Newsletter June 2023

Newsletter June 2023

CATSINaM INFORMATION

CATSINaM CEO Message

CEO, Dr Ali Drummond, on the CATSINaM and Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA) Partnership Investment Agreement and the Ngayubah Gadan Consensus Statement: Rural and Remote Multidisciplinary Health Teams.

With this Agreement we are breaking new ground in terms of how we work together, with a common vision and joint initiatives. 

Read the Ngayubah Gadan Consensus Statement: Rural and Remote Multidisciplinary Health Teams 

NAIDOC WEEK  2-9 July 2023

The 2023 National NAIDOC Week theme is For Our Elders. In celebrating our elders, CATSINaM reflects on the advice from the nursing and midwifery elders from 2021…

CATSINaM was established by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Nurses and Midwives and made space for our voice within the modern health framework. It was also established to ensure our cultural values and practice were kept at the forefront of First Nations Health, both for the First Nations community we care for and the staff who care for them.

Over the years, we have seen CATSINaM grow; like a big tree, its corporate branches spreading wide, we have also seen CATSINaM experience the fires of change.  We know from our culture that fires are necessary to make way for new growth in the country, and campfires are our place of gathering to yarn, share and plan. CATSINaM is in a change of season, and in readiness for new growth, the roots have remained, waiting to be tended to again, and it is the role of the Elders Circle to tend the roots to bring cultural growth alongside corporate growth…As an organisation we are recognising the need to tend the tree and the roots, making connections and using our voice ensures that CATSINaM is both culturally and corporately become that strong tree again, and  a leader in First Nations Health and Training. We come back together and yarn and make space for more growth in the new season. Elders have always been part of our cultural yarning and learning. They have always been the respected teachers, the storytellers, and the holders of the Lore. In line with these traditional values, the members of the Elders Circle are not only individuals who are culturally respected across First Nation communities, but also Nurses and Midwives who are professionally recognised for their work in First Nations Health.

Join us at the CATSINaM Regional Conference 2023

The Regional Congress 2023 will be held at Peppers Salt Resort & Spa in Bundjalung Country, Kingscliff, NSW, from Tuesday, 28th to Thursday, 30th November 2023.

Yabura bulahbu ngeh yabura bulah | Healing and Leadership equals strong Elders

Register now to express your interest to attend or sponsor our event. Places will be limited. CATSINaM members will be prioritised.

Applications close on the 30th September 2023.

For more information, contact enquire@catsinam.org.au

Murra Mullangari: Introduction to Cultural Safety and Cultural Humility

The next offering commences on 3rd July but there is provision for late enrolments until a further four weeks. Please note that any bulk purchases can happen anytime. See details at this weblink.

Events and Activities

Strengthening Our Commitment: Launch of the joint CATSINaM and Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA) Partnership Investment Agreement.

 

CATSINaM and NMBA hosted a special breakfast event on Thursday the 1st of June on Ngunnawal and Ngambri Country, Canberra, to celebrate our achievement in establishing a new Partnership Investment Agreement (PIA). The PIA breaks new ground in terms of how we work together, with a common vision and joint initiatives to implement CATSINaM’s strategic reform strategy ‘gettin em keepin em n growin em’ (GENKE II, 2022). GENKE II focusses on system and education reform for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander nurses and midwives across Australia. For more information, contact: enquire@catsinam.org.au.

Connecting with CATSINaM Members at The University of Melbourne

Dr Ali Drummond and the CATSINaM team connected with the team at the University of Melbourne including Professor Marie Gertz (Head of the Department of Nursing, Melbourne School of Health Sciences), Dr Cathy Daniel (Senior Lecturer Department of Nursing), Shibs, Erin, Grady and other faculty staff. Ali presented on CATSINaM’s role regarding increasing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander nurses and midwives, a legacy priority for us. He also spoke about the work that universities and Schools of Nursing and Midwifery must do to demonstrate genuine partnership with traditional owner groups, whose lands universities occupy, and whose family and community members they work with and employ. 

Photos: Top Right (L-R): Grady Walsh; Erin Alexander; Dr Ali Drummond; Shiobhan Sharpe.

Bottom: Back row (L-R): Aishah Jameel (CATSINaM); Adam Price (CATSINaM); Dr Cathy Daniel (Senior Lecturer Department of Nursing); Stacie Murphy (CATSINaM); Bronwyn Bathern (CATSINaM); Anthea Burns (CATSINaM); Amy Hofman (CATSINaM), Front Row (L-R) Sanchia Shibasaki (CATSINaM); Ali Drummond (CASTINaM); Professor Marie Gertz (Head of the Department of Nursing, Melbourne School of Health Sciences); Ganeshan Rao (CATSINaM).

Supporting coffee and tea breaks at lowitja2023 

Congratulations to the Lowitja Institute on their successful International Indigenous Health and Wellbeing Conference in Cairns held from the 14 to the 16th of June. In addition to sponsoring coffee carts, our CEO, Dr Ali Drummond, had three presentations, facilitated a panel on climate change and health, and caught up with CATSINaM members, and Indigenous leaders. Keynote, Associate Professor Lisa Bourque Bearskin, is a Cree Metis Registered Nurse from Beaver Lake Cree Nation, and a long-time friend of CATSINaM, having presented at our 2016 Conference in Naarm, Melbourne. 

