$150,000 for Mary Potter Hospice to Train Specialist Nurses
15 June 2012
$150,000 Grant Given To Mary Potter Hospice to Train Specialist Nurses
A very large grant of $150,000 has been given to Mary Potter Hospice by the Sutherland Self Help Trust Board to fund a new clinical scholarship for the Hospice.
The grant will be held by the Hospice’s Forever Foundation as the “Graeme J Sutherland Memorial Fund” and interest generated from the Fund will fund the new scholarship.
The scholarship will enable Mary Potter Hospice nurses to train to the senior and specialist level of “Nurse Practitioner”.
“Currently there are no Nurse Practitioners in palliative care employed in a Hospice setting in New Zealand. We are very excited by this generous grant,” says Clinical Services Director, Jane MacGeorge. ”This grant will allow our nurses to be trained in this specialist role. We are very grateful to the Sutherland family.”
“This is the first time a Nurse Practitioner candidate in palliative care will be in an organisation outside of the District Health Board, and once the scholarship recipient has completed their training, Mary Potter Hospice will be one of the first hospices to employ a Nurse Practitioner.”
Nurse Practitioners, she says, are expert nurses who work in a specific area using advanced knowledge and skills to diagnose and assess patient’s health needs.
“This means that care for patients at home will be quicker as they can have earlier interventions for pain management or other symptoms which will reduce stress to patients and families,” she says.
Nurse Practitioners work both independently and in collaboration with other health professionals, but as they can provide a wide range of assessments and treatment interventions they can either lead a nursing team to support patients or be part of the multi-disciplinary management approach.
Says Jane MacGeorge: “Sue Lodge, our Community Team Leader at our Paraparaumu base, will be the recipient of the Scholarship to complete the Nurse Practitioner competency requirements for the Nursing Council to be endorsed as a Nurse Practitioner.“
ENDS