Search

Background: Northern Australia is a geographically large region that has too few medical graduates and is a long way from Australia's metropolitan medical schools. This paper describes the establishment of a new medical school to serve these needs. Methods: The paper describes the steps in development and presents an overview of the innovative educational approach, based on best available educational evidence, that aims to produce a medical workforce that understand the health care needs of the region and want to practice there. Conclusion: The result is an innovative, highly integrated programme with different aspirations and a different student profile from other Australian medical schools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: This paper outlines a collaborative, cross-national educational initiative, commenced in 2001, in which an Australian university provided clinical and research education assistance to a Filipino University. The aim was to establish the first Filipino Master of Science in Physical Therapy program that would train physiotherapists in their home country using best available content and teaching expertise . Process: Principles of quality transnational education underpinned the program design and contractual agreements. Australian educational input was tailored to local constraints to ensure efficient and effective delivery of high quality, relevant material. Approximately 60% of the inaugural program was delivered by Australian educators in one-week intensive courses on-shore in the Philippines, using local facilities and case-scenarios. Follow-up support and evaluation were provided by video, email, written workbooks and assignments once these educators returned to Australia. Filipino graduates, who were competent with course content, taught the remaining subjects. In line with an aim of empowering Filipino graduates to assume responsibility for teaching all aspects of the program by 2006, the Australian educators are now teaching less than 25% of the course content to subsequent student cohorts. After 2006, they will provide mentorship only to the program. Results: In 2003, 12 students in the first cohort graduated with Master of Science in Physical Therapy from the University of Santo Tomas (UST). Twenty-four students subsequently enrolled in the second cohort (commenced 2003) and 21 students into the third cohort (commenced 2004). Six of the inaugural graduate cohort are currently acting as tutors for the Australian educators and will assume full teaching roles in 2006. Comparison of feedback from student evaluations at UST indicates significant improvements in teaching quality for the graduates from the inaugural program. Research activity and publications have also increased as a result of completion of the program. Discussion: Such a cross-institutional, cross-national program has not been described previously for physiotherapy, and no other similar health program (for nursing) evaluated the educational processes in the manner used in this program. The program met its aims and has produced sustainable educational outcomes and outputs. Conclusion: Future scholarly activities between the two institutions include extension of postgraduate training to other health disciplines, cross-institutional PhD student enrolments and collaborative research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: This paper presents the results of an exploratory project undertaken to evaluate the change to teaching and learning of surgical specialties in the Postgraduate Diploma in Advanced Nursing (Perioperative) conducted at La Trobe University, Victoria, Australia.Background: The teaching of perioperative nursing practices has traditionally been based on the medical model of surgical specializations, using information transmission as the main teaching approach. It has become clear to perioperative educators that it is possible to look at the basic theoretical principles involved in the teaching of surgical interventions from a different perspective.Method: This project is an exploratory descriptive study that employed a qualitative approach, using a reflective approach to teaching, results of a focus group discussion and subject assessment as data. Research Ethics Committee protocols were followed. A version of nominal group technique was used for the focus group interview.Outcomes: The restructure of this subject shows potential in bringing about a conceptual shift in nurse education in three areas: (1) Organizational principle or curriculum structure: from content focus to theoretical principles; (2) Learning mode: student involvement from passive student to professional decision maker; (3) Teaching strategy: from teacher-focused strategy with intentions to transmit information to a student-focused strategy aimed at students changing their conceptions.Conclusion: This study suggests that perioperative students are able to demonstrate critical thinking and apply principles of surgical technique across a range of specialty areas without having participated in the particular surgery beforehand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Medical and health professional education needs to renew regularly the perspective from which it defines curriculum. The theme of this paper is that the study of health service in action will identify educational priorities for any country with the particular aim of improving the quality of health care and the effectiveness of clinicians within the system of health care. The Quality of Australian Health Care Study is the largest study of its kind to date. It is a study of adverse outcomes in health care resulting from error. From a study of causes, circumstance and strategies for prevention an educational agenda emerges, dealing both with clinical aspects of care and the less well-documented role of system errors. Studies of system errors in industry and other high risk occupations and systems are now lending insight to issues of error and safety in health care. A new agenda for health professional curriculum is the study of health services in action-the anatomy, physiology and pathology of health systems. Eight educational priorities were recommended to the National Task Force to improve patient safety and quality of care. These are discussed together with a broad strategy for curriculum implementation. The need for a health system that supports and informs practitioners involved in clinical and system errors, the extension of training to incorporate health system managers, and the extension of the consideration of safety to public awareness are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]