Daily News

Nursing Resource Teams can recruit and retain nurses

A new human resources management strategy could help create full-time jobs and attract nurses who might otherwise find it difficult to obtain full-time work, a McMaster University study says. Over the past decade nurse staffing has been a challenge for hospitals. One response has been to use a nursing resource team, an innovative transformation of the float pool of the past. Resource teams consist of staff employed by the organization to cover vacancies and absences and to respond to increases in the numbers of patients or the seriousness of their conditions. The McMaster study explored the nursing resource team (NRT) at Hamilton Health Sciences (HHS) from the first two years of its implementation, September 2002 until June 2004.

Michael Lee-Chin recipient of 2005 Philanthropy Award

McMaster graduate and Canadian businessman Michael Lee-Chin has been honoured for his philanthropic commitments, including his $5-million donation to the Michael G. DeGroote School of Business at McMaster University, by the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) Greater Toronto Chapter. With a background that embraces three different cultures, Lee-Chin, chairman and chief executive officer of AIC Limited, has a distinct perspective on life, one that is shared by many newcomers to Canada. Although he graduated from McMaster with an engineering degree, Lee-Chin soon discovered he possessed an inherent business savvy. A classic success story, Lee-Chin has gone from enterprising student to one of Canada's wealthiest men.

Mills Library opens new innovative learning space

Before you build it they will come. At 9 a.m. on the first day of classes, students were already lined up at library computers - a very visual demonstration of the need for the Mills Learning Commons facilities and services. As part of Phase I of the Commons project, McMaster University Library has announced new and innovative campus partnerships with the Centre for Student Development (CSD), University Technology Services (UTS) and the Centre for Leadership and Learning (CLL). Together, they are offering new and enhanced services to facilitate learning and research on campus.

Hope blooms among the stones

A single white rose continues to bloom defiantly in the Nina de Villiers Rose Garden among the falling leaves that signal winter is not far away. The rose garden was named after the young McMaster student who was sexually assaulted and murdered in 1991. Flowers were one of Nina's passions, so it's fitting that this symbol of hope and innocence will mark today's annual commemorative service to celebrate non-violence. McMaster's Anti-Violence Network is inviting all faculty, students, staff and members of the community to the Roses Among the Stones commemorative service. The event will take place today (Wednesday) at 1 p.m. on the stairs in front of Gilmour Hall, just steps away from the rose garden. The theme of this year's ceremony is "Compassion is Not Enough, Take Action" and focuses on non-violence both on campus and in the community.

Students go homeless to raise awareness

Three students at McMaster are getting a different type of education this week as they learn what it is like to be homeless. Stephen Gagne, James Fitzsimons and Rami Reda from the DeGroote Commerce Society (DCS) have pledged to go homeless, living outside of the McMaster University Student Centre from Oct. 3 to 7 in support of Good Shepherd Centres. "We each have one sleeping bag, one pillow and one change of clothing. That's it," explained Reda, a third year student who also serves as vice-president, external for the DCS. The students will not purchase any food or beverages over the course of the week, relying instead on donations.