April 2024
 | What can you do to prevent the oversupply of medication? |
April 11, 2024
Large amounts of unused medications accumulate in people’s homes. Health professionals, including nurses, have an important role to play in reducing this medicinal waste and its harmful effects on the health budget, the environment and public safety.
Read more... What can you do to prevent the oversupply of medication?
February 2024
| Hepatitis C targeted for global eradication |
February 29, 2024
A short course of oral antivirals can cure hepatitis C, but the challenge lies in overcoming stigma and identifying those with chronic infection, as they may be asymptomatic for many years. Nurse prescribers and specialists, and those in primary care generally, have a role to play in identifying hepatitis C patients and ensuring they get the best care.
February 2024
 | Menopause: getting it right for your patients |
January 29, 2024
In this webinar, Professor Bev Lawton discusses menopause and how to get the best outcomes for your patients.
November 2023
 | Navigating youth mental health |
October 26, 2023
Mental health is a dynamic spectrum that ranges from a state of wellbeing, through mental distress, to mental disorder or illness. Consultations with young people (rangatahi) may be challenging due to the various presentations of mental health issues and the range of services and treatment options they may require.
October 2023
| Antimicrobial stewardship: It’s time for collective action |
September 12, 2023
In this webinar, Dr Sharon Gardiner and associate professor Matire Harwood discuss the importance of antimicrobial stewardship in New Zealand.
Read more... Antimicrobial stewardship: It’s time for collective action
September 2023
 | Legendary Conversations — a podcast series on health care |
August 17, 2023
Starting patients on new medications, gout and antimicrobial stewardship are explored in this podcast series from He Ako Hiringa. You can listen to them on this page, or download them on Spotify or Apple Podcasts to your phone or computer.
Read more... Legendary Conversations — a podcast series on health care
September 2023
| Ideas on culturally safe consultations |
July 26, 2023
The path to culturally safe practice is full of opportunity; however it can be hard to incorporate new ways of working (and thinking) in such busy times.
August 2023
| Managing patients’ antibiotic expectations |
July 17, 2023
Tackling inappropriate use of antibiotics is vital to preserving the effectiveness of these important drugs. In this country, for example, amoxicillin + clavulanic acid remains the second most-used antibiotic, despite very limited indications for its use.
Inappropriate use of antibiotics may stem partly from meeting patient expectations for treatment. The following case study highlights how both prescribers and non-prescribers can help to ensure antibiotics are used appropriately.
March 2023
| Asthma: Thinking SMART, using AIR and making a difference |
February 22, 2023
Nurses have an important role in asthma care, whether as prescribers, or as asthma educators in primary care, hospital clinics or with the Asthma and Respiratory Foundation. This article looks at the latest guidelines for asthma management and discusses strategies for reducing the disproportionate asthma burden in Māori and Pacific peoples.
Read more... Asthma: Thinking SMART, using AIR and making a difference
March 2023
| `Kōrero I wish I could’ve had with the Well Child nurse’ |
December 20, 2022
Wāhi Kōrero is a unique research project where patients share their stories of care that did not meet their needs, via an online story-sharing platform. In the first part of this project, young mothers share challenging accounts of their experiences with Well Child nurses.
Read more... `Kōrero I wish I could’ve had with the Well Child nurse’
March 2023
| How primary care can improve antimicrobial stewardship |
December 9, 2022
Antimicrobial resistance — when pathogens develop resistance to drugs used to fight them — is a serious threat to health care in New Zealand and around the world. Antimicrobial stewardship — ie careful and appropriate use of antimicrobial drugs (including antibiotics) — is vital to preserving the effectiveness of these medicines.
This article explains the key role of primary care in antimicrobial stewardship. There is a clear role for prescribers, but nonprescribers such as primary health care nurses also have an important part to play in supporting the appropriate use of antimicrobials.
Read more... How primary care can improve antimicrobial stewardship
November 2022
| Biological medicines: Transitioning to Amgevita — a biosimilar of adalimumab |
September 12, 2022
Most patients taking the biological medicine adalimumab are transitioning to a "biosimilar" version of the drug called Amgevita. This article explains why this is happening, and how nurses in primary care can help smooth the transition.
Read more... Biological medicines: Transitioning to Amgevita — a biosimilar of adalimumab
October 2022
| Introduction to biological medicines |
May 27, 2022
Biological medicines are being increasingly used to treat a range of conditions in New Zealand. Nurses need to understand what they are, how they are used and possible side effects in the patients they care for.
March 2022
| COVID anxiety — helping patients cope |
March 8, 2022
Constant media saturation over the past two years has painted a catastrophic picture of COVID-19. While this has helped drive up immunisation rates, it is having unintended consequences.
March 2022
| HOW TO TREAT: COVID-19 in primary care |
February 24, 2022
New Zealand can draw on the experiences of health systems around the world that have been caring for COVID-19 patients in the community much longer than us.
February 2022
| Beyond medicines for gout |
December 1, 2021
Gout is a chronic and debilitating long-term condition that disproportionately affects Māori and Pacific people. It needs to be addressed with holistic care, and patient, ongoing relationships with whānau.
July 2022
| The importance of nurse-led foot care |
November 1, 2021
Nurses in primary care play an important role in managing foot care, especially for elderly, diabetic and disabled patients.
