Port Douglas Nurses' Conference 2021
Why Attend
This general nurses’ conference is an ideal way for you to update your knowledge about a range of nursing topics each year. Book your place at this upcoming conference and:
- Keep up-to-date
- Network, share experiences and connect with like-minded colleagues
- Help meet your CPD requirements
- Enrich your professional practice and personal growth
- Improve health outcomes specific to your local community and much, much more…
Program
Welcome and Introduction
Competing Priorities: Managing a Patient with Complex Chronic Disease
Complex chronic diseases require special care considerations. This session will focus on patients with diabetes, cardiac and pulmonary disease. Discuss:
- What is the medication burden?
- How does lifestyle affect patients with complex chronic diseases?
All that Wheezes: Identifying Asthma in Children
This session will focus on the care of paediatric patients with asthma. It will look at:
- Differentiating asthma from other respiratory conditions
- Managing the parents as well as the kids
- Nursing 101 on inhalers and action plans
Diabetes: Myths, Facts and Visions
The perception of Diabetes Mellitus as a complex and life limiting condition prevails, despite advances in research and innovations in treatment. Confusion amongst people with diabetes and health care professionals alike is compounded by a wealth of information, often editorial, that liberally interprets trends in diabetes into attractive “cures”. Here we examine common myths, reveal the facts and consider a future vision for people with diabetes. This session includes:
- Review the incidence and growth of diabetes from a local, regional and global perspective
- Identify common diabetes myths and discuss the evidence in relation to best practice
- Provide an overview of current evidence-based guidelines for the management of type 1 and type 2 diabetes
- Overview of new trends and treatments in diabetes management
Lifestyle and Health Literacy: The Psychosocial Effects of Diabetes
There is often a high degree of focus that goes towards understanding and preventing the clinical complications of diabetes. However, less focus is placed on the psychological impacts of a diabetes diagnosis and the long-term changes to a person’s life thereafter. This session will look at a holistic approach to diabetes and its life-changing impact on a person. It includes:
- What common psychological impacts does diabetes have on someone?
- Who is more vulnerable to this?
- How can we improve our support for those living with diabetes?
Understanding Insulin Therapy
Insulin Therapy is prescribed for people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes depending on insulin production or resistance to insulin. This everyday medicine is not a “one size fits all” and individualisation of therapy is vital for optimal glycaemic outcomes. In this session we will consider:
- Who needs insulin and why?
- Overview of the different types of insulin currently available
- What education can we provide to patients for appropriate insulin administration?
- What is the nurses’ role and responsibility when administering insulin?
Welcome Back and Review of Day One
Saints and Sinners: Healthcare Professionals and Addictions
The TV show Nurse Jackie showed us a healthcare professional with an addiction to prescription medication. Though people have complained about it, it highlights an issue that affects nurses and other healthcare professionals worldwide. This session will explore:
- What are the reasons why some healthcare professionals become addicted to prescription medication, alcohol and/or other drugs?
- Are there any challenges faced by healthcare professionals who want to seek treatment for these addictions?
- How can we help our colleagues who may be addicted to prescription medication, alcohol and/or other drugs?
The Use of Restraint: Whose Need is Being Met?
Restraining a person using a device or medication should only be used as a last resort and only if the risks of not restraining are outweighed by any injury or harm that restraint may cause. This session reviews the legal ramifications for the use of restraint. It will include:
- What is the legal definition of restrictive practices?
- On whom can restraint be applied and in what circumstances?
- What types of restraint can be used?
- Is restraint an incident and, therefore, should be documented?
Advance Care Planning – Do You Know Your Patients’ Rights?
Formal Advance Care Planning in Queensland is 20 years old, yet clinicians often do not understand it. If the patient has lost the capacity to consent to health care, decisions can get even more complicated. This session will look at the following topics:
- Why Advance Care Planning matters
- The legal difference between various Advance Care Plans (e.g. Advance Health Directive vs Statement of choices)
- Strengths, weaknesses and known issues with Advance Care Plans
- Substitute decision-making – why do we still ask about ‘Next of Kin’?
Symptom Management at the End of Life
The end of life brings with it some potentially distressing signs and symptoms. The management of these symptoms is needed to improve the patient’s quality of life. This session includes:
- What is the role of artificial hydration when a person is unable to swallow?
