Mary Martin

Mapping patient flow in a regional Australian emergency department: A model driven approach

Unified Modelling Language (UML) models of the patient journey in a regional Australian emergency department (ED) were used to develop an accurate, complete representation of ED processes and drive the collection of comprehensive quantitative and qualitative service delivery and patient treatment data as an evidence base for hospital service planning. The focus was to identify bottle-necks that contribute to over-crowding. Data was collected entirely independently of the routine hospital data collection system. The greatest source of delay in patient flow was the waiting time from a bed request to exit from the ED for hospital admission. It represented 61% of the time that these patients occupied ED cubicles. The physical layout of the triage area was identified as counterproductive to efficient triaging, and the results of investigations were often observed to be available for some time before clinical staff became aware. The use of independent primary data to construct UML models of the patient journey was effective in identifying sources of delay in patient flow, and aspects of ED activity that could be improved. The findings contributed to recent department re-design and informed an initiative to develop a business intelligence system for predicting impending occurrence of access block.

A pilot study on the views of elderly regional Australians of personally controlled electronic health records

PURPOSE Australia introduced its version of personal health records in July 2012. Success of the personally controlled electronic health record (PCEHR) relies on acceptance during the early stages. The main aim of this study was to investigate the views of a sample of elderly people in a non-metropolitan region in Australia on the PCEHR, and to assess their acceptance levels of this concept. METHODS A self-administered questionnaire was distributed to a non-probability convenience sample of respondents recruited from meetings of Probus, a community club for active business and professional retirees. RESULTS Approximately three-quarters of the respondents had computer and Internet access at home. If not accessed at home a computer at a general practitioners practice was seen as beneficial in accessing the PCEHR. Respondents felt that access to their health record would help them make decisions about their own health and improve their communication with healthcare providers. The majority of respondents were in favour of the PCEHR although some expressed concerns about the security of their PCEHR. There was mixed opinion surrounding the access by health professionals to an individuals PCEHR. CONCLUSION This study has revealed important information about views of the PCEHR. While the respondents were generally in favour of the concept, there were still some concerns about the security of the PCEHR suggesting further reassurance may be required. The study also highlighted some measures, in particular provision of General Practitioner computer access points and print-out facilities that may need to be considered during these initial implementation stages in order to improve adoption rates once the technology is fully available.

Assessing the impact of streaming in a regional emergency department

Objective:  To evaluate the impact of a streaming model, previously validated in metropolitan EDs, on selected performance indicators in a regional ED.

Computer Attitudes and Computing Career Perceptions of First Year Computing Students

This paper reports on a longitudinal research study on the attitudes to computers, and the perceptions of a computing career, of students enrolled in an introductory computing course in the years 1995 to 1998. Previous programming experience had a positive effect on computer confidence, and ownership of a home computer had a positive effect on computer anxiety and computer confidence. There was a gender difference in computer attitudes and perception of a computing career, with females scoring significantly lower than males on all measures. The analysis showed decreased computer liking over the semester and an inconsistent semester effect on computer confidence over the four years. The differences between male and female computer attitudes and perceptions of a computing career persisted over the semester.

An integrated virtual and physical network infrastructure for a networking laboratory

Traditional physical networking components form the basis of the Internet and the backbone of most enterprise networks. Virtual networking is essential in connecting virtual machines among themselves and to the physical world in any virtualization platform. In order to produce work ready IT graduates with practical, hands-on networking experience, it is desirable to provide an integrated virtual and physical networking infrastructure to conduct laboratory tasks. This paper presents such an infrastructure enabling lecturers to design and set up experiments in not only traditional networking topics such as RIP, OSPF, BGP, and VLAN using a combination of physical and virtual networking devices, but also in the latest technologies such as server virtualization and network virtualization.

A Multi-Pronged Approach to Work Integrated Learning for IT Students

This paper describes the multiple work integrated learning (WIL) schemes available to IT students at La Trobe University, Bendigo Campus. Having a number of different options for students to choose from maximizes the number of students who can have the opportunity for IT industry experience while completing an IT degree. This approach is important since IT employers are currently more likely to employ work-ready graduates. The advantages of the programs to the various stakeholders – university, IT academic staff, industry partners (IP) and students (regardless of whether they participate in a WIL program or not) – are outlined. To differentiate work integrated learning from work experience there is an emphasis on reflective practice throughout the IT work-integrated learning subjects. Some examples of students’ reflective writing are provided to illustrate this focus. Suggestions for successful WIL programs are discussed along with issues that have arisen and how they were managed.

Improving the Retention Rates of Women in Computing: An Intervention Program

This article reports on an intervention program for women in the first year of a computing degree. Both qualitative and quantitative methods were used to evaluate the intervention program. The quantitative results revealed the most significant factors influencing success in the first programming course to be age, having studied mathematics in the final years of secondary school, followed by university entrance score, previous programming experience, type of degree, and year of study. The qualitative results showed that the participants appreciated the supportive environment provided by the intervention program. There was a sustained increase in retention rate after the program was introduced.

A Framework for Analysis of the Local Dependencies of a Regional Undergraduate Program

In regional Victoria, Australia there has been a steady decline in Information Technology graduates while large organisations within the region are experiencing a greater demand for these skill sets. What is unknown is the dependency organisations within the region have on the supply of these graduates. This paper examines potential quantitative (Rank Correlation and Markov chain) and qualitative (Importance-Performance Analysis) methods and proposes that to address this dependency the development of a framework encompassing all three methods could be used. The results will provide a more rigorous set of findings than using one method alone and could be used as an evidence base for organisational planning.

An intervention programme for women in computing courses: Does it make a difference?

This paper discusses the outcomes of an intervention programme conducted in 1995 and 1996 at La Trobe University, Bendigo in Australia. The programme was aimed at improving the retention rates of first year women students in computing courses. Anecdotal and survey evidence provided by a pilot programme in 1994 suggested that the problems experienced by the women included: unwillingness to compete for scarce resources, lack of confidence to ask questions in tutorials and laboratory sessions, feelings of intimidation, and misleading preconceptions about the content of computing courses. The intervention programme addressed these problems.