Response to M Bennett

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letters

to

the

RESPONSE TO M BENNETT

Association. I lowever, the strong profes-

Dear Editor,

sional stance adopted and coordinated by

I was d i s a p p o i n t e d to r e a d P r o f e s s o r

the ANF had no effect on the Victorian

Margaret Bennett's letter in the April edi-

Government.

tion ol Collegian T h e Australian College of Education National Conference Together we learn ( III HIS

Ph: 070 41 I 155, fax: 070 41 I 244 Email:finnaussi(«'inter north.com.au

editor

I believe that the ANF (Victorian

In addressing the concerns outlined in

Branch) as the industrial and professional

Professor Bennett's letter, I will give you

voice of nursing in Victoria has adopted a

the background information on why ANF

very forward thinking policy in order to

(Victorian Branch) made the decision to

p r o t e c t b o t h t h e r e s i d e n t s in n u r s i n g

implement

homes an RNs Division I and Division 2.

education

prog r a m s

for

Assistants in Nursing.

With regard to the decision of ANF

In Victoria, since the deregulation of

(Victorian Branch) to allow membership

the nursing h o m e industry that occurred

for AIN's, your readers may not be aware

Q ^ | Distance Learning: I ^ f l Education and Training

following the election ol a Conservative

t h a t A s s i s t a n t s in N u r s i n g h a v e b e e n

G o v e r n m e n t in 1992, the increase in the

m e m b e r s of Q u e e n s l a n d Nurses U n i o n

5j^| +< ^ *
use of u n q u a l i f i e d w o r k e r s to p r o v i d e

and

nursing care has resulted in the current

Association for many years.

^ ^ H O p e n , Flexible and

W

in the 21st Century University of Tasmania, Latwceston Ph : 03 6224 3773,fax: 03 6224 3774 Email:conf.design.hba( ( ''lrump.net.au

Second Asia Pacific Paedialric Q ^ H Nursing Conference I ^ f l Nursing Research Evolving S ^ | with Postmodernism: Transformation and

a O

Degrees of Freedom

/A Siutjapoie

Ph: 03 9365 2222/2477, fax: 03 9877 0552 Emai I :Meglim(f?vut. edu.au CM!

New

South

Wales

Nurses'

situation where approximately 50 percent

In conclusion, I wish to put on record

of nursing care in the private sector nurs-

my admiration lor Professor Bennett and

ing h o m e industry is being provided by

her c o m m i t m e n t to the nursing profes-

unqualified w o r k e r s . F u r t h e r m o r e , with

s i o n as w e l l as h e r s u p p o r t l o r A N F

the proposed new Federal lunding there

(Victorian Branch).

is a very real potential for this 50 percent to increase.

I am s o n y that she feels so strongly on this issue that she has decided to resign

T h e ANF (Viclorian Branch) receives

from ANF (Viclorian Branch), however I

constant complaints from members, both

would expect her to recognise that ANF

RNs and ENs that working with unquali-

has always operated in the best interests

fied workers puts an additional strain on

of the nursing profession in this Slate.

them, not only in their legal responsibili-

B. Morieson, Melbourne

ties, but also in the matters ol workloads and

OH&S;

lilting

techniques

has

DANGEROUS LIAISONS

2nd National School Nurses Q ^M Conference I ^ f l Parallel Pathways Towards

e m e r g e d as a p a r t i c u l a r p r o b l e m . As a

I have just read Kim Walker's d i a t r i b e

result ol the members' concerns, and in a

(wordy isn't it?) in defence of the 'intel-

2 ^M

beliel that the elderly in this State deserve

lectual nurse' and I w o n d e r w h a t sector

b e t t e r care than it a p p e a r s t h e c u r r e n t

ol the cosmos he was holidaying in when

C o m m o n w e a l t h Government is willing to

he wrote it.

Q) W

a C o m m o n Coal Melbourne Royal toUetje of Nursiiuj, Australia Ph: 06 282 5633, fax: 06 282 3565 Etna i I iconff^rc na.org.au

Drug & Alcohol Nurses of Australasia, 1 1th Annual Conference Mixing Business with Pleasure: Living & Working with the Reality Adelaide Ph: 08 8229 6060, lax: 08 8239 1566 Emai I: con vtfOsa pmea.asn.au 8 Collegian Vol 4 No 3 1997

fund, t h e A N F b e l i e v e s t h a t it h a s a

His summary of the 'doing nurse' was

responsibility to its members, to the nurs-

i n d e e d d e p r e s s i n g . . . 'docile', resenting

ing profession and to the community to

the classroom, driven to serve at all the

educate these workers, who are involved

costs ( t h e ' t y r a n n y of self-sacrilice and

in delivering nursing care. In 1992, the ANF (Victorian Branch) u n i t e d the profession in o p p o s i n g t h e

likeness') and oppressed by a culture that expects them ,to do as they are told and seldom question the authority of others'.

d e r e g u l a t i o n of nursing h o m e s . At that

1 believe he has it all wrong. H e starts

time we worked with Nurse Academies,

with the pervasive premise in academic

the Royal C o l l e g e ol Nursing Australia

circles that clinical nurses shun the acqui-

and the Victorian Nurse Executives'

sition of higher knowledge. I look around