- How can we manage respiratory secretions at the end of life?
- What can be done in terms of nutrition?
Hyperglycaemic emergencies – Sick Day Management, HHS and DKA
Often the focus of diabetes management can centre on preventing long term complications. However, the prevalence of diabetes means that nurses working in acute care settings will encounter people with acute metabolic complications of diabetes. This session explains:
- How does an insulin deficit cause DKA?
- Why can DKA be linked to stress and acute illness?
- How would a person present?
- What is the nurses’ role in recognising DKA?
- A look at its clinical management - a guide to practice
- Management of sick days
Managing Diabetes Pre and Postoperatively
Surgical and investigative interventions for people with diabetes can disrupt glycaemic control and contribute to delayed healing and increased morbidity and length of stay. This session will consider the perioperative management of diabetes, including:
- Risks associated with surgery for people with diabetes
- Differences in the perioperative management of people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes
- Oral glucose-lowering medicines and non-insulin injectables
- Insulin therapy
- Acute complications post-surgery
- Discharge planning – identifying those at risk of poor outcomes and how to support them
Hypoglycaemia and Diabetes
Hypoglycaemia is a daily concern in the lives of people with diabetes and fear can influence the person’s ability to self-manage. Education and prevention are key and can reduce the likelihood of a hypoglycaemic event and the potential complications that may occur. This session will dive deeper into the physiology and management of hypoglycaemia:
- What is hypoglycaemia?
- What are the signs and symptoms of hypoglycaemia and who is at risk?
- Treatment of hypoglycaemia
- Complex issues in hypoglycaemia: hypo-unawareness, relative hypoglycaemia and nocturnal hypoglycaemia
- Psychosocial impact of hypoglycaemia for the person with diabetes
Presenters
Pippa Travers-Mason
Pippa Travers-Mason began her career as a clinical pharmacist in Sydney before completing her first masters in public health, and a subsequent masters in education. She resides in Cairns and divides her time between a clinical role as an accredited consultant pharmacist with the community-controlled health service at Yarrabah, and as a clinical services specialist (teaching role) for NPS MedicineWise, which takes her to primary care clinics around the far north to update GPs on best practice in the quality use of medicines and diagnostics. She also provides coaching and support to Aboriginal students completing bachelor and higher degrees through Deakin University. She has a passion for bridging the evidence-practice gaps by massaging the multitude of evidence-based guidelines into practical, simple solutions for clinicians and their patients.
Peta Tauchmann
Peta Tauchmann has worked as a diabetes educator since 1998. In 2003, she established a private practice in diabetes education in Brisbane and, in 2015, she was endorsed as a nurse practitioner. Professionally, she enjoys a range of activities, working in her own community-based clinics and contributing to local and national projects designed to improve the care of people with diabetes. She enjoys working in an area of healthcare that is meaningful, constantly changing and intellectually stimulating.
Denise Craig
Denise Craig is the senior psychologist within the FNQ Memory Service and is co-chair of the Care at End of Life Project (Cairns). Her vocation is to provide counselling and advocacy with a clear focus on patient autonomy, goals and values. Denise was the driving force behind the rollout of End of Life Law education for clinicians of the Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Health Service. As a result of this project, she is now busy completing a PhD exploring the issues associated with hospital-based doctors following their patients’ advance care plans. Denise’s presentation will address advance care plans, substitute decision making/consent and the importance of the person at the centre of good end of life care.
Need for Program
Good patient care is directly related to the quality of the nursing care being provided. The healthcare environment is rapidly changing and all nurses are faced with the constant challenge of keeping their knowledge, skills and practice up-to-date. As well, the amount of new knowledge available is increasing. To achieve the desired patient outcomes, utilising informed, safe and competent nursing practice is vital. In addition, continuing professional development is a professional regulatory requirement.
Purpose of Program
The purpose of this conference is to enable all nurses to remain up-to-date on a range of current professional and clinical practice topics.
Your learning outcomes
- Identify behaviours that cause illness in people in order to plan care to prevent health deterioration
- Optimise interprofessional collaboration with the intention of enhancing better patient outcomes
- Apply new knowledge about a range of conditions to provide holistic care
- Underpin patient outcomes with evidence-based practice, recognised standards and guidelines
Port Douglas Nurses' Conference 2021
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