Timetable (July - December 2010)

This course is open to all levels of nurses in the public sector.

This course focuses on the role of the Activist and members in addressing nursing workloads via the Business Planning Framework - A tool for nursing workload management 4^th Edition.

We explore how to get the BPF implemented correctly in your work unit as well as how to deal with problems regarding ineffective implementation of the BPF.

We will look at:

• Examining our role in monitoring workloads through the implementation of the Business Planning Framework.
• Utilising the BPF - and understanding the importance of the grievance mechanism.
• Defining nurse to patient ratios from established hours per patient day.
• Calculating the maximum number of available beds for your unit.
• Bed closure in the context of integrated bed management arrangements.
• Identifying the Activist’s role in progressing BPF issues at the Nursing Consultative Forum.
• Creating strategies to deal with barriers to effective BPF implementation.

How does the Fair Work Act affect me?

How will collective bargaining work in the future?

What are my entitlements right now in 2010?

How do I find my entitlements?

This course is a must for all nurses. It’s about knowing how to determine your entitlements and how to find that information quickly. Don’t rely on the tearoom!

Come along and learn where to find the correct documents, how to read them and how to calculate your entitlements.

The QH classification for the Enrolled Nurse Advanced Practice (ENAP) was created in 2003.

During the initial rollout phase QH identified that there was a quota on how many positions could be paid at the ENAP rate across the state.

This now has not been the case for some years however the number of ENAP positions across the districts often appear to be fixed and the process to upgrade to ENAP misunderstood.

This course is about how we can initiate, progress and resolve difficulties around the ENAP process for all EN’s on the 5th paypoint who specialise in an area of practise.

We will cover:

• What are the criteria for an ENAP?
• The process to achieve ENAP positions in your work area.
• The escalation process when issues are not agreed.
• A close look at those who have followed the process already and
• Creating our own plan!

Is the advice honest and complete?

Are all policies being complied with? No - Why?

Do changes occur in your work area without you being consulted?
Yes – Why?

Any nursing change, from rosters to workloads must involve full
consultation with nurses and the QNU at the Nursing Consultative Forum.

This is a joint Union and Queensland Health forum held every month. Every Queensland Health workplace has access to a Nursing Consultative Forum in their district. There are very extensive consultative mechanisms and processes that Queensland Health must follow to address all nursing issues.

Often we hear that those processes haven’t been followed. Nurses must be the gate keepers to ensure that when change is suggested, that the right processes are followed by the employer.

If you want consultation to happen at your workplace, in accordance with your rights under the EB7 Agreement and Queensland Health’s own policies, then come along to find out how to make it happen!

Nurses in all settings have issues that arise in their workplace.

While sometimes these issues are resolved quickly and easily, sometimes they are not!

This course will focus on the Private Hospital sector and the current issues that are a problem for you at work. We will then look at the ways we can address these issues together.

Surprisingly, there are often lots of things we can do to improve a situation that we weren’t aware of. We will build our awareness of what we can do and what we need, to be able to confidently address issues at work.

This course aims to assist Activists/potential Activists to develop the skills required to organise their workplace.

In this course we:

• Analyse your workplace.
• Look at how to grow the Union.
• Understand the grievance procedure and apply it.
• Problem solve collective issues.
• Prepare/present a negotiation based on the resolution of your issues.
• Devise plans for organising your workplace.

This course is aimed at helping Branch officials develop strategies to encourage a vital, energetic Branch based on member activism in the workplace.

Content includes:

• What is an organising Union?
• Techniques for maintaining a healthy Branch.
• Effective meetings.
• Problem solving at the workplace.
• Strategic planning.

This course is open to any member who has completed the Branch Development 1 course.

The course content will include:

• The role of the Branch in State policy direction.
• Preparing an Annual Conference agenda item.
• Speaking confidently at Annual Conference

These forums are about genuine consultation. Come and find out how to ensure that this occurs, how to be involved and what to do when the forum isn’t working properly. Knowledge is Power.

Knowing how to get issues addressed and responded to expediently and appropriately is the key to seeing real improvement for nurses at work.

We will cover:

• What are the terms of reference?
• What is the dispute resolution process?
• How do these forums fit with other QH committees?
• What’s happening in the four project areas agreed to in EB7?
• Have nursing workloads improved in your workplace? If not, then why not?

If you have been to consultative forum training previously, it’s now time for an update, if you are not on a consultative forum but you are interested, now is the time to come to training. See you there!

While Queensland Health have had a mandated industrial tool to manage workloads and create unit nursing ratios since 2002, nurses working in the Private Hospital sector have often felt that there is nothing that they can do about their workload issues. This is not the case!

Nurses must ensure that they and their patients are safe on each and every shift they work. The QNU has tools to assist nurses to carry out this responsibility, no matter where they work.

As patient safety in all health facilities continues to attract some negative media attention, it is really important that all nurses in all areas, know the steps to take to protect themselves and their patients. Advocating for safe patient care and ensuring you can provide that care, every time you go to work, underpins your nursing practice.

All nurses need this knowledge and these tools no matter where they practice. This training day is all about safe workloads for you and providing quality care for your patients.

Nursing unions throughout Australia have made significant inroads into improving the health and safety of their members through campaigns such as the Zero Tolerance to Violence and No Lift policies etc.

This course aims to provide nurses with practical advice and tools to create a safe workplace culture by:

• Explaining the role of the WH&S Representative.
• Providing an overview of your employer’s obligations to workplace health and safety (WH&S).
• Creating knowledge of the risk assessment process.
• Consideration of the major WH&S concerns facing nurses today.
• Developing a plan to organise around a WH&S issue.

Being a QNU Contact is the first step to getting more involved in the QNU.

This course looks at the role of the QNU Contact, the structure of the Union, how the QNU functions and how QNU members make democratic decisions.

We will cover:

• Who is the QNU?
• What does the QNU do?
• How does the QNU work?
• QNU decision making.
• QNU communication networks.
• What is happening in my workplace?

Activists often assist members to work through individual or collective issues in the workplace.

This course aims to:

• Clearly articulate the role of the Activist in dealing with issues.
• Define various processes available to members.
• Identify ways to collectively advance issues.
• Give Activists the environment to check, challenge and test our ideas about the handling of issues in the workplace.

All activists at some time will be faced with presenting information to and signing up non members.

This course is designed to assist activists with presenting Orientation sessions about the QNU. Whether you are talking informally to nurses or in formal Orientation sessions, this course will focus on the ‘How to’, including content, presentation, materials and dealing with questions.