Neo-Skin Sig

Purpose

The skin is the largest organ of the human body and protecting skin is an essential element in providing care to well, preterm and sick newborns. The Neo-Skin Special Interest Group provides a forum for practice and health promotion discussion, emphasising skin integrity promotion and injury management for neonates and their families. Additionally, the SIG provides a community for neonatal clinicians and collaborators to explore and share quality improvement or research initiatives related to skin care and health.

Operating Committee

Operating committee members hold the positions for a period of 12 months and have the opportunity to re-nominate each 12 months. The operating committee positions become vacant at the SIG general meeting held in conjunction with the ACNN Annual National Conference or by zoom in the last quarter of the calendar year. SIG members can nominate before the meeting or from the floor at the meeting. Nominations will be put forward and accepted at this meeting.

Operating committee positions are Chair, Secretary, Treasurer Liaison and Ordinary Members. The operating committee must consist of a minimum of 5 members.

current committee members  

  • Chair: Deanne August (Qld) 
  • Secretary: Lyn Chapple (Qld)
  • Treasurer liaison: Judy Macey (Qld)
  • Social media liaison: Emma Yeomans (Vic)
  • Ordinary Members: Linda Ng (Qld), Rebecca MacPherson (NSW), Stephanie Hall (Qld), Janene Douglas (Qld)

Deanne August - Chair
Deanne is a post-doc research Fellow, Nurse Researcher and Registered Nurse with over 20 years' experience in neonatal care. Currently, she works as a research co-ordinator Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital and MRFF Wounds Fellow for University of Queensland. 
Her clinical background includes Neonatal Care, Paediatric Critical Care, Hospital Acquired Complications and Wound Care. Deanne's post-doc research has focused on skin injuries, vascular access and procedures affecting skin health. She is passionate that research must identify evidence while also considering the implications for clinical workloads, consumer experiences and the capability for outcomes to be translated into practice.

Lyn Chapple - Secretary
Lyn is a Clinical Nurse who has worked in Neonatal Intensive Care at the RBWH for over 25 years. She is also a member of the NeoRESQ, the neonatal retrieval service for Southern Queensland. Lyn’s passions include provision of excellence in clinical care, promoting leadership in nurses at all levels of their career as well as nurturing the next generation of Neonatal Nurses. Lyn also has a special interest in neonatal skin and skin care.


Judith Macey - Treasurer Liaison
Judy is a Registered Nurse, midwife, lactation consultant, and neonatal nurse and has been currently working as a clinical research midwife at Mater research since 2012. Judith has over 35 years' experience gained by working in various health settings including clinical areas, education, and research. Judy has a passion for the health of the neonate and their families and recently obtained a Masters in Advanced Practice Nursing.



Emma Yeomans - Social Media Liaison,  Ordinary Member
Emma started her nursing career at the Royal Children’s Hospital working across different specialties.  She also had experience in a Mother baby Unit.  In 2008 she studied the Neonatal Intensive Care Course at LaTrobe University whilst working at Monash Newborn and has since completed her Masters looking at Neonatal Skincare guidelines. Emma is currently the Clinical Trials Coordinator at Monash Newborn.


Linda Ng - Ordinary Committee Member
Linda has clinical experience and qualifications in Adult Intensive Care and Neonatal Intensive Care.  Linda’s research focuses on postgraduate education of Registered Nurses and its impact on nursing care as well as on retention of nurses in the industry. She has an interest in simulation and neonatal skin. Linda is amember of The Honour Society of Nursing Sigma Theta Tau International-Phi Delta Chapter at Large and a collaborator in the Education, Simulation and Scholarship.

Janene Douglas – Ordinary Committee Member                                                       
Janene has 30 years of clinical experience focussed on paediatric and neonatal nursing care. She is passionate about partnering with parents/carers in care delivery and currently works at the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital as a Neonatal Clinical Nurse. Janene is a pre-RHD Scholar and her research is focussed on the impact of neonatal capillary blood sampling.


Rebecca MacPherson – Ordinary Committee Member   
Rebecca has been a NICU nurse since starting as a new grad 17 years ago. She is a Clinical Nurse Specialist at the Royal Hospital for Women in Randwick and a member of the extreme prem/skin care working group and the palliative care group as that is where her special interests lie. Rebecca is currently undertaking her Masters in Health and Medical Leadership at Wollongong University.

Stephanie Hall – Ordinary Committee Member
Stephanie is a Neonatal Nurse Practitioner, nurse researcher, PhD candidate and wearer of too many hats. She is currently based at the RBWH in Brisbane where she has worked for the last 15 years. Stephanie is passionate about skin, PIVCs, research, evidence-based practice and neonatal nursing education. If left unsupervised she happily speaks on these topics at length to anyone who stays still long enough.


Proposed activities for 2024:

  • Review resources produced by other organisations, and if appropriate facilitate resource availability to ACNN members via the ACNN website and social media avenues
  • Promote scholarship related to newborn skin health and injury prevention
  • Celebrate academic and professional successes of SIG members related to neonatal skin
  • Completion of quick reference guides for skin care and skin injury resources with an aim to share with ACNN membership
  • Development of educational based social media content
  • Continual collaboration with international colleagues on SIG related outcomes (e.g. translate MARSI educational materials)
  • Providing evidenced based responses to member queries (? FAQ guide)
  • Providing a minimum of two open meeting / education sessions

Reproduction of resources

The SIG has a focus of producing resources based on best available evidence for newborn skin health including prevention and management of skin injuries and complications.

documents

Updated 13 March 2024