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The primary role of the oncology nurse practitioner in an acute tertiary cancer hospital in Australia is to provide comprehensive symptom management to adult patients undergoing systemic chemotherapy or immunotherapy. A common presentation to this service is acute febrile illness. There is a dearth of awareness surrounding the risk stratification of this patient group in Australia, which may contribute to unnecessary hospital admissions, increased nosocomial infections, and missed opportunities for maintaining quality of life. This article evaluates internationally endorsed risk stratification tools and amalgamates them to produce a proposed best-practice pathway. The pathway could be implemented within oncology units Australia-wide to guide nurse practitioner practice in managing febrile cancer patients.

Adults with a very tall stature (above the 97th percentile for height) encounter challenges with engagement in everyday occupations. Conversely, work-related opportunities and benefits for ...

OBJECTIVE. This study investigates the effect of mirror therapy and task-oriented training on the paretic upper extremity function and occupational performance of people with stroke. METHOD. This study used a repeated-measures, case-series design in which 4 participants completed a 4-wk intervention consisting of mirror therapy and task-specific training. The intervention was conducted 2×/wk in the clinic and 4×/wk at home. RESULTS. All participants displayed clinically meaningful improvements in self-identified goals at the end of the intervention and at follow-up. Three participants showed clinically meaningful changes in motor function. Although only 1 participant improved in his reported amount of use, all participants showed clinically meaningful improvements in perceived movement quality at varying points of assessment. CONCLUSION. Mirror therapy, when used as priming for task-oriented training, can produce clinical improvements in upper extremity function and occupational performance in people with hemiparesis.

This study aimed to examine the involvement of occupational therapists in the development of intermediate care services in England. A non-experimental survey design was employed and a postal questionnaire was sent to 414 members of the specialist section of the College of Occupational Therapists: Older People. Quantitative and qualitative data from the 159 respondents was analysed using descriptive statistics and content analysis respectively. Results indicate that the occupational therapists in this study were heavily involved in the development of intermediate care services. This included the creation and monitoring of integrated equipment stores and in the extension of their role to include intermediate care coordination. Intermediate care provision for older people with mental health problems was seen to be an area requiring further development. The National Service Framework for older people continues to provide opportunities for occupational therapists working to further develop and shape services for this growing sector of society.

The concept of role overlap between occupational therapy and physiotherapy has been the subject of debate for at least three decades. Stroke rehabilitation is an area where role overlap between occupational therapists and physiotherapists occurs. This article reports an exploratory study carried out with nine physiotherapists and nine occupational therapists working in a variety of in-patient stroke rehabilitation settings. Analysis of qualitative data collected through semi-structured interviews revealed that the majority of the participants recognised the existence of role overlap as inevitable within collaborative health care and felt it was of benefit to patients. However, it appeared that the concept was also perceived as a challenge to role security by many when considered from a professional perspective. Acceptance of role overlap depended upon the extent to which it occurred in the particular setting. Generic therapy was seen as an extreme form of overlap and regarded as an undesirable progression by most participants. The main strategy used to challenge this development was to emphasise professional uniqueness through role delineation. However, this strategy was found to be weak in the context of increasing demands for collaboration at a policy level.

Underwater observations of green turtles near Fairfax Island, Bunker Group, Australia, disclosed female behaviour patterns to avoid copulation, including a striking adpressed hind limb position; resting in a female sanctuary area; avoidance swimming; face-to-face confrontation, followed or accompanied by biting; and a ‘refusal’ position, with the female assuming a vertical position, her limbs widely outspread and plastron facing the male. Copulation activity precedes egg laying on Fairfax. Copulation lasts as long as 6 hr. Females outnumber males, who engage in multiple copulations. The ‘escort’ is a group of one to five males attendant upon mated pairs. Hatchlings feed on various invertebrates. Cleaner fishes groom adult female turtles.