Nurse In Australia » Products

E-Book Review: Nursing in the Australian Health Service

Ross — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 06:38:20 +0000

A little while back I had the opportunity to review an e-book by Emma Bates of NursingAustralia.info titled Nursing in Australia: A Guide to Working and Living as a Nurse Down Under.

Guess what? Emma has a new e-book out which she has kindly allowed me to review, it’s called Nursing in the Australian Health Service, and today you get a sneak peek into what it’s all about….

Nursing in the Australian Health Service

Firstly, to contrast this product with Emma’s other travel nursing book, which has a real overseas or new-to-Australia focus, this e-book has been designed to guide people through the intricacies of the Australian Health Service. This is a stand alone book for people who don’t need all the overseas/travel and visa information found in the full book.

Emma describes the reasoning behind creating this e-book as follows:

“An eBook specifically focusing on nursing in the Australian Health Service would have been really helpful and eased a lot of the worry and anxiety I had when starting in the service.

There were things I wished I’d known up front, like what are the nursing clinical specialties? What are the laws and acts affecting our practice? What are the nursing organisations etc? Information about administering medication in Australia would also have been useful.

I also wondered why there wasn’t a good guide for nurses out there available on the internet, so I wrote this ebook which I hope will make it easier for you to understand Nursing in the Australian Health Service and ease your transition into your role.”

So this e-book is really a guide for student nurses or people interested in nursing, newly qualified or returning-to-work nurses, and Registered Nurses who want a bit more insight into how things work in Australia.

From reading other material from Emma, I have discovered her to be a thoroughly comprehensive writer, and this e-book is no exception at around 187 pages long. I should add that the information presented is actually usable, relevant material, meaning you won’t find pages of waffle like you find in many other e-books these days. In my opinion, that’s the most important part of buying a product that represents great value for money.

What’s Inside?

This book opens with a brief intro to Australian Nursing, then dives straight into the nitty-gritty aspects of working within the Australian healthcare system. It’s not until you start reading through this e-book that you really understand where Emma was coming from when she says of her early days in Australia, “there were things I wish I’d known upfront.”

When I say comprehensive, I really mean it. To give you an example, just a few of the chapters you will find in this book include information on:

Obtaining and maintain registration as a Nurse in Australia,
Hospital and registration specific requirements,
Comparisons of the public and private sector, agency work & working for other employees,
Awards and agreements that directly affect nursing staff,
The medicare and pharmaceutical benefit systems,
Clinical specialties, hierarchies and the nursing role,
Medication administration,
Acronyms and Abbreviations specific to Australia,
Understanding the nursing grades, pay rates and salary packaging,
Nursing organisations,
Mandatory skills and requirements

Bonus Stuff

The ebook also contains bonus sections on medication calculations, making a successful transition to the workplace, and exclusive links to a whole heap of online journals, organisations and resources. There’s also a guide to University courses in each State & Territory of Australia, and a breakdown of the sizes and remoteness of each of the Australian public and private hospitals.

My Recommendations

* Please note, this e-book is an alternative option to the full Nursing in Australia book, written especially for travel and overseas nurses (read the review here). If you already have this book, you don’t need the companion, as it already contains information on the Australian Health Service.

Who is this for?
Nursing students, graduates and people interested in nursing can really get a lot of value from Nursing in the Australian Health Service. In fact, I recommend you grab a copy if you are:

A nursing student in Australia (highly recommend)
A New Graduate, or are graduating soon (also highly recommend)
Any nurse considering returning to the workforce, or those who haven’t worked for some time & want a bit of a refresher / update on changes to the healthcare system, and
Anyone who want an inside view to what really goes on in the Australian Health Service.

In all honesty, it’s a great product. At the time of review the sale price is only $20 AUD, and you get it immediately delivered in digital format.

To grab your own copy, visit NursingAustralia or click on the book below.

Nursing and Medical Books

Ross — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 14:10:31 +0000

I’m a massive fan of reading books, particularly new releases. I’ve ordered several books through Amazon online for shipping to Australia before, and the experience has always been great.

I’ve also discovered that for various reasons such as supply or distributing rights, there are many books that are not available for purchase in Australia. Amazon have superior product tracking, and ship all over the world.

Medical and Nursing Books

* Here’s a selection of some of the nursing / hospital related books available from Amazon Online.

Nursing products online

Ross — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 01:14:53 +0000

credit: ali edwards

People have asked me where they can go online to buy Nursing Products in Australia, stuff like stethoscopes, pen lights etc.

Here’s a few places I can recommend to check out:

NurseStuff for all things nursing,
DocStock for top of the line gear including Welch Allyn products,
Medshop Australia for diagnostic and educational products.
Amazon Online for books.

Nice skin!

Ross — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 09:55:43 +0000

credit: fedewild

I’m fortunate enough to live within 10 minutes of some pretty awesome beaches on Australia’s Sunshine Coast. I just wanted to mention that while beaches are a haven for tanned, toned bodies, they also are a harem for old wrinkly chicken-skin lookalikes for those who have lived here for many years; a tribute to sun exposure gone wrong!

Anyway, according to the Australian Government, Queensland has the highest rate of malignant melanoma and non-melanocytic cancer in the world! This means we have to take a bit of extra care when it comes to sun exposure and skin care. For people who live in Australia, and Queensland in particular, it’s really important to follow some basic principles of sun care: frequent use of sun tan lotion when you’re exposed to the sun for longer than 15 minutes (particularly in the ‘heat of the day’ 11-2 period), also wearing a t-shirt and hat to help minimise exposure.

The world of skin care and skin care products is also a massive industry, and I’m sure there are now hundreds of different products etc on the market, most of which I personally have had little personal experience with…

Moral of the story is: Look After Your Skin! Don’t end up a chicken-wrinkly!