Engaging undergraduate nursing students in face-to-face tutorials

Chronic nursing shortages have placed increasing pressure on many nursing schools to recruit greater numbers of students with the consequence of larger class sizes. Larger class sizes have the potential to lead to student disengagement. This paper describes a case study that examined the strategies used by a group of nursing lecturers to engage students and to overcome passivity in a Bachelor of Nursing programme. A non-participant observer attended 20 tutorials to observe five academics deliver four tutorials each. Academics were interviewed both individually and as a group following the completion of all tutorial observations. All observations, field notes, interviews and focus groups were coded separately and major themes identified. From this analysis two broad categories emerged: getting students involved; and engagement as a struggle. Academics used a wide variety of techniques to interest and involve students. Additionally, academics desired an equal relationship with students. They believed that both they and the students had some power to influence the dynamics of tutorials and that neither party had ultimate power. The findings of this study serve to re-emphasise past literature which suggests that to engage students, the academics must also engage.

Transition to intensive care nursing: A state-wide, workplace centred program-12 years on

In November 1999, the Queensland Health (QH) Transition to Practice Nurse Education Program - Intensive Care (TPNEP-IC) was initiated in QH Intensive Care Units (ICUs) across Queensland. This 12-month, state-wide, workplace based education program has set minimum standards for intensive care nursing education and therefore minimum standards for intensive care nursing practice in QH. In the 12 years of operation, 824 nurses have completed TPNEP-IC, 761 achieving academic credit status and 453 utilising this academic credit status to undertake postgraduate study in critical/intensive care nursing at three Queensland universities. These outcomes were achieved through the appointment of nurse educators within ICUs who, through a united and strong commitment to this state-wide approach formed collaborative professional networks, which resulted in the development, implementation and maintenance of the program. Furthermore, these networks enabled a framework of support for discussion and dissemination of evidence based practice, to endorse quality processes for TPNEP-IC and to nurture leadership potential among educators. Challenges to overcome included obtaining adequate resources to support all aspects of the program, gaining local management and administrative support, and embedding TPNEP-IC within ICU culture. The 12 years of operation of the program have demonstrated its long term sustainability. The program is being launched through a new blended learning approach utilising e-learning strategies. To capitalise on the current success, a strong commitment by all stakeholders will be required to ensure the ongoing sustainability of the program.

An exploratory study into audit challenges in IT governance : a Delphi approach

Information technology (IT) has been playing a powerful role in creating a competitive advantage for organisations over the past decades. This role has become proportionally greater over time as expectations for IT investments to drive business opportunities keep on rising. However, this reliance on IT has also raised concerns about regulatory compliance, governance and security. IT governance (ITG) audit leverages the skills of IS/IT auditors to ensure that IT initiatives are in line with the business strategies. ITG audit emerged as part of performance audit to provide an assessment of the effective implementation of ITG. This research attempts to empirically examine the ITG audit challenges in the Australian public sector. Based on literature research and Delphi research, this paper provides insights regarding the impact of, and required effort to address these challenges. The authors also present the ten major ITG audit challenges facing Australian public sector organisations today.

An analysis of the differences in audit processes used in the audit of nonprofit and profit organisations

Nonprofits constitute a large part of collective behaviour in society. Presently there is little formal research addressing the role of audits in nonprofit organisations. Before models can be developed for the production of nonprofit auditing information, it is necessary to examine the present conduct of nonprofit audits. The Australian Accounting Research Foundation - Legislation Review Board has released a position paper on the Association Incorporation Acts in Australia - the most frequently used legal form for nonprofit organisations. The Board is addressing the issue of financial statement reporting including audit. This is coinciding with the investigations resulting from the collapse of the National Safety Council (Victorian Division), (NSC). The NSC, a nonprofit organisation formed as a company limited by guarantee, is in liquidation and the auditors are being sued for damages resulting from their alleged failure to perform their duties adequately.

Perceptions of clinical safety climate of the multicultural nursing workforce in Saudi Arabia : a cross-sectional survey

Purpose The purpose of this study is to explore the safety climate perceptions of the multicultural nursing workforce, and to investigate the influence of diversity of the multicultural nursing workforce on clinical safety in a large tertiary hospital in Saudi Arabia. Background Working in a multicultural environment is challenging. Each culture has its own unique characteristics and dimensions that shape the language, lifestyle, beliefs, values, customs, traditions, and patterns of behaviour, which expatriate nurses must come to terms with. However, cultural diversity in the health care environment can potentially affect the quality of care and patient safety. Method A mixed-method case study (survey, interview and document analysis) was employed. A primary study phase entailed the administration of the Safety Climate Survey (SCS). A population sampling strategy was used and 319 nurses participated, yielding a 76.8% response rate. Descriptive and inferential statistics (Kruskal–Wallis test) were used to analyse survey data. Results The data revealed the nurses’ perceptions of the clinical safety climate in this multicultural environment was unsafe, with a mean score of 3.9 out of 5. No significant difference was found between the age groups, years of nursing experience and their perceptions of the safety climate in this context. A significant difference was observed between the national background categories of nurses and perceptions of safety climate. Conclusion Cultural diversity within the nursing workforce could have a significant influence on perceptions of clinical safety. These findings have the potential to inform policy and practice related to cultural diversity in Saudi Arabia.

Encouraging, assisting and time to EAT : improved nutritional intake for older medical patients receiving Protected Mealtimes and/or additional nursing feeding assistance

Background & Aims: Inadequate feeding assistance and mealtime interruptions during hospitalisation may contribute to malnutrition and poor nutritional intake in older people. This study aimed to implement and compare three interventions designed to specifically address mealtime barriers and improve energy intakes of medical inpatients aged ≥65 years. Methods: Pre-post study compared three mealtime assistance interventions: PM: Protected Mealtimes with multidisciplinary education; AIN: additional assistant-in-nursing (AIN) with dedicated meal role; PM+AIN: combined intervention. Dietary intake of 254 patients (pre: n=115, post: n=141; mean age 80±8) was visually estimated on a single day in the first week of hospitalisation and compared with estimated energy requirements. Assistance activities were observed and recorded. Results: Mealtime assistance levels significantly increased in all interventions (p<0.01). Post-intervention participants were more likely to achieve adequate energy intake (OR=3.4, p=0.01), with no difference noted between interventions (p=0.29). Patients with cognitive impairment or feeding dependency appeared to gain substantial benefit from mealtime assistance interventions. Conclusions: Protected Mealtimes and additional AIN assistance (implemented alone or in combination) may produce modest improvements in nutritional intake. Targeted feeding assistance for certain patient groups holds promise; however, alternative strategies are required to address the complex problem of malnutrition in this population.

WSUD application audit at Gold Coast City

In recent years, Water Sensitive Urban Design (WSUD) has been strongly promoted in South East Queensland to mitigate quantity and quality issues in relation to stormwater. Gold Coast City Council has implemented WSUD devices widely for stormwater management for a number of years and is planning to continue this practice into the future. According to the planning policy of Gold Coast City Council, the adoption of WSUD practices is now mandatory for any new development within the city. As a result, Council is expected to be in possession of tens of millions of dollars of these assets in the future and will be responsible for their maintenance and long-term management. Any shortcoming in the implementation of best practice can potentially result in substantial liability for the Council in the future. However, there has been limited evaluation of WSUD systems in relation to their performance, long-term maintenance, and current knowledge gaps. It was considered that periodical audits of WSUD applications on the Gold Coast is vital to ensure that Council’s WSUD policies are continually improved to new learning and best practice is implemented and risk to Council is mitigated. After a series of stakeholder interviews within Council to understand current practical issues (weaknesses and strengths) in relation to the implementation of WSUD on the Gold Coast, a field audit comprising of condition assessment of eleven WSUD systems within four suburbs was undertaken to identify weaknesses and strengths in WSUD implementation on the Gold Coast. The outcomes of this study are presented in this paper.