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To explore the incidence and patterns of respiratory rate recording and its use as a Medical Emergency Team (MET) calling criteria, in a medical and surgical ward in a rural Australian hospital.
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Aims The aim of the literature review was to identify new and emerging out of hospital emergency care roles and to describe their activity and impact. Background Demographic changes, increased demands for health services, altered working practices, and health system economic pressures have led to the development of a disparate set of new health care roles. Data sources MEDLINE, EMBASE and CINAHL databases, and the two search engines Google and Google Scholar were searched for contemporary studies in the identified study area. Review methods All publications identified through the search were assessed for relevance. Those that discussed new roles were included (n = 34) and empirical studies (n = 14) analysed in detail. Results Emergency care and paramedic practitioner roles (ECP & PP) are having an impact on patient care, including an average 25% reduction in the conveyance rate to hospital, improved inter-professional working, immediacy of treatment and referral, and high patient satisfaction. Limited economic data suggests savings of between £31 (USD 55) and £37 (USD 65) per case when ECPs replace standard ambulance responders. Concerns have been expressed about patient safety, recruitment and training levels, regulatory and role implementation issues. Conclusion Further work is required to fully understand the patient safety, clinical practice, professional role and financial implications of these new roles.
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Background Health professionals work in teams in a variety of health care settings especially in medical emergency teams at times of crisis. However, Registered Nurses (RNs) rarely have the chance to partake in educational programs designed for teams of nurses to practice working together in life-threatening situations. Further RN’s employed in rural setting have less opportunities for professional development than their city based counterparts. Simulated scenarios with a patient actor in a rural hospital have been utilised in this study to provide nurses with the opportunity to work as a team in the early recognition and management of patients with acute medical conditions. Aim This discussion paper focuses on one aspect of a larger research project with the aim of describing the development of team based scenarios for a rural hospital setting, focusing on the detection and management of a deteriorating patient. Methods Three team based scenarios, the related assessments and feedback techniques are all described. Conclusion Team based simulation provides a unique opportunity to assist registered nurses in rural settings in re-skilling or maintaining their emergency management skills.
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Medical emergency team performance including non-technical skills, is receiving increased attention due to the influences on patient safety. The Team Emergency Assessment Measure View the MathML source was developed to enable standardized performance assessment and structured team debriefing. From several studies, the View the MathML source has demonstrated a substantial body of normative data confirming its validity and reliability. This includes high uni-dimensional validity, significant subscale relationships between Teamwork and Leadership and between Teamwork and Task Management (p < 0.001), a Cronbach alpha of 0.92 and adequate construct validity. The tool has potential for team training to improve team's non-technical performance. Further testing is required in ‘real’ clinical settings.
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This paper describes the perceptions of midwifery educational leaders concerning the potential for simulation to provide a realistic experience in midwifery education. A qualitative design was employed using focus groups which were audio-taped and transcribed verbatim. Data were analysed using thematic analysis. Eleven focus groups were conducted with 46 key midwifery academics across Australia. Three main themes emerged relating to realism and simulation in midwifery practice: 'we already use a lot of simulation', 'level of realism of manikins', and 'some things cannot be simulated'. Simulation is currently widely used in midwifery education, but this is limited due to realism of available models and equipment. Despite this, within a woman-centred, holistic approach to care there are many aspects of midwifery practice that cannot be easily simulated. There is a need for research and development of realistic simulation approaches to support the enhanced use of simulation. Furthermore, strategies for developing approaches that reflect midwifery care provision need to be developed.
