Patient group directions : the application and integration of knowledge in advancing nursing practice

Background: The introduction of Patient Group Directions (PGD) has changed significantly the way in which nurses can now administer prescription only medicines as a one-off for patients requiring this level of service. PGD’s are a written authority to administer drugs to patients that are not identified at the time of treatment. Aim: The aim of this