At a glittering awards ceremony and dinner held at the Hilton Hotel, Park Lane and hosted by Occupational Health/Personnel Today, the AOHNP (UK) Nurse of the Year was announced.
The 2012 award was presented to Anne Harris, seen here with Greta Thornbory (PDD) and Christina Butterworth (President).
Here is what the judges had to say:
A comprehensive submission with a full range of testimonials and other supporting material. This practitioner has demonstrated through her submission her dedication to nursing in general and occupational health nursing in particular. We were very impressed with her intervention in the care home to the benefit of her family member and the other residents alike. Commitment and passion for OH nurse education instils confidence in her students to go on and use their full potential. Her lobbying of the NMC has provided an important foundation for nurse education since the migration of OH nurses to the third part of the nurse register and her creativity in the curriculum and teaching methods she uses has ensured that her students can translate theory into practice with good effect. Finally the introduction of the Jiscmail and continued support offered to OH nurses on the site has been exemplary. A well deserved winner of ‘Nurse of the Year’.
The runners up were Helen Kirk and Nicola Jane Whiteley. November 2011
Gayle Wilson - New Scottish & Northern Ireland Director
Following a "show of hands" vote at the AGM, Gayle took over from Anne as Regional Director for Region 1 of the Association. She is seen here with Anne Newham (outgoing Director) at the AGM/GPF in November 2011.
Notice of 19th Annual General Meeting – Tuesday, 22 November 2011 to be held at The Union Jack Club, London SE1 8UJ
Following the third successful event in London at The Union Jack Club, just opposite Waterloo Station, we are again using this venue for our AGM and Good Practice Forum. Once more the events are for members only. An event flyer/booking form will be available shortly and we look forward to hearing that you will be attending.
Constitution changes - Since there were no objections to the minor alterations to the Constitution (issued for consideration in the March/April 2011 OH Today) the following will be ratified at the AGM.
Article 4 - OFFICERS 4.1 Officers The AOHNP (UK) will be administered by a Board of Directors elected by the full members. Officers shall include: President, Vice President, Professional Development Director and Directors. To be eligible for election, candidates must be full members of the AOHNP (UK). The board will be assisted by a part-time administrator who will also take on the roles of Treasurer and Secretary. The administrator will have no voting rights and may only issue payments on behalf of the Association once written approval has been given by the President or Vice President.
4.2 Term of Office 4.2.1 All offices will be offered for election every two years. A term of office shall begin at the close of the Annual General Meeting in the year of election. Any Board Member may remain in office until another candidate is elected and may volunteer for an alternative office if they wish.
4.2.2 The President can only serve 2 consecutive terms.
4.2.3 The Immediate Past President may remain as an ex-officio Board member for a period of twelve months.
4.3 Vacancy in Office A vacancy during the term of office of President shall be filled by the Vice President and the post of Vice President shall remain vacant. Any other vacancy on the Board of Directors shall be filled as determined by the entire Board of Directors until the next Annual General Meeting or Special General Meeting.
4.4 Duties The duties will be such as are implied by the respective titles and shall be in line with the job descriptions prepared by the Board of Directors. Adequate representation will be ensured at Board meetings, either in person or writing. Board members unable to fulfil these duties may be asked to stand down.
Article 5 - NOMINATIONS AND ELECTIONS 5.1 Nominations and elections shall be conducted according to policies and procedures established by this constitution.
5.2 No member shall be a candidate for more than one office.
5.3 Elections shall be held biennially by postal vote at least six weeks prior to the Annual General Meeting.
5.4 Names of all nominees shall be placed on the ballot. Where there is only one nomination, no ballot will take place.
This means that the first biennial postal vote will be conducted in 2012. However if you are interested in learning more about promoting and assisting the running of the Association and its regions please don’t hesitate to contact the current board - we are always looking for ideas and willing volunteers!
Ensuring the Association's voice is heard 2011 has been a year of greater focus on ensuring that the AOHNP (UK) has a 'seat at the table' and recognition for its contribution to the workplace health strategy of both the Government and other allied professionals. We have been actively working with the Council for Work and Health, Society of Occupational Medicine, IOSH and others.OH nurse education and continual professional development still remain at the heart of what we do, in order to positively contribute to the maintenance and promotion of good health and wellbeing at work for all. The Public Health White Paper and the review of the NMC register and education for nurses will also see OH nurses as a vital part of these agendas.
Greater member participation However, we still have very little response from our members in our requests for them to share good practice and we will continue to encourage more members to come forward and tell us about their successes and challengers. Linda Riseborough, Association Administrator August 2011
OH TODAY GOES ELECTRONIC The AOHNP (UK) is adopting an electronic version of its bi-monthly publication OH Today. This will mean that the publication will become more interactive, by linking readers to other information on the worldwide web, accessible and contribute to environmentally friendly practices. Hard copies will still be available to those who do not have email access. August 2011
Health and Wellbeing @ Work 2011 (8-9 March) / RAML
This was yet another successful event for the Association. Once again several of us set the stand up on the evening before the conference and then the Board all took part in manning the stand during the two day event. This year we hired a wireless credit card machine which ensured that the 40 new members we signed up were able to pay on the day. This saved a lot of administration work when I got back to the office but at the time of writing I’m still trying to get out the new member packs!
Congratulations to Ellen Bird who was the lucky winner in our new member draw for the book Public Health Nursing, edited by Greta Thornbory.
This year the RAML was held at the Crowne Plaza and the comments are very encouraging.
