Biomedical subjects

Christine Duffield

Publications and source records attributed to Christine Duffield.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2003

Australian nurses' perception of the impact of their postgraduate studies on their patient care activities.

Postgraduate nursing education, formal or informal, has grown enormously and the benefits, to the students, their employers or their patients or its impact on clinical practice has not been well researched, particularly in Australia. The authors commenced a 10 year longitudinal study at a university in Sydney, Australia to track five cohorts of postgraduates at two yearly intervals to determine their career paths, changes in professional behaviour and the perceived impact of their postgraduate education on the care they deliver. This paper will report these five cohorts' (N=236) perceptions of the impact of their postgraduate studies on their care delivery two years after completion of their study. The results indicate that their postgraduate education had a positive to strongly positive impact on the majority of items. These as well as those items identified as not being affected will also be presented and discussed.

Adult↗

PubMed2003

Work sampling: valuable methodology to define nursing practice patterns.

The volatile clinical and managerial environment of today's health care system demands that the nursing sector regularly evaluates how staff deliver care. Management's central purpose is to support clinical core activities, striving for a reasonable balance between cost effectiveness and quality care. Various methodologies, such as work sampling and time-and-motion studies, have been used to explore work-related activities. As a cost-effective and useful methodology, work sampling warrants more in-depth exploration of the various techniques involved to ensure nurse managers, clinicians and researchers appreciate the complexities of the approach and its potential to contribute to an understanding of nursing work. The present paper describes work sampling as a method, reviews its use through the literature and outlines some of its advantages and disadvantages in comparison to the time-and-motion methodology, a method similar in many ways. It is intended to enhance readers' appreciation of work sampling's potential value to nurses and other health professionals, and to enhance the understanding of the difference between work sampling and time-and-motion studies.

Nursing Methodology Research↗

PubMed2002

Career paths beyond nursing and the contribution of nursing experience and skills in attaining these positions.

This paper reports on an exploratory study undertaken in New South Wales, Australia which sought to identify the positions nurses go on to when they leave nursing and the skills and experience they gained from nursing which they believe enabled them to obtain employment outside the profession. In addition, the reasons why they left nursing were also ascertained. A network sampling technique was used to recruit 17 participants. A tape-recorded semi-structured interview of approximately 1h was conducted with each participant. Interviews were conducted until no new information emerged (14) and the remaining three interviews were used for validation. While many participants were employed in health-related fields, others were in diverse areas such as business, landscape coordination and market research, to name a few. All participants reported positively on the range of skills they had acquired as a nurse. Reasons provided for leaving the nursing workforce included reaching a ceiling in nursing or wishing to develop themselves in another direction. Respondents had also undertaken a wide range of additional qualifications.

Career Mobility↗

PubMed2002

The nursing workforce in Canada and Australia: two sides of the same coin.

This paper compares characteristics of the nursing workforce in Canada and Australia and provides insights into reasons why the shortage of nurses is more critical today than ever before. Workplace issues are discussed in a global context. Factors that affect retention and recruitment are described. Factors that make the current shortage more serious and different than at other times are also presented. Despite the shortage of registered nurses, their replacement with unskilled workers jeopardizes the quality of care.

Australia↗

PubMed2002

Qualifications and experience: how well prepared are nurse managers compared to health service executives?

The purpose of the paper was to compare the demographic details, educational qualifications, professional support and career guidance experiences of two groups of health managers as reported in previous research. One group comprised nurse managers (Duffield et al 2001) and the other comprised senior health administrators (Harris, Maddern & Pegg 1998). Employment and education data from self-administered questionnaires were compared. Nurse managers were predominantly female (88%), while the administrators were 50% female. The nurse managers, although with a relatively equal rate of managerial qualifications as their health service counterparts, had not attained as many senior positions in health care administration. Over half had not had a mentor. Nurse managers have skills attained through their academic studies and experience that cause them to be as capable as (if not in some cases better than) health service administrators. Increased use of mentoring may provide opportunities for professional advancement in wider administrative areas.

Australia↗

PubMed2002

The complexities of documenting clinical information in long-term care settings in Australia.

Clinical nursing documentation, written, verbal or supported by technology, is being affected by both the worldwide "information explosion" and budgetary constraints. In Australia, the necessity of documenting complex care needs and treatment plans in older adult care settings has become more imperative because funding levels and sources are frequently tied to these documents. As a consequence, the statutory requirements for documentation have become a significant driving force in shaping nursing practice. Although the value of quality documentation is or should be recognized, the seemingly vast amounts of time required inevitably distracts nurses from what they see as their primary purpose-the provision of direct patient care. Older adults who are frail are among the most complex clients requiring services in what is traditionally a poorly resourced sector. Under-funding frequently impacts on the staff skill mix, resulting in low levels of senior, highly qualified, and skilled staff. These factors impact the quality of the documentation and possibly the usage of the information itself. This article will provide an overview of the issues related to documentation of clinical information in older adult care settings with particular reference to some of the "unique" inefficiencies inherent in the Australian system.

Aged↗