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Background: Anxiety has a powerful impact on learning due to activation of anxiety hormones, which target related receptors in the working memory. Experiential learning requires some degree of challenge and anxiety. Patient simulation, as a form of experiential learning, has been an integrated component of health professional education internationally over the last two decades, especially in undergraduate nursing education. Little information is available to determine if and how anxiety impacts nursing students’ clinical performance during simulation. Objectives: To investigate physiological and psychological anxiety during emergency scenarios in high-fidelity simulation and understand the effect of anxiety on clinical performance. Design: First2Act was the model for the simulation intervention. Second and third year undergraduate nursing students attended a two-hour simulation session and completed a demographic questionnaire plus pre-simulation self-reported psychological anxiety scale. A heart rate variability monitor was attached to each student's chest to measure heart rate variability (as a sign of anxiety) before engaging in two video-recorded simulated emergency scenarios (cardiac and respiratory) with a professional actor playing the patient. Performance was rated by a clinician followed by video-assisted debriefing. Finally, heart monitors were removed and students repeated self-reports of psychological anxiety. Results: Students’ psychological anxiety was high pre-simulation and remained high post-simulation. With regard to physiological anxiety, students were anxious at the start of the simulation but became more relaxed toward the end as they gained familiarly with the simulation environment (p < .007). Clinical performance increased significantly in the second scenario (p < .001). Factors found to positively affect clinical performance were length of enrolment in the nursing degree (p = .001), current employment in a nursing or allied healthcare field (p = .030), and previous emergency experience (p = .047). The relationship between physiological anxiety and clinical performance was statistically not significant, although there was an indication that low level anxiety led to optimal performance. Conclusion: High-fidelity patient simulation has the capacity to arouse novice nurses psychologically and physiologically while managing emergency situations. Indicative outcomes suggest that optimal performance was apparent when anxiety levels were low, indicating that they had received insufficient training to deal with situations that induced moderate to high anxiety levels.
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This paper focuses on changes in the educational preparation of undergraduate nurses in line with contemporary primary and preventative healthcare models. We evaluated a new Australian nursing and community care degree programme using focus groups with 38 students in their first years of study, and quantitative performance data (regarding entry, performance and course attrition). Four main themes were identified related to students’ course experience: ‘I think community health should be an elective’; ‘Focus on relevance to practice’; ‘Teaching by non-nursing academics’ and ‘Access to support during transition to university.’ Overall pass rates were 94% (first year) and 97% (second year) with a low 11% attrition rate. We conclude that based on prior experiences and stereotypical views, students may be ambivalent about the inclusion of primary and preventative care models which nevertheless are essential to enhance practice and to prepare the future nursing workforce
What factors influence midwives to provide obstetric high dependency care on the delivery suite or request care be escalated away from the obstetric unit? Findings of a focus group study
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Background In the United Kingdom, midwives will engage in discussions with the multidisciplinary team as to whether they can provide Obstetric High Dependency Care (OHDC) on the Delivery Suite or whether a woman's care should be escalated to the critical care team. This study aimed to explore the question: What factors influence midwives to provide OHDC or request care be escalated away from the obstetric unit in hospitals remote from tertiary referral centres? Methods Focus groups were undertaken with midwives (n = 34) across three obstetric units in England, with annual birth rates ranging from 1500 to 5000 per annum, in District General Hospitals. Three scenarios in the form of video vignettes of handover were used as triggers for the focus groups. Scenario 1; severe pre-eclampsia, physiologically unstable 2; major postpartum haemorrhage requiring invasive monitoring 3; recent admission of woman with chest pain receiving facial oxygen and requiring continuous electrocardiogram (ECG) monitoring. Two focus groups were conducted in each of the obstetric units with experienced midwives. Data were analysed using a qualitative framework approach. Results Factors influencing midwives' care escalation decisions included the care environment, a woman's diagnosis and fetal or neonatal factors. The overall plan of care including the need for ECG and invasive monitoring were also influential factors. Midwives in the smallest obstetric unit did not have access to the facilities for OHDC provision. Midwives in the larger obstetric units provided OHDC but identified varying degrees of skill and sometimes used 'workarounds' to facilitate care provision. Midwifery staffing levels, skill mix and workload were also influential. Some differences of opinion were evident between midwives working in the same obstetric units as to whether OHDC could be provided and the support they would enlist to help them provide it. Reliance on clinical guidelines appeared variable. Conclusions Findings indicate that there may be inequitable OHDC provision at a local level. Organisationally robust systems are required to promote safe, equitable OHDC care including skills development for midwives and precise escalation guidelines to minimise workarounds. Training for midwives must include strategies that prevent skills fade.