Comments from the board and guests at the RAML are given below: “Thank you for organising everything and for a lovely RAML evening. (Even the camera man enjoyed it!!) The venue was great and the meal delicious.” Greta Thornbory
“Great to be back on board but please remind me to pack MBTs next year!! My feet are killing me!” Anne Newham (rejoined the Board in February 2011)
“Another fantastic event, all thanks to your hard work and dedication to the AOHNP. Thank you all. Right now I wish that yesterday was Friday and I did not have to get out of bed this morning! Unlike Anne I decided to buy some Happy Feet yesterday lunchtime and they worked, it was just the rest of me that was feeling the strain.” Christina Butterworth
“My feet are fine!!!! Great event - just need 48 hours of unconsciousness to restore my batteries. Thank you everyone for your patience with the wheeled one & rescuing me from my various scrapes.” Sarah O’Hara
“I'm glad others thought it was a good event; I certainly did. But boy am I exhausted. My feet are not too bad by my eyes are SO heavy what with hardly any sleep, long days and now superlengthening microfibre mascara too!! No-one asked for their money back after the sickness absence management seminar so I think that counts as a success for my first experience of chairing such a public event! Greta, you were fabulous. Sarah, you are a tonic. And everyone else, well done on a job well done!” Sian Edwards (Sian chaired a whole day’s session on behalf of Bashyr Aziz – thanks Sian)
“I agree with everyone. I was limited with the time I could be there but I thought it was an excellent occasion. Can't wait to hear how many new members and everyone worked so hard. Greta's talk was fabulous and the evening was brilliant, informative and fun. I also thought the hotel was good and the rooms were good.” Suzanne Elliott April 2011
Ruth Alston Memorial Lecture - 8 March 2011 Crowne Plaza Birmingham NEC Those of you who were there, I am sure would agree that it was a great evening on Tuesday 8th March 2011 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel Birmingham. The annual Ruth Alston Memorial Lecture (RAML) was created and professionally delivered by Greta Thornbory.
Before revealing the contents of this lecture, I thought it may be worthwhile to just put a few words down to remind ourselves of who Ruth Alston was, because her work and passions are as relevant today as they were then. I also feel it is beneficial to reflect on where we are at when compared with the past.
She was a passionate believer in the potential of occupational health nursing. She was an innovator; someone who was not fearful of treading on new paths. She with the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health actualized the development of the Hanasaari Conceptual Model of Occupational Health in 1988.
She worked as an Education Officer for Occupational Health at the English National Board for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting (the equivalent of the NMC), imploring occupational health nurses to become more political and involved in taking the profession forward. She recognised the imperative of occupational health nurses to refine their nursing skills and presence and acquire a business focussed perspective to health and nursing.
That brings me nicely round to presenting the content of this year’s RAML. The title for this year was Occupational Health Nursing and Professionalism. I am sure we all consider ourselves to be a “professional” but what does that mean? What is a professional? That was the question that Greta gave insight into. After extensive research, Greta presented that a professional is someone who:
· Provides a service
· Has a Code of Ethics
· Uses a body of evidence or knowledge to form his/her practice.
· Professional attire
This then allowed for a few well timed jokes about “professional footballers” and “the oldest profession in the world”. Both of which fulfil some or actually maybe only one of the criteria – the service footballers provide is entertainment and I don’t think there is any need to go in to the other!
Back to Occupational Health Nursing, providing a service – we provide a service to the employees, our employer and indirectly (usually) to the Department of Health and Department for Work and Pensions in our role as promoting health & wellbeing and preventing harm to the general population. Our service is varied and complex, enormously difficult to please all, so we become wise and prioritise our service to deliver to those who have the most influence on our health and wellbeing, i.e. who pays us and are able to assist us in realising our desired potential both personally and professionally.
Code of Ethics; I believe nursing has one of the strongest Codes of Conduct, by that I mean we are keenly aware of it. I wonder if the main aspects of it that we are so aware of relate to confidentiality and the difficulties that can present in the workplace. Are we as keenly aware of the issues relating to “vulnerable adults” and how they are treated and protected in the workplace?
Body of evidence: as mentioned earlier Ruth Alston was instrumental in the progression of our body of evidence through the creation of the Hanasaari Model. Our body of evidence is growing, and it can grow more if we take up Greta’s encouragement to share our practice with our colleagues and wider audience. This can be through publication; OH Today would welcome any articles describing pieces of work. Support to do this is available from Greta as part of your membership.
Lastly was “professional attire” which brought with it the greatest noise from the audience and assertions that “surely we don’t need to be reminded about dressing appropriately?” However, Greta did bring us round to realising that maybe all of us are not dressed appropriately for the business and organisation that we represent.
On the table I sat at, the lecture did open an interesting debate about the political influence of Occupational Health Nurses, where we are currently at and do we want or need to change. We are at a stage where our role and value is being questioned as more non health professionals are advancing their businesses by developing products and services which overlap our role. The question is – what is our uniqueness and what value does that have to all whom we serve? This is not a question for me to answer, but one for us all to answer and to ask of the people whom we serve. From this a “stronger one voice” can be developed, which will have relevance and importance to those who are able to assist us in developing our desired potential. And to that end I invite you to ask the question and publicise the answers in OH Today. Anna Harrington, Regional Director (Midlands)
“The topic and content of the lecture … was most timely and apposite, in this time of changing attitudes to professionalism, and to how medical professionals do and should present themselves and their advice, to the public and to employers.” Dr Henry Goodall, SOM President Elect
“I found the talk by Greta Thornbory extremely entertaining and thought provoking and my discussions with other guests helped reconfirm my own thoughts on the importance of occupational health in the battle against workplace ill health.” Subash Ludhra, IOSH President Elect April 2011
The 2012 award was presented to Anne Harris, seen here with Greta Thornbory (PDD) and Christina Butterworth (President).
Following a "show of hands" vote at the AGM, Gayle took over from Anne as Regional Director for Region 1 of the Association. She is seen here with Anne Newham (outgoing Director) at the AGM/GPF in November 2011.
