Maree Simpson

Respiratory function testing: The impact of respiratory scientists on the training and support of primary health care providers

Objective:  In rural Australia access to doctors is limited, access to respiratory physicians even more so and these are the traditional sources of lung function testing.The aim of this study was to assess the feasibility of training and supporting existing rural primary healthcare providers in lung function testing as a screening and monitoring mechanism due to the shortage of healthcare professionals capable of providing such a service.

Complementary and alternative medicine and the search for knowledge by conventional health care practitioners.

Abstract The use of complementary and alternative medicines (CAM) is growing rapidly within the western world and the nexus with conventional health care services is expanding. Many nurses and other conventional health care providers are not only using CAM themselves but see many of their clients using these medicines and therapies. The attitudes to CAM can influence client satisfaction and client use of different therapies and many practitioners of conventional health care are seeking education and information to enhance their knowledge and use of CAM. This paper reflects on the attitudes to CAM and the education needs and services in the field of CAM as identified by western health care providers, in particular nurses.

Putting it into practice: Infection control professionals’ perspectives on early career nursing graduates’ microbiology and infection control knowledge and practice

Abstract Background: The microbiology component of Australian undergraduate nursing programmes varies considerably. Any actual or potential impact of this variation on infection control practice, as a nursing graduate, is relatively unknown. Aims: The aim of this study was to explore infection control professionals’ perceptions of the importance of microbiology and infection control training in undergraduate nursing curricula and the perceived retention of that knowledge and its transferability to practice. Method: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight infection control professionals from a range of hospital settings in Australia. Findings: Four main themes emerged: Theory versus practice, importance of role modelling, disjunction between university curricula and ‘the real world,’ and learning in context. Conclusion: As the underpinning element of infection control practice, the role of microbiology education and training in nursing education will benefit from review. Further discussions about the nature and timing of theoretical microbiology content and assessment of undergraduate students’ microbiology knowledge to ensure retention and appropriate application of that knowledge in practice are urgently needed.

Pharmaceutical Care: Impact on Asthma Medication Use

Background: Asthma has been recognised as a poorly managed disease state in Australia. Rural areas have been identified as being under‐serviced by health professionals. Pharmacists in rural areas are in a prime position to be involved in the provision of multidisciplinary asthma care.

Pharmacy student views on preceptorship during rural placements

Aims: To identify factors that undergraduate pharmacy students valued most highly in a rural clinical placement experience. Methods: Pharmacy students from four universities were invited to participate in a survey and/or focus group. A 42 item questionnaire was used in which students were asked to rate various aspects of their rural placement on a five point Likert scale. During the focus groups students were invited to explore positive and negative aspects of their rural placement and to make suggestions for future placements. Results: About 108 students responded to the questionnaire and 26 participated in the focus groups. Students rated most highly the role of the preceptor in making their rural placement a success. Two themes emerged from the focus groups which highlighted the relationship between preceptorship and learning. Conclusion: Students valued their placements highly when they were in a supportive learning environment, with an organised structure and adequately supported by the universities.

Co-Writing Discourse through Practice and Theory

In this chapter we write from a stance that acknowledges the primacy of practice and at the same time we seek harmony between practice and theory so that each can inform and enhance the other in the pursuit of exemplary practice and rich, informed practice discourse. The primacy of practice is a concept that contends that practice comes first in the development of knowledge and that theory is developed from practice (Eisner, 1988).

Microbiology Education and Infection Control Competency: Offering a New Perspective

Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) have become a significant and costly problem for healthcare institutions worldwide. Despite the crucial role of infection prevention and control (IC) procedures, there is a substantial body of evidence to indicate that IC knowledge and practices of health professional graduates is, however, sub-optimal. This paper presents a discussion of the critical role microbiology plays in infection control education and practice, arguing that without an ability to apply microbiology knowledge to IC decision-making, there is an inherent risk of incorrect application of IC practices and thus a risk to patient (and nurse) safety. The authors propose a re-conceptualization of infection control competency, using nursing as an exemplar profession, to reflect practice that is not based on simple memorization of protocols but rather on a sound understanding of microbiology and informed decision-making. The proposal for re-conceptualizing the definition and assessment of IC competence, if adopted, would potentially enhance students’ understanding and synthesis of microbiology knowledge and help build students’ capacity to apply that knowledge to practice.

Antibiotic prescribing practices in aged care facilities in regional NSW and the ACT

Antibiotic resistance is a major global threat to mankind. Inappropriate antibiotic use has been identified as one of the greatest contributors to antibiotic resistance. There is currently a paucity of data on antibiotic use in aged care facilities, globally and in the Australian setting.

Harmonising Discourse through Workplace Learning

In this chapter we explore workplace learning (WPL) in professional entry education as a space for the harmonisation of two sources of practice knowledge. The first is developed through scholarship and research and the second is developed through practice performance in authentic workplace contexts. It is relevant to note that after graduation, practitioners continue to learn through practice in workplace settings and continue to generate practice-based knowledge. So many of the observations presented in this chapter relate similarly to graduate practitioners.

Entering Health Practice Discourse

Discourse involves the way that members of a particular area of practice think, talk and present themselves to each other and the community at large. In the case of healthcare practice, it can more particularly be seen as the sharing of ideas between people, based on a systematic body of knowledge (Harper, 2009), the way a discipline of practice talks about itself to itself (Powers, 2001).