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Background In the United Kingdom, midwives will engage in discussions with the multidisciplinary team as to whether they can provide Obstetric High Dependency Care (OHDC) on the Delivery Suite or whether a woman's care should be escalated to the critical care team. This study aimed to explore the question: What factors influence midwives to provide OHDC or request care be escalated away from the obstetric unit in hospitals remote from tertiary referral centres? Methods Focus groups were undertaken with midwives (n = 34) across three obstetric units in England, with annual birth rates ranging from 1500 to 5000 per annum, in District General Hospitals. Three scenarios in the form of video vignettes of handover were used as triggers for the focus groups. Scenario 1; severe pre-eclampsia, physiologically unstable 2; major postpartum haemorrhage requiring invasive monitoring 3; recent admission of woman with chest pain receiving facial oxygen and requiring continuous electrocardiogram (ECG) monitoring. Two focus groups were conducted in each of the obstetric units with experienced midwives. Data were analysed using a qualitative framework approach. Results Factors influencing midwives' care escalation decisions included the care environment, a woman's diagnosis and fetal or neonatal factors. The overall plan of care including the need for ECG and invasive monitoring were also influential factors. Midwives in the smallest obstetric unit did not have access to the facilities for OHDC provision. Midwives in the larger obstetric units provided OHDC but identified varying degrees of skill and sometimes used 'workarounds' to facilitate care provision. Midwifery staffing levels, skill mix and workload were also influential. Some differences of opinion were evident between midwives working in the same obstetric units as to whether OHDC could be provided and the support they would enlist to help them provide it. Reliance on clinical guidelines appeared variable. Conclusions Findings indicate that there may be inequitable OHDC provision at a local level. Organisationally robust systems are required to promote safe, equitable OHDC care including skills development for midwives and precise escalation guidelines to minimise workarounds. Training for midwives must include strategies that prevent skills fade.
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Objective: To describe Australian midwifery academics' perceptions of the current barriers and enablers for simulation in midwifery education in Australia and the potential and resources required for simulation to be increased. Design: A series of 11 focus groups/interviews were held in all states and territories of Australia with 46 participating academics nominated by their heads of discipline from universities across the country. Findings: Three themes were identified relating to barriers to the extension of the use of simulated learning environments (SLEs) ('there are things that you can't simulate'; 'not having the appropriate resources'; and professional accreditation requirements) and three themes were identified to facilitate SLE use ('for the bits that you're not likely to see very often in clinical'; ['for students] to figure something out before [they] get to go out there and do it on the real person'; and good resources and support). Key conclusion: Although barriers exist to the adoption and spread of simulated learning in midwifery, there is a long history of simulation and a great willingness to enhance its use among midwifery academics in Australia. Implications for practice: While some aspects of midwifery practice may be impossible to simulate, more collaboration and sharing in the development and use of simulation scenarios, equipment, space and other physical and personnel resources would make the uptake of simulation in midwifery education more widespread. Students would therefore be exposed to the best available preparation for clinical practice contributing to the safety and quality of midwifery care.
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Abstract Aim To critically examine the evidence for simulation based learning in midwifery education. Background Simulated Learning Programs (SLPs) using low to high fidelity techniques are common in obstetric professionals’ education and focus on the development of team work, labour and obstetric emergencies. Review methods A systematic review incorporating critical appraisal approaches, setting clear objectives and a defined search and analysis strategy. Evidence from obstetrics, neonatology, technical and non-technical skills (teamwork) was included where it informed the development of midwifery curricula. Studies in English from 2000 to 2010 were included searching CINAHL Plus, OVID Medline, Cochrane, SCOPUS and ProQuest and Google Scholar. Results Twenty-four papers were identified that met the inclusion criteria. All were quantitative reports; outcomes and levels of evidence varied with two notable papers indicating that simulation had an impact on clinical practice. Benefits of SLP over didactic formats were apparent, as were the development of non-technical skills confidence and competence. The study outcomes were limited by the range of evidence and context of the reports which focussed on obstetric emergency training using a number of simulation techniques. Conclusion There is evidence that simulated learning of midwifery skills is beneficial. Simulation learning has an educational and clinical impact and advantages over didactic approaches. Where clinical practice is infrequent i.e. obstetric emergencies, simulation is an essential component of curricula. Simulation enhances practice and therefore may reduce the time taken to achieve competence; however there is no evidence from the literature that simulation should replace clinical practice.
