moderate, severe and extremely severe diagnostic categories for depression, anxiety and stress;

• factors significantly associated with higher levels of depression, anxiety and stress;

• nurses’ and midwives’ selfreported concerns about COVID19; and https://www.ajan.com.au/index. php/AJAN/article/view/638/181

• the impact of the pandemic on their work and personal lives.

Mental Health Reference Group

– call for papers

The NSWNMA Mental Health Reference Group will be convening a seminar at NSWNMA Head Office in Waterloo on Friday 13 October 2023. The theme of this seminar will be practice innovations. This is an opportunity to present your work in a supportive atmosphere, with plenty of opportunities for networking and professional engagement.

We invite all interested mental health, and drug and alcohol nurses who are engaged in innovative projects, to submit a short abstract to be considered for inclusion in this program. For further information contact MHRG@nswnma.asn.au.