DANA is delighted to endorse “Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drugs: Clinical Guidelines for Nurses and Midwives. Version 3. 2012”.

There is a long history behind this resource, throughout which DANA members have been involved. In 2000,  under the leadership of Charlotte de Crespigny, the Flinders University School of Nursing and Midwifery and Drug and Alcohol Services Council (DASC) were given permission by NSW Department of Health to build on their NSW package titled:  Alcohol and other drugs,  policy for nursing practice in New South Wales: clinical guidelines 2000-2003, June 2000.   The SA package was subsequently developed and published by Flinders University and DASC in 2003, titled:

de Crespigny C, Talmet J, Modystack K, Cusack L and Watkinson J. 2003. Alcohol, Tobacco & Other Drugs. A Framework for Policy and Standards, and Clinical Guidelines for Nurses and Midwives. Version 2. Published by Flinders University, South Australia.

This package was funded and distributed widely by SA Health/DASC.  It was officially launched by SA Minister for Health, the Honourable Lea Stevens, at the First International Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drug Nursing and Midwifery Conference: ‘Making the World of Difference’, convened by DANA and Flinders University School of Nursing and Midwifery, Adelaide, April 2003.

Subsequently the SA package was acquired by WA Health, NT Health and Tasmanian Health Departments, and has been widely used since.

A revision of the Clinical Guidelines was initiated by SA DANA members, Jacky Talmet and Charlotte de Crespigny. Following extensive review by clinical experts Version 3 is now available electronically through the DASSA website – professional resources page www.dassa.sa.gov.au and through the DANA website (under the tab “Publications”).

Thank you Charlotte and Jacky!

DANA and ADCA Sign MOU

DANA and the Alcohol and other Drugs Council of Australia (ADCA) are delighted to announce the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).

ADCA is the Australian peak body for the alcohol and other drugs sector – the national voice for consumer groups and

people working to reduce the harm caused by alcohol and other drugs.

 Through this formal relationship our two organisations will encourage and support each other in broadening the scope of opportunities

available to our members through increased access to professional development opportunities.

 Drugfields

is an ADCA project that aims to promote workforce development for those working in the alcohol, and other drugs (AOD) field. Here you can

access information about requirements for jobs, study opportunities, or see a list of relevant conferences, workshops or seminars to consider attending.

You will also find quality alcohol and drugs information as well as a range of other resources.

Take time to explore the “Professional Toolkit”. Follow this link to find out more.

https://www.danaonline.org/2012/10/03/1510/

DANA and Credentialling

On-line Survey Closed! Results will soon be available.

Please take a few minutes to answer our on-line survey, available at this web address http://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/WEB22GKS594SBW.  Please note that question 7 will only allow you to choose one response. Please select the dot point that is most important to you. Thank you for your time and commitment to contribute to this important DANA project.

Background

Credentialling has emerged as an issue for DANA members in the results of the DANA Satisfaction Survey conducted in February 2012.

Consequently the DANA Management Committee is now consulting widely with DANA members to better understand their views on this matter and to determine how a DANA Credentialling Program could be developed and implemented.

 What do we mean by credentialling?

Credentialling is defined as “a process of professional validation by which an individual nurse may be designated as having met established professional nursing practice standards.”¹

Nursing specialty organisations that already provide this service have developed credentialling criteria that reflect best practice in the specialty. They specify:

• minimum levels of practice and/or experience in the specialty;
• recency of practice;
• education requirements;
• continuing professional development requirements (which could include a portfolio developed around a range of activities such as ongoing education, committee roles, reflective journal, peer review etc).

The decision to undertake the credentialling process in other nursing specialties is entirely voluntary and would be so in any program that DANA pursues.

 What are the benefits of becoming credentialled?

First and foremost, credentialling is intended to enhance the quality of care that is provided to patients and consumers of our services. It can also provide a standard of care that crosses state and national borders.

This is done through establishing an Australasian standard of experience and professional preparation against which drug and alcohol nurses who choose to do so can benchmark their own experience and preparation, and in doing so, become identified as a member of a community experts.

Credentialling can also serve to promote career advancement, open up employment prospects and signal that you are a leader in your specialty area of nursing. You would be identified as an expert in the drug and alcohol field and be able to use an appropriate post nominal.

Importantly, credentialling would allow drug and alcohol nurses to retain a strong identity (where Drug and Alcohol nursing is under threat in some sectors), and  allow us to be accountable for our own professional standards through self regulation of  our own specialty area of nursing.

Nurses who are credentialled through DANA would receive certification for 3 years. At the end of that time there would be the opportunity to undergo a re-credentialling process.

 Where to from here?