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Evidence shows the management of deteriorating patients needs to be improved, particularly in midwifery care. In a series of three simulation-based studies in Australia we examined qualified nurses', student nurses' and midwives' ability to manage patient deterioration. Nurses' knowledge levels were acceptable but their skill performance was low and there was a gap between the theory and practice they had experienced. In these high-pressure situations, demographic factors (including educational level) had no impact on their performance, which suggests they need repetitive "high-stakes" simulation, improved feedback mechanisms and enhanced educational processes.
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Delayed assessment and mismanagement of patient deterioration is a substantial problem for which educational preparation can have an impact. This paper describes the development of the FIRST2ACT simulation model based on well-established theory and contemporary empirical evidence. The model combines evidence-based elements of assessment, simulation, self-review and expert feedback, and has been tested in undergraduate nurses, student midwives and post-registration nurses. Participant evaluations indicated a high degree of satisfaction and substantial self-rated increases in knowledge, confidence and competence. This evidence-based model should be considered for both undergraduate and post-registration education programs.
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Aim of study: This study aimed to investigate the attitudes of personnel working in emergency departments on the constitution of a resuscitation team in particular the perceptions of the family liaison role. Methods: A paper base survey on family presence during resuscitation was distributed to emergency personnel working in 18 public departments in the state of Victoria, Australia. Results: A combination of nurses (n = 282) and doctors (n = 65) working in rural and metropolitan emergency departments, identified seven unique resuscitation team roles. Resuscitation teams were identified as comprising of three doctors, three nurses and one other which could be either. Respondents identified seven unique roles as consisting of a team leader, airway doctor, airway nurse, procedure doctor and procedure nurse, drugs nurse and a scribe. The respondents identified the following components as key to discussions with family members; emergency personnel, reassurance, diagnosis, regular updates, intervention, and prognosis (ER-DRIP). Conclusion: The acronym ER-DRIP can be used as a reminder to emergency staff when speaking with family members during resuscitation events ensuring they receive all the necessary information and support.
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Aim of study: This study aimed to investigate the attitudes of personnel working in emergency departments on the constitution of a resuscitation team in particular the perceptions of the family liaison role. Methods: A paper base survey on family presence during resuscitation was distributed to emergency personnel working in 18 public departments in the state of Victoria, Australia. Results: A combination of nurses (n = 282) and doctors (n = 65) working in rural and metropolitan emergency departments, identified seven unique resuscitation team roles. Resuscitation teams were identified as comprising of three doctors, three nurses and one other which could be either. Respondents identified seven unique roles as consisting of a team leader, airway doctor, airway nurse, procedure doctor and procedure nurse, drugs nurse and a scribe. The respondents identified the following components as key to discussions with family members; emergency personnel, reassurance, diagnosis, regular updates, intervention, and prognosis (ER-DRIP). Conclusion: The acronym ER-DRIP can be used as a reminder to emergency staff when speaking with family members during resuscitation events ensuring they receive all the necessary information and support.
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Background: Medical Records Reviews (MRR) are commonly used in research and quality activities in health care, however, there is a paucity of literature offering a step by step guide to devising a reliable, user-friendly tool. Aim: This instructional paper focuses on the stages used to design and implement successful MRR using examples from two reviews in Australian rural hospitals investigating the responses of Registered Nurses to patient deterioration, and guided by time series principals. Methods: The MRR were conducted in two rural hospitals in conjunction with a simulation learning intervention where nurses rehearsed clinical management of a deteriorating patient. A six-step template is presented to guide practitioners on how to design and use a MRR tool. Conclusion: When well-planned and appropriately used, MRR provides an excellent means for examining patient outcomes in addition to safety and quality of care.
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Clinical practice is fundamental to the learning of undergraduate and entry-level nursing students. It provides the milieu whereby students apply classroom theory and simulated practice to the real world of nursing and become socialised into the profession. In contemporary nursing education, there is often competition among tertiary education providers to locate quality, appropriate placements; substantial costs may be incurred to access suitable placements.