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Aim: The aim of this scoping review is to synthesise current evidence around the clinical skill development of preregistration registered nurses (RNs) in Australia, United Kingdom (UK), Ireland, United States (US), Canada and New Zealand, to inform nurse education, policy and clinical practice. Background: Nursing is a practical profession, and registered nurses require specific skills, knowledge and attributes in order to care for patients safely. The context for health care delivery is shifting, and the education of nurses must adapt to effectively equip the registered nurse of the future. Design: A scoping review was conducted of clinical skill development in preregistration nurses. CINAHL Plus, MEDLINE, Health Source (Nursing/Academic edition) and Scopus were searched. Included studies were primary Australian studies and international literature reviews, which focussed on preregistration nursing education. Papers were written in the English language and focussed on clinical skill development. Results were synthesised narratively. The review is reported here in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-analyses Scoping Review extension (PRISMA-ScR) guidelines. Results: One hundred fifty-five Australia studies and 89 international reviews were included in the review. Six key themes were identified, namely clinical skills, approaches to teaching and learning, interprofessional education, assessment of learning, clinical placement and simulation. Conclusion: There is substantial variation in strategies and programmes to facilitate clinical skill development both within Australia and internationally, indicating a genuine shift away from traditional didactic pedagogy. New graduate registered nurses were expected to be “work-ready,” albeit at a novice level, when they enter the workplace. Future research should consider measures of impact on actual clinical practice and focus on developing work-ready graduates for the range of clin

This report draws on findings and lessons learned through the Australian Government funded evaluation of the Improving Social Connectedness of Older Australians (ISCOA) pilot. It summarises what has worked in the context of the evaluation to help inform the Government’s future models of care and interventions for lonely and socially isolated older Australians.

The Pathways to Community Living Initiative (PCLI) is a major mental health reform program led by the NSW Ministry of Health (‘the Ministry’) in collaboration with NSW Local Health Districts (LHDs). It is a key component of the whole- of-government enhancement of mental health care under the NSW Mental Health Reform 2014-2024. The PCLI represents a transformational change in the care of people with severe and persistent mental illness (SPMI) and complex needs who are, or are at risk of becoming, long-stay inpatients in NSW hospitals. This is PCLI Evaluation Report 7, the final report of the independent evaluation conducted by the Centre for Health Service Development, University of Wollongong, between January 2017 and October 2021. The report presents the summative findings of the mixed methods evaluation activities and formative information to guide continuing reform within mental health services.

The Department of Health announced an Independent Review of Nursing Education – Educating the Nurse of the Future (the Review) as a measure in the 2018/19 Federal Budget in May 2018. This is the third of 4 literature reviews to inform the Review. The results of these literature reviews prompt and inform discussion about particular issues. This literature review focusses on clinical skill development. These are important issues for policy development and decision-making about the future of nursing education in Australia.

The Department of Health announced an Independent Review of Nursing Education – Educating the Nurse of the Future (the Review) as a measure in the 2018/19 Federal Budget in May 2018. This is the first of 4 literature reviews to inform the Review. The results of these literature reviews prompt and inform discussion about particular issues. This literature review focusses on fitness for purpose, work readiness, and transition to practice. These are important issues for policy development and decision-making about the future of nursing education in Australia.

The Department of Health announced an Independent Review of Nursing Education – Educating the Nurse of the Future (the Review) as a measure in the 2018/19 Federal Budget in May 2018. This is the third of 4 literature reviews to inform the Review. The results of these literature reviews prompt and inform discussion about particular issues. This literature review focusses on clinical skill development. These are important issues for policy development and decision-making about the future of nursing education in Australia.

The Department of Health announced an Independent Review of Nursing Education – Educating the Nurse of the Future (the Review) as a measure in the 2018/19 Federal Budget in May 2018. This is the fouth of 4 literature reviews to inform the Review. The results of these literature reviews prompt and inform discussion about particular issues. This literature review focusses on the future directions in healthcare delivery. These are important issues for policy development and decision-making about the future of nursing education in Australia.

