In this episode of Nursing Australia, hosted by Suzanne Blackeby, we hear:
- The latest Nursing Australia News (01:34)
COVID jabs have begun, Melbourne emerges from its lockdown, 15,000 new nurses and midwives graduate, ANMF voices concern over retirement policies and record APNA Workforce Survey.

• Your year (05:44)
  Nurses this year have done some amazing things this year, keeping people alive and safe in some really hard conditions.

Some nurses have not been put off by all the change and disruption that they have faced, and have continued to push the boundaries and grow their scope of practice, to better help their patients and their communities.

Rebecca, Nadine and Shelly are great examples of this. This is a snapshot of their 2020.

• COVID vaccine rollout (07:55)
  Next year is going to bring us nurses the next challenge, the COVID 19 vaccine rollout. A national cross-population immunisation program that has never been done before in Australia.

Professor Michael Kidd is the Deputy Chief Medical Officer and Principal Medical Advisor for the department of Health and Professor of Primary Care Reform at The Australian National University.

He is a world-leading authority on primary health care, having worked in senior leadership positions in Australia and around the world, including the World Health Organization. He has vast experience of national and global health systems.

Additional resources:
Long version of interview - https://apna.asn.au/hub/covid-vaccine-rollout---december-2020
APNA immunisation page - https://www.apna.asn.au/nursing-tools/clinical-resource-information/immunisation
ATAGI paper - https://www.health.gov.au/resources/publications/atagi-preliminary-advice-on-general-principles-to-guide-the-prioritisation-of-target-populations-in-a-covid-19-vaccination-program-in-australia
National COVID-19 Vaccination Policy - https://www.health.gov.au/resources/publications/australian-covid-19-vaccination-policy

• Student Nurse Placement Program: Grace’s story (18:42)
  Over the last few months and with the help of APNA, Monash University nursing students have been supported to complete their clinical placements that were disrupted by COVID-19.

This has been a mammoth task and has taken the collaboration of Monash, APNA, registered nurses, nurse practitioners and general practices throughout Victoria.

Impacted by the COVID-19 restrictions at hospitals and aged care facilities, some settings were unable to offer their usual placements, so Monash Nursing and Midwifery and APNA came to the rescue, organising placement alternatives for 400 student nurses.

Clinical placements are an integral part of Monash University's Bachelor of Nursing course,
with students needing to complete approximately 840 clinical hours during the three years of
the course in a variety of clinical and health settings.

Thanks to the program, next-generation nurses like Grace MacKay are getting the
opportunity to hone their clinical skills while experiencing the diversity of primary health care. This is Grace’s story.

APNA is expanding the program in 2021 and is searching for Nurse Supervisors from across the country to host students. If you’re interested, email Sam Moses – sam.moses@apna.asn.au

• APNA Christmas Elves (25:33)
  With the turbulent year that 2020 has been, the team here at APNA wanted to give you a little laugh, so the APNA elves are here to send you some festive cheer.