Right now we need to collect the views of nurses from across Australia and New Zealand.  We would like to hear from DANA members and  non-members, so please encourage your colleagues to participate in this survey.  Copy the survey web address below and email it to them and ask them to participate in this important project!

We would see that such a program is open to any drug and alcohol nurse who wishes to apply. However there would be a price differential for DANA members and non members.

As many of you know the work of DANA members on the Management Committee is done on a voluntary basis. However to introduce such a program would incur costs and a time commitment over and above what is already provided and given.  The details of costs associated with credentialling have not yet been addressed and will not be addressed until the program is fully conceptualised.

We would like your feedback and ideas to help us make such a credentialling process for DANA fit with the needs of drug and alcohol nurses in Australia and New Zealand. Please take a few minutes to answer our on-line survey, available at this web address http://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/WEB22GKS594SBW.  Please note that question 7 will only allow you to choose one response. Please select the dot point that is most important to you. Thank you for your time and commitment to contribute to this important DANA project.

1 Coalition of National Nursing Organisations (CONNO) – National Nurse Credentialling Framework July 2011.

The CoNNO Framework for Nurse Credentialling is intended to provide organisations such as DANA with a consistent approach to nurse credentialling.  Follow these links for more information…conno_credentialling_framework_final and conno_credentialling_framework_resource_toolkit_final

https://www.danaonline.org/2012/09/01/dana-and-credentialling-please-contribute-to-our-online-survey/

Earlier this year many DANA members participated in the 2012 DANA Satisfaction Survey.  The purpose of the survey was to understand the:

• perceived benefits of  DANA membership;
• reasons that some members had not to renewed their annual membership;
• needs of members into the future;
• types of ‘members only’ benefits  that might be attractive to members / former members;
• effectiveness of communication processes.

The results of the survey were collated and presented, as a poster, at the DANA Annual Conference in June 2012. A copy of the poster is available via this link to the poster.  Graphs of the overall results can be viewed via this link to satisfaction survey results.

 What are the lessons learned?

The four most highly rated items of DANA services currently available are:

• evidenced based practice
• support for members
• standards and competencies
• networking opportunities.

Members would also like to see:

• more professional development
• an increased number of regional events
• special interest groups.

There were some great suggestions such as:

• appointment of a mentor for new members
• introduce new members through the website (or newsletter)
• use Skype or podcasts to share information.

A few of the special interests of members included:

• credentialing
• nurse practitioner role
• rural nursing.

Overall respondents tended to rate ‘communication’ as excellent and a high level of general satisfaction was evident. Similarly the ‘welcoming of new DANA members’ rated very well although there are some regions where this can be improved.

Results by individual chapters have already been distributed to each of the chapter representatives. They will have an opportunity to review these findings in the near future.  Specific actions to address areas that require some attention will be developed by the DANA management committee. The DANA membership will receive an update soon after that takes place.

Enormous thanks goes to our membership for contributing to ongoing DANA projects.  We plan to continue to build DANA according to the needs of our members.

DANA is truly delighted to announce the 1st Australasian Mental Health and Addiction Nursing Conference to be held in Auckland, New Zealand in 2013.

The event, jointly organised by Drug and Alcohol Nurses of Australasia Inc and Te Ao Maramatanga, is themed  “Close to Home”; chosen to capture our hopes and dreams for the future of mental health and addiction nursing. We want to hear from nurses about what’s happening in your backyard!

 Save these days:  19th – 21st June 2013

 Interested in being a sponsor or exhibiting at the conference?

Then don’t miss out as there will be over  400 delegates from around New Zealand and Australia including mental health nurses, researchers, health providers and suppliers in the mental health profession expected to attend the exhibition over three days. The prospectus is available for download  at  http://www.conference.co.nz/mhn13/sponsorship

 Abstract Submission opens August 2012

You are invited to submit an abstract for an oral or poster presentation. We would like to hear from mental health and addiction nurses involved in primary secondary and tertiary clinical services, research, management, education, and non-governmental organisations across Australia, New Zealand and globally.  Further information regarding call for papers will follow in in the near future.

 Registration opens January 2013

Visit the conference website to register your interest, for information about sponsoring and exhibition and to keep updated on the conference programme.
The conference website is being updated regularly.
www.conference.co.nz/mhn13

Conference 2012 Melbourne Australia

The 2012 DANA Annual Conference has come and gone. I’d like to thank the DANA conference steering committee and the Royal College of Nursing Australia (RCNA) events organisers, led by our conference chair Ros Burnett (DANA Victorian representative). They all did an amazing job to coordinate such a fantastic event.

The conference was a great chance to learn, catch up with old friends, meet new friends and network with colleagues from across Australia and New Zealand. As usual, we even made some time for a bit of fun; especially at the conference dinner where Dramatico (pictured above) entertained us.