The Department of Health announced an Independent Review of Nursing Education – Educating the Nurse of the Future (the Review) as a measure in the 2018/19 Federal Budget in May 2018. This is the second of 4 literature reviews to inform the Review. The results of these literature reviews prompt and inform discussion about particular issues. This literature review focusses on nursing as a career choice. These are important issues for policy development and decision-making about the future of nursing education in Australia.

Background: Bereavement support is an integral part of palliative care. However, audits of Australian palliative care services have consistently identified bereavement care as one of the highest priorities for improvement. Objective: We assessed equity of access to bereavement support across Australian palliative care services by using survey data to compare services according to location (metropolitan vs. regional). We also evaluated changes in bereavement support over the last decade by comparing findings to results of a previous Australian study. Design, Setting, and Participants: A national, cross-sectional online survey of Australian palliative care services conducted from August to September 2017. Main Outcome Measures: Services' self-reported provision of bereavement support. Results: One hundred and eighty services (84%) responded. Of these, 91% provided bereavement support. Most offered support to all bereaved persons connected to the service. More than 80% of services provided a wide range of support types. Metropolitan services were more likely than regional services to offer specialist bereavement interventions. The staff most involved in coordinating and delivering bereavement support were social workers, nurses (particularly in regional areas), and bereavement coordinators/counselors (particularly in metropolitan areas). Resource limitations presented barriers to provision of bereavement support. Conclusions: Across Australia, in principle, access to bereavement support through palliative care services remains largely equitable. Nevertheless, observed variations in the type of professional delivering care and the level of support indicate that a more consistent approach is required. An increase in the range of supports available compared with a decade ago signifies a more comprehensive approach to bereavement support by many Australian palliative care services.

This report is the result of research into services and needs for people experiencing complicated grief. The project was undertaken by the Centre for Health Service Development, a multidisciplinary research centre based within the Australian Health Services Research Institute at the University of Wollongong, on behalf of the Palliative Care Section, Cancer and Palliative Care Branch, Australian Government Department of Health

The catalyst for the paper was a rapid review of the literature which identified Australian research on nurse practitioners. This paper reports on those studies investigating individual nurse practitioner roles, framed in terms of the implementation science literature and three stages of implementation: exploration and adoption of the role, initial implementation of the role, and full operation of the role.Database searching of the peer-reviewed literature was supplemented with searching relevant web sites. Most studies focused on certain aspects of the nurse practitioner role rather than undertaking a comprehensive evaluation. There was no consistency in the way the roles were described, making it difficult to compare what may be similar roles in different studies. The research generally treats the nurse practitioner role as the independent variable, rather than the care provided by the nurse practitioner. The concept of implementation fidelity was absent from all studies, except for one which addressed the issue indirectly. Many studies included little contextual information, making it difficult to judge the role of context in influencing both implementation and patient outcomes and establish plausible links between the activities of the nurse practitioners and patient outcomes.Based on the findings, a checklist is recommended for use in future studies which would enhance the ability to make judgements about implementing nurse practitioner models of care; facilitate comparison of similar roles and increase the capacity to make informed decisions about the prospects for wider implementation of nurse practitioner roles or models of care.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to develop prioritised indicators to measure cancer patient experience and thus guide quality improvement in the delivery of patient care. Methods: A Delphi study, consisting of two surveys and three workshops, was employed to gather expert opinions on the most important indicators to measure. Survey participants were 149 health professionals, academics/technical experts and consumers. The first survey was based on a literature review which identified 105 elements of care within 14 domains of patient experience. These were rated on a 7-point Likert scale, with ‘1’ representing high importance. Elements with mean ratings between 1.0 and 2.0 were retained for the second survey. The 43 least-important elements were omitted, four elements were revised and nine new elements added. Consensus was defined as at least 70% of participants rating an element ‘1’ or ‘2’. Multivariate and cluster analyses were used to develop 20 draft indicators, which were presented to 51 experts to refine and prioritise at the three workshops. Results: All elements in the second survey were rated ‘1’ or ‘2’ by 81% of participants. Workshop participants agreed strongly on the four most important indicators: coordinated care, access to care, timeliness of the first treatment, and communication. Other indicators considered highly important were follow-up care for survivors; timeliness of diagnosis; information relating to side effects, pain and medication; comprehensibility of information provided to patients; and needs assessment. Conclusions: Experts identified priorities with a high level of consensus, providing a rigorous foundation for developing prioritised indicators of quality in cancer patient experience.