Women’s Talk Health Day

CATSINaM sponsored the 2023 Women’s Talk Health Day (WTHD). We received the following feedback from coordinators, Aileen Traynor Nyarrn-gakgo mangkie Spaces Collaborator and Arkeria Armstrong – Gamilaraay/Bigambul - Spaces Lead. You can check out a short video capturing moments from the day by visiting WTHD 2023 Highlights Facebook Reel .

  • “…Thirty young women registered for the WTHD along with five Big Sis/Women in Health who joined as guest speakers…The young women heard stories from First Nations Women in health, healing and wellbeing roles in yarning circle spaces, hearing stories of women working and/or studying in the following roles: Wellbeing Facilitation, Nursing/Youth Mental Health, Psychology, Medicine and Midwifery. Yarns included stories about how they came to their roles, pathways, what it’s like to work in their roles and ACCO or mainstream organisations. Two guest speakers also guided the young women through movement and mindfulness experiences…It was so valuable for the young women to see an organisation like CATSINaM exists; we also noted the young women enjoyed looking through the information and exploring the merch items in their showbags. **”  

**Photos are courtesy of Aileen Traynor. Permission was granted to use the photos in this newsletter.  

CATSINaM Student Members Grant Opportunity 

Northern Territory Primary Health Networks (NT PHN) grant for remote NT Student Placement. NT PHN are offering remote NT clinical placement grants through CRANAplus. Allied health, nursing and midwifery, and medical students living in the Northern Territory or Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander health students across Australia are eligible to apply. 

More info and how to apply can be found at this weblink.

Advice on Health and Well-being

Tackling burnout in nursing and midwifery.

Studying, working, and juggling the pressures of everyday life may take a toll on your health and well-being. Being a nursing or midwifery student or new graduate can expose you to new situations that you may find confronting and challenging to manage. The Nurse & Midwife support in health and wellbeing provides some advice on support during these times. Check this resource out and let us know how useful it was for you by emailing enquire@catsinam.org.au (subject: N&M support).

Posts from CATSINaM Members and Partners

Updates

Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency. 

Do you have any queries about AHPRA registration, renewal or audit? Are you seeking guidance on meeting recency of practice, CPD hours, financial hardship and options around going to/ returning from non-practising registration? 

  • Contact the AHPRA Senior Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Regulatory Advisor – Chantelle. Phone  |  (02) 6195 2646  Web     |  www.ahpra.gov.au Email: Chantelle Bastow: Chantelle.Bastow@ahpra.gov.au 

Australian Primary Health Care Nurses Association (APNA)  

Job opportunity – Registered Nurses to work with APNA as Clinical Nurse Facilitators!  APNA has 20 casual positions open for nurses to provide clinical facilitation in the aged care context coming up from mid-June until early July and then again in August/September. The current positions are for student nurse placements in aged care in and around Melbourne suburbs but will extend this opportunity over the next few months to include regional Victoria and then into NSW and QLD. 

The SEEK ad is  at this link and there is also a link to our expression of interest for all RNs with 3-5years experience in primary health and/or aged care  at this weblink 

 If anyone would like any further information, they can pose questions to our placement email address: placements@apna.asn.au 

Palliative Care Australia 

Scholarships open for Oceanic Palliative Care Conference 2023  – Sydney, 13-15 September 2023.  With the support of the Department of Health and Aged Care and Cancer Australia, scholarships range in value between $560 and $5000 and can be used to cover the full cost of OPCC registration as well as travel and accommodation.   

Everyone is welcome to apply, but priority will be given to the following categories:    

  • Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Workers    
  • Palliative care consumers and carers    
  • Palliative care volunteers 
  • People with less than three years’ experience in palliative care who have not previously attended the Oceanic Palliative Care Conference 
  • People working in palliative care in rural or remote areas of Australia 
  • People working in palliative care from the Oceanic region   

Applications will be open until Friday, 16 July and will be assessed by an independent panel based on the published application priorities.

More information is available at this Weblink.   

Family Planning Australia  

NSW Cervical Screening Training for Midwives Invitation. In partnership with Cancer Institute NSW, Family Planning Australia is pleased to offer cervical screening training for 200 midwives across New South Wales. This blended training allows NSW midwives to study online before joining a live webinar and a face-to-face workshop to practice your skillset.

eSafety Commisioner

 Online safety for First Nations people created by the eSafety Commissioner.

Office of the National Rural Health Commissioner

National Rural and Remote Nursing Generalist Framework. A Q&A video of Shelley Nowlan and Arrernte RN Kellie Kerin discussing the National Rural and Remote Nursing Generalist Framework. If you need to get in touch please contact the Office of the NRHC via:  nrhc@health.gov.au  or email Shelley direct at: Shelley.Nowlan@health.gov.au. 

Nurses Memorial Centre  

Australian Nurses Memorial Centre 2024 Scholarships. These scholarships are for study in Australia. They are open to nurses and midwives who are citizens or permanent residents of Australia and hold current registration with the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA). In particular, there is a call for your attention to the ANMC Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Nurse/Midwife Scholarship, valued at $5,000. 

Events - Conferences

We look forward to your feedback and queries. Please email us at: enquire@catsinam.org.au or follow our social media platforms.

Thank you 
CATSINaM Secretariat