In her last official duty as CEO of the RCNA, Debra Cerasa opened the conference and spoke of commitment, energy and passion. Professor Charlotte de Crespigny delivered the Adams-deCrespigny-Harvey Oration and urged us as D&A nurses to show courage.  She exemplified this in her advocacy for AOD palliative care services. Assoc Prof David Best, Dr Daryle Deering, Ms Jennifer Harland and Assoc Prof Mike McDonough delivered the plenary sessions.  There were many fine paper presentations and mini workshops from DANA members in relation to the work that they have been undertaking.

The pre-conference workshops, Harm Reduction and Pain Management were not to be missed.  I personally learned so much from the session that I attended.  All presentations will be available in the very near future on the DANA conference website. Keep an eye on the DANA Facebook page for photographs from the conference (follow the link at the bottom right hand side of the DANA website home page).

Conference 2013 Auckland New Zealand

So, where to from here? Next year’s DANA conference is going to be held in Auckland NZ from the 19^th to 21^st June 2013.  The theme will be Close to Home.  This will be the first Australasian Addiction Nursing/Mental Health conference. DANA and Te Ao Maramatanga (New Zealand College of Mental Health Nurses) are organising the event. To find out more follow this link to the joint conference website.

Your Representatives – the DANA Management Committee

The DANA Annual General Meeting (AGM) was held in conjunction with the DANA annual conference. A new Management Committee is now in place. We welcome our new members: Ruth Daly (treasurer), Skye O’Donnell (membership secretary) and our new chapter representatives Loretta Cropley (NT),  Paula Saunders (Qld), Patricia Gibbs (SA) and Darren Smyth (rural NSW). It is also timely to extend thanks to outgoing committee members: Tara Kennedy (treasurer), Jayne McArthur (membership secretary), Patricia Gibbs (vice president) and chapter representatives: Fiona Fleming (SA) and Dee Robinson (NT).  Last but definitely not least we bid farewell to DANA’s President for the last two years, Margo Hickman. Happily Margo has agreed to take on the Vice Presidency and I will take up the role of President. You can find contacts for each of the DANA management committee via this link.

DANA Memberships

An important item of business transacted at the AGM, of interest to all DANA members, is that of membership fees. At the AGM of 2011 an increase in the annual membership fee to $165 was voted in.  In view of the economic and employment uncertainty at present, the management committee chose not to introduce a fee increase at this time and to hold full membership at $132 (in New Zealand or Australian dollars). There will need to be a fee increase at some future time. However we will ensure that members have ample warning of this and will also be advised as to the rationale for the increase.

Still on the topic of memberships, we will all be receiving our DANA memerbship renewals within a few days. Don’t forget to advise us if your details have changed.

Once again, it was lovely to see all of you who were able to make it to the 2012 DANA conference, and we hope that many of you are able to join us at next year’s event in Auckland.

Best wishes

Colleen Blums

DANA President

Interview with Dr Jeremy Hayllar 

Clinical Director  Alcohol and Drug Service, Metro North Health Service District

In the lead up to World No Tobacco Day (WNTD)  2012, Colleen Blums, Queensland DANA Representative, had the opportunity to speak with Dr Jeremy Hayllar – Clinical Director Alcohol and Drug Service, Metro North Health Service District.

Tobacco use is one of the leading preventable causes of death. The global tobacco epidemic kills nearly 6 million people each year, of which more than 600,000 are people exposed to second-hand smoke.

The WHO has selected as the theme for WNTD this year “tobacco industry interference”. The campaign is intended to focus on the increasingly energetic attempts being made by the tobacco industry to undermine the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC).

Find out more about the some of the key points to emerge during the interview that are listed below  by following this link to the full interview with Dr Jeremy Hayllar.

Key points:

•  Tobacco use…appears to be an important factor in the progression of Hepatitis C;
• The Nurses Health Study involving >100,000 nurses over 22 years…demonstrated a clear relationship between the number of cigarettes smoked (i.e. the dose) and the risk of certain cancers (the response);
• Aero-digestive tract malignancy is dramatically increased in those who smoke and drink heavily (acetaldehyde, a breakdown product of alcohol and also found in tobacco smoke, is one of many potent carcinogens to which drinkers who smoke are exposed);
• The smoke from each cigarette contains >500 trillion cancer causing particles (that is more than 5 with 14 zeros after it, an unimaginably huge number);
• Use motivational enhancement approaches and the 5 ‘A’s : ask, assess, assist, advise and arrange follow-up when working with smokers;
• Evidence shows that those who use counselling support to quit are more likely to succeed. Quitlines –  13 7846 (Australia) 0800 778 778 (New Zealand);
• Tobacco companies have …devised ways to enhance nicotine delivery to render their products dependence forming (e.g. adding ammonia compounds to tobacco results in more rapid nicotine delivery);
•  Cytisine has the same mechanism of action as Varenicline.
• Cigarette smoking on average kills about 50% of those who smoke;
• On average a smoker dies 10-15 years earlier than a non-smoker;
• A person with dependence on opioids and tobacco, entering opioid treatment is more likely to die from tobacco use that opioid use.

