WADEM Nursing Section Communique July 2014 Welcome Welcome to the first Nursing Section Communique! In this communique, we will share with you the goals and objectives of the section, membership, communication and planning for the next World Congress in Cape Town. Engaging with the Membership In the last few months, you received an email inviting you to fill out a survey about your WADEM membership. We wish to know what is important to you as a WADEM Nursing Section Member. This survey closed at the end of June 2014. Nursing Section Facebook Page We have set up a Nursing Section Facebook Group page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/749200571786965/. We wish to use this webpage to let you know what is happening in the world of Disaster Nursing. However, it will be up to all members to contribute to this page and to let us know what is happening in your part of the world. Please send links, conference information, or anything you wish to share with the group to Odeda Benin-Goren - odedab@gmail.com - or Karen Hammad - karen.hammad@flinders.edu.au. 19th WCDEM - Cape Town, 21-24 April 2015 As you all know the World Congress will be held in Cape Town in April next year. For this conference the Nursing Section will meet as always, and we are in negotiations to host a nursing workshop if possible. We also have interest from the Emergency Nurses Society of South Africa to come to the conference or join us in a workshop, so watch this space, and we will update you on what we are planning. Health Emergency and Disaster Nursing Health Emergency and Disaster Nursing is a new journal that has come out of the University of Pennsylvania, School of Nursing and its Editor-in-Chief, Barbara Mann Wall, is one of our WADEM Nursing Section Members. Barbara is looking for reviewers as well as submissions to the journal. Please send your CV and expressions of interest to wallbm@nursing.upenn.edu.
Update on WADEM Nursing Competencies Wendy McKenzie, Sue Anne Bell, and Tener Goodwin Veenema have commenced work on a toolkit or guide on use of the WADEM Disaster Nursing Competencies. As part of this process, we plan to ensure there is an in-built evaluation to this process. Reminder - WADEM Research Repository WADEM has a research repository which is a great place for you to submit your research and make contact with other like-minded people. Please don t hesitate to email me with any questions or queries at - Alison.hutton@flinders.edu.au. Odeda Benin-Goren, Secretary Introducing the Nursing Section Executive Committee Odeda is currently working as a senior consultant for governments, NGOs, and the private sector in the field of disaster preparedness, emergency medicine, and trauma. Odeda is qualified as emergency nurse with years of experience as clinical emergency nurse, management, staff development and nursing education. She trains professionals for disaster relief and disaster management. She also trains medical and nursing team in the clinical setting while upgrading trauma units, emergency departments, and ICU in development countries. She is a United Nation Disaster and Assessment Coordinator (UNDAC) as part of the Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affair (OCHA) in the UN, as so she is involved in disaster relief and humanitarian support. She takes part in international activities when disaster strikes as an UNDAC member and has participated in other relief delegations to affected disaster areas. Sue Anne Bell, At-Large Member Sue Anne Bell, PhD, FNP-BC, is the nursing lead for the Ghana Emergency Medicine Collaborative, a Medical Education Partnership Initiative grant to enhance the provision of emergency health services in West Africa. At the University of Michigan School of Nursing in the USA, her research examines two aspects: women's health outcomes in post-conflict and post-disaster settings and emergency nursing education and provision in Africa. Sue Anne has experience as a nurse practitioner and nurse educator in emergency care settings domestically and globally.
Karen Hammad, Membership Karen is currently working as an academic in the School of Nursing and Midwifery at Flinders University. Her research and teaching interests focus on emergency nursing and disaster healthcare. Karen began her career as a Registered Nurse in 1996 and has worked predominately in emergency departments since this time. Karen is a strong advocate for emergency nurses and is actively engaged with the College of Emergency Nursing Australasia as a Fellow, company director, and South Australian President. Karen is passionate about the role nurses play in disaster continuum and is currently undertaking a PhD exploring the experiences of nurses who have worked in the emergency department during a disaster. Alison Hutton, Chair Alison is an Associate Professor at Flinders University. Alison s work revolves around young people health promotion and harm minimisation at mass gathering events. The philosophy underpinning Alison's work is that by involving youth in decisions about their behaviour and life choices, they will feel supported and safe in choices that can impact on the health and their behaviour. Alison has authored many publications on schoolies events and outdoor music festivals, as well as a publication for the World Health Organization on the psychosocial nature of crowds at mass gathering events. She is a board Member of the Flinders University Disaster Research Centre, a member of the Virtual Advisory Group for Mass Gatherings (WHO), and the World Health Organisation Collaborating Centre for Mass Gatherings and High Visibility Events. Wendy McKenzie, Education Wendy McKenzie is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Nursing at Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada. Wendy has parallel careers as a nurse in the Canadian Armed Forces, clinical practice (critical care) and as an educator. She is passionate about creative teaching and knowledge translation methodologies to ensure student engagement in learning. Her current research is focused on developing effective disaster nursing teaching strategies to ensure student competency for Schools of Nursing.
Nyree Parker, At-Large Member Nyree has worked as an Emergency Nurse and Clinical Nurse Specialist for 23 years. In the past nine years she has worked as a Public Hospital Emergency Management Officer. Nyree s qualifications include a Nursing Diploma, Bachelor, Masters, Emergency Nursing Critical Care, Grad Cert of Health Promotion, and Health Professional Education and Master of Emergency Management. She is interested in Natural Disaster Planning including Summer Preparedness and Heatwave management within public hospital settings particular Emergency Departments, and decontamination processes for Emergency Nurses. She is a member of the College Emergency Nursing Australia CENA, Royal College of Nursing RCN, and WADEM. In her spare time Nyree would like to commence her PhD research. Jamie Ranse, Research Jamie is employed as an Assistant Professor in Nursing at the University of Canberra. His research interests are in the areas of disaster and mass gathering health. Jamie is currently completing a Doctor of Philosophy at the Flinders University Disaster Research Centre, where he is researching the experience of Australian nurses who assist in the out-of-hospital disaster environment. Jamie is an active member of a number of national and international nursing associations. He is a Fellow of the Australian College of Nursing (ACN) and the College of Emergency Nursing Australasia. Jamie the key contact for the ACN Disaster Health Community of Interest and is an Associate Editor for the Australasian Emergency Nursing Journal, holding the disaster portfolio. Missing from this publication is Emmanuel Rohrbacher, Chair Elect. We would like to congratulate Emmanuel and his wife on the birth of their baby girl, Clementine!