Dear Colleagues

You know it. I know it.
The World Health Organisation knows it.
We are facing an imminent shortage of nurses, including Drug and Alcohol Nurses.
Australia’s demand for nurses will significantly exceed supply, with a projected shortfall of approximately 85,000 nurses by 2025.  The story is similar in New Zealand where they expect a 15,000 shortfall by 2035.
However, it’s not just Australia and New Zealand, it’s global.

Because nurses and midwives play a vital role in providing health care,  2020 has been designated ‘The International Year of the Nurse and Midwife’.

To celebrate,  DANA has prepared a short graphic animation featuring  insights into the extent of the world’s use of drugs and alcohol and  an overview of our role as Drug and Alcohol Nurses in  addressing  this .  It is simply called  ‘Drug and Alcohol Nurses Save Lives’ .  You can view it by clicking HERE.

If you would like to view it again (and again), then visit the home page of this website. It is embedded in the top right corner. Click HERE.

Over the months to come DANA will be outlining its plans to address the shortage of Drug and Alcohol Nurses.

May you have a happy, healthy and successful 2020.

Darren Smyth
DANA President

May this Festive Season bring you joy, happiness, hope and respite from the cataclysmic  events that so many of you have endured in recent months.

Let me  say ‘thank you’  for your contribution to, and ongoing support of, DANA. The hard-working DANA Committee deserves special mention. Without them there would be no DANA. Through their dedication DANA has achieved a lot over the last twelve months from the highly acclaimed ‘Power of Connection’ Conference and Inaugural Drug and Alcohol Nurse Practitioner Symposium , held in Sydney  in August  this year to the  DANA scholarships awarded to members for their ongoing professional development and the launch of the DANA Workforce 2020 research program.

Have you joined the growing ranks of Credentialled Drug and Alcohol Nurses / Advanced Certified Addiction Nurses yet? If not, make this your resolution for 2020 and use the process to validate your experience knowledge and expertise.

Be sure to join us on August 13th and 14th at the Pullman in Adelaide  for the DANA ‘2020 Vision’ Conference, including the DANA Drug and Alcohol Nurse Practitioner Symposium.

Let me take this opportunity to wish you the very best for the Festive Season. Be happy and above all stay safe!

Darren Smyth
DANA President

To celebrate DANA’s partnership agreement with APSAD, DANA is offering a special membership rate available from 11:45 pm November 9th to 11:45 pm* November 14th 2019.
You can join or renew or extend your DANA membership for only $100. Hurry! Click HERE.

*This offer will not be available any earlier than this starting time.

Provide  feedback on the ICD 11 Substance Use Codes.

This field testing is aimed at exploring the public health and clinical utility (benefits), feasibility (applicability), and stability (comparability with ICD-10) of the proposed taxonomy, clinical descriptions, and diagnostic guidelines of disorders due to psychoactive substance use and addictive behaviours and related health conditions.

The survey can be accessed from the following link https://extranet.who.int/dataform/285545?lang=en and the password AU_19 is required to enter it.

Participation is entirely voluntary and there is a possibility to complete the survey anonymously. Please be assured that the information provided online via this survey will be treated as confidential. The data will be analysed and presented at the aggregate level only without any reference to or identification of individuals participating in the survey, and results of this survey will be used exclusively for the purpose of the field testing.

The survey closes at the end of November.

The 2019 AOD National Workforce Survey is being conducted by the National Centre for Education and Training on Addiction (NCETA), Flinders University.

All workers in the Australian Alcohol and Other Drug (AOD) sector are invited to participate in the 2019 AOD National Workforce Survey, including those in client service, management, project, research administration and other roles.

The survey can be accessed HERE and takes about 15-20 minutes to complete.

Tell us about what you do, how you experience your work, your wellbeing and professional development needs.

Your valuable input will help inform workforce development priorities and initiatives in your sector.

All participants will also go into a draw to win an iPad mini.

Participation is both voluntary and confidential. You are entirely free to discontinue your participation at any time or decline to answer particular questions.

For additional information contact the NCETA Project Manager, Natalie Skinner ([email protected]) or go to the NCETA website.

Photo by Mimi Thian on Unsplash

The DANA website is migrating to a new web host on Monday morning October 21st 2019.
The purpose of the migration is to improve services to members as part of the entire membership database upgrade.
There may be some interruption of service if you are trying to use the website at that time. Please accept our apologies in advance.

Photo by Barth Bailey on Unsplash

Thank you to everyone for you input into the development of the DANA Position Statement on Pill-Testing and into the revision of the DANA Position Statement on E-Cigarettes.

Both documents are available to download below:

DANA Position Statement on E-Cigarettes

DANA Position Statement on Pill-Testing

Elected at the DANA AGM held in Sydney on Friday August 16, 2019 the following DANA members are already working hard for the benefits of all members (from left to right):

• Samar Zakaria (Workforce development),
• Lucinda Scopelliti (Vice President and memberships), Darren Smyth (President),
• Jennifer Harland (Marketing and campaigning),
• Linda Wigginton (secretary and advancing practice and credentialling),
• Adam Searby (Education, research and treasury).

To contact any  Committee member, click on the ‘People’ tab of this website.