Congratulations to DANA’s International Vice President, Louise Leonard who has been endorsed as New Zealand’s  first  Nurse Practitioner with prescribing rights, with Alcohol and Other Drug as the area of practice.

Those of you working towards becoming Nurse Practitioners well know that the pathway remains a long and arduous  one and requires an ability to stay motivated and focused over the long term. When asked what helped Louise maintain her  motivation she reflected “I wanted to have the extended skill set of a Nurse Practitioner (including prescribing), together with the autonomy of being able to practice independently, as well as working collaboratively with complex cases”.  Louise reflected that, “it is  quite a lonely pathway and you need to have the vision, commitment and drive to keep going.”

Nurse Practitioners across all areas of practice in New Zealand now number just over 100 and it’s taken more than a decade to reach that number. Louise believes that Nurse Practitioners in New Zealand can make a solid contribution to patient outcomes, particularly in the areas of mental health and addiction services, primary care, chronic disease management and in rural settings.

In New Zealand, addiction and mental health service are closely aligned and as result Nurse Practitioners AOD must also demonstrate competency to work with patients with co-existing mental health problems.

Louise gives these words of advice to anyone contemplating taking on the challenge of becoming a Nurse Practitioner, “It is a big commitment; make sure you have good support both professionally and personally. Be patient and tenacious”.

If you are interested in finding out more about Nurse Practitioners in New Zealand you can follow this link .www.nurse.org.nz/npnz-nurse-practitioners-nz.html and visit the website of Nurse Practitioners New Zealand; a Division of the College of Nurses Aotearoa New Zealand.

You will also be able to seek Louise out at the DANA Annual Conference being held in Melbourne in June 2012.

The next step for Louise is to obtain a position as a Nurse Practitioner and indeed this may yet prove to be the biggest challenge for AOD Nurse Practitioners! Once again to Louise, congratulations and every success for the future.

It’s that time of year again! We are preparing for the DANA AGM. It will be held during the DANA conference in Melbourne on Thursday 14.6.2012.  The AGM is a very important meeting for our organisation as it is where we make major decisions that will determine how we move forward as a dynamic and energetic organisation that contributes to the specialty area of nursing of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs and the wider nursing profession throughout Australia, New Zealand and internationally.

A number of positions are vacant so we are seeking nominations to join the DANA management committee and contribute to the important business that DANA is involved in on an International basis.  We are looking for as many new nominations as possible to help bring fresh and innovative ideas to the committee.  Please consider your own nomination or strongly encourage another DANA member/ colleague to nominate for one of the current vacant positions.

Being ivolved with the management committee is a fantastic professional development opportunity.  You would also be well supported by the management committee if you are interested in becoming involved, yet have limited experience in such a role.

If you would like to talk to someone about what the position entails, then please don’t hesitate to contact any of the current representatives on the management committee (contact details on the DANA website – click on people), or myself  on [email protected] .  We would only be too happy to answer any of your questions and welcome you to submit a nomination for a vacant position.

I look forward to receiving many new nominations this year to take up the vacant positions on the DANA Management Committee.

Margo Hickman –  DANA President

Would you like to be more closely associated with DANA’s organisation and management?  Keep reading even if you are a really new member.

Some exciting changes are happening within DANA which means that we are looking for members to join the management team and help fulfil important roles for our organisation.

You would have a chance to be directly involved with:

• Conference planning;
• Regional educational activities;
• Strategic planning;
• Policy development
• Development of DANA submissions
• Organising local chapter meetings
• Contributing to DANA communication tools
• Hosting DANA trade booths at conferences and events
• And more!

There is a time commitment to consider such as participating regularly at monthly teleconference meetings and intermittent participation in working parties.

In return for your hard work you will gain:

• Valuable experience and professional development (looks great on your résumé)
• Opportunity to meet and learn from other Drug and Alcohol Nurses who work in the field in other parts of Australia and New Zealand
• Increase in your knowledge about all aspects of drug and alcohol nursing, and
• Satisfaction in the knowledge that you are doing something really useful for your colleagues and professional area.

Several positions are due to become vacant and need to be filled at the next DANA Annual General Meeting in June 2012.  Positions such as treasurer, membership secretary and local chapter representatives will be open to new nominations – are you interested and could you put your hand up to fill the role?

Would you like to know more?   Feel free to contact Margo Hickman ([email protected]) for more information, or your local chapter representative.