Malcolm Masso, Cristina Thompson Centre for Health Service Development, Australian Health Services Research Institute, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW, Australia Abstract: The context for the paper was the evaluation of a national program in Australia to investigate extended scopes of practice for health professionals (paramedics, physiotherapists, and nurses). The design of the evaluation involved a mixed-methods approach with multiple data sources. Four multidisciplinary models of extended scope of practice were tested over an 18-month period, involving 26 organizations, 224 health professionals, and 36 implementation sites. The evaluation focused on what could be learned to inform scaling up the extended scopes of practice on a national scale. The evaluation findings were used to develop a conceptual framework for use by clinicians, managers, and policy makers to determine appropriate strategies for scaling up effective innovations. Development of the framework was informed by the literature on the diffusion of innovations, particularly an understanding that certain attributes of innovations influence adoption. The framework recognizes the role played by three groups of stakeholders: evidence producers, evidence influencers, and evidence adopters. The use of the framework is illustrated with four case studies from the evaluation. The findings demonstrate how the scaling up of innovations can be influenced by three quite distinct approaches – letting adoption take place in an uncontrolled, unplanned, way; actively helping the process of adoption; or taking deliberate steps to ensure that adoption takes place. Development of the conceptual framework resulted in two sets of questions to guide decisions about scalability, one for those considering whether to adopt the innovation (evidence adopters), and the other for those trying to decide on the optimal strategy for dissemination (evidence influencers). Keywords: diffusion of innovations

The context for the paper was the evaluation of a national program in Australia to investigate extended scopes of practice for health professionals (paramedics, physiotherapists, and nurses). The design of the evaluation involved a mixed-methods approach with multiple data sources. Four multidisciplinary models of extended scope of practice were tested over an 18-month period, involving 26 organizations, 224 health professionals, and 36 implementation sites. The evaluation focused on what could be learned to inform scaling up the extended scopes of practice on a national scale. The evaluation findings were used to develop a conceptual framework for use by clinicians, managers, and policy makers to determine appropriate strategies for scaling up effective innovations. Development of the framework was informed by the literature on the diffusion of innovations, particularly an understanding that certain attributes of innovations influence adoption. The framework recognizes the role played by three groups of stakeholders: evidence producers, evidence influencers, and evidence adopters. The use of the framework is illustrated with four case studies from the evaluation. The findings demonstrate how the scaling up of innovations can be influenced by three quite distinct approaches - letting adoption take place in an uncontrolled, unplanned, way; actively helping the process of adoption; or taking deliberate steps to ensure that adoption takes place. Development of the conceptual framework resulted in two sets of questions to guide decisions about scalability, one for those considering whether to adopt the innovation (evidence adopters), and the other for those trying to decide on the optimal strategy for dissemination (evidence influencers).

Explain the context and objectives of the 'Health Workforce Australia ‐ Expanded Scopes of Practice Program' • Describe the evaluation design • Discuss lessons learned about evaluating workforce reform

Eight organisations received funding through the Health Workforce Australia (HWA) Expanded Scopes of Practice (ESOP) Nurses in the Emergency Department (NED) sub-project. The common goal was to improve ED flow and reduce waiting times for patients with non-life-threatening presentations while providing safe and high quality care. Each organisation implemented a different model of ESOP nursing care in the Emergency Department (ED). Three priority groups of patients were targeted. Three sites focused on patients presenting with mental health issues, aiming to deal with their specialised needs efficiently and effectively. One site initiated an ED review clinic staffed by clinical nurse consultants. Four sites aimed to enhance nurses' skills and confidence in dealing with common presentations. Two were based in rural areas and an important goal was to prevent unnecessary transfers to larger, regional hospitals. Two targeted paediatric patients with the goal of facilitating faster assessment, treatment and discharge.