Joanna Rego

Demand for public hospital emergency department services in Australia: 2000–2001 to 2009–2010

Objective: Hospital EDs are a significant and high‐profile component of Australias health‐care system, which in recent years have experienced considerable crowding. This crowding is caused by the combination of increasing demand, throughput and output factors. The aim of the present article is to clarify trends in the use of public ED services across Australia with a view to providing an evidence basis for future policy analysis and discussion.

Review article: Paramedic education opportunities and challenges in Australia

Paramedic education has been undergoing major development in Australia in the past 20 years, with many different educational programmes being developed across all Australian jurisdictions. This paper aims to review the current paramedic education programmes in Australia to identify the similarities and differences between the programmes, and the strengths and challenges in these programmes. A literature search was performed using six scientific databases to identify any systematic reviews, literature reviews or relevant articles on the topic. Additional searches included journal articles and text references from 1995 to 2011. The search was conducted during December 2010 and November 2011. Included in this review are a total of 28 articles, which are focused around five major issues in paramedic education: (i) principle on paramedic programmes and the involvement of industry partners; (ii) clinical placements; (iii) contemporary methods of education; (iv) needs for specific programmes within paramedic education; and (v) articles related to the accreditation process for paramedic programmes. Paramedic programmes across Australian universities vary with many different practices, especially relating to clinical placements in the field. The further advances of the paramedic education programmes should aim to respond to population change and industry development, which would enhance the paramedic profession across Australia.

Why do Queenslanders seek care in emergency departments? A population study.

The present study aims to identify the main reasons for which first time and multiple users seek medical care through Queensland EDs.

National Standards for Higher Education Programs in Disaster Management in Australia

Study/Objective: The aim of this project was to develop a framework for higher education programs in emergency and disaster management for Australia. Background: The development of such standards is of considerable value to Australia as it may contribute to national policy cohesion and also to capability development. The Generic Emergency and Disaster Management Standards define the scope and the domain in order to assist higher education institutions to develop programs that provide a relatively consistent and sound intellectual basis for the expertise required. Methods: The Generic Emergency and Disaster Management Standards were developed through a mixed qualitative research approach involving a systematic literature review, mapping of current course content, focus groups of experts and consultation with industry representatives. Results: The standards consist of three main domains. The knowledge domain included governance and policy frameworks, theoretical and conceptual basis for practice, and contemporary disaster management, skills and application. The skills domain included leadership, communication, and collaboration. Finally professional practice together with critical thinking is considered the means by which the knowledge and skills are applied. Conclusion: These standards are intended to provide a consistent and sound intellectual basis to assist higher education institutions to develop disaster and emergency management courses. While the focus is necessarily on the Australian context, it is recognized that University programs in Australia provide education to international students, and the methods used in developing these standards draw considerably from international sources, and thus they are likely to be of broader applicability. Additional mechanisms for the monitoring and ongoing development of these standards are required.