Sarah Yeun-Sim Jeong

Advance care planning (ACP): the nurse as 'broker' in residential aged care facilities.

Abstract This paper describes one aspect of a study that investigated how Advance Care Planning (ACP) was implemented in residential care facilities (RACFs) in Australia and the role of a Clinical Nurse Consultant (CNC) for ACP. Three RACFs were included in the study. This paper focuses on the implementation process of ACP by the CNC in the RACFs. The preliminary findings highlight the need to dispel the myths about ACP and Advanced Care Directives (ACDs), and how the CNC acted as a broker for ACP. The CNC’s role is represented by a Nursing Brokerage Model. By revealing how ACP is implemented the research contributes to the limited existing knowledge of options that are currently available to older adults and their families in order to help them make care choices about the end of their lives.

The preparation of technologically literate graduates for professional practice.

Abstract The impact of information and communication technology has been felt globally and the healthcare sector is not mmune to the changes brought about by the introduction of new technologies. In contemporary clinical practice environments, information and communication technology skills are advantageous, not only to nurses, but also to the patients for whom they care. There is good evidence that these skills, appropriately utilised, can have a significant impact on patient outcomes. This scholarly paper presents the background to a project that explores graduate nurses’ experiences of using information and communication technology in clinical contexts. A broad historical overview of the implementation of information and communication technology in higher education and healthcare in Australia is provided before discussing the extent to which the technology skills learnt at university are relevant or transferable to contemporary practice environments. The current levels and use of information and communication technology among new graduate nurses, the apparent dichotomy between technological versus humanised healthcare, and the need for national information and communication technology competency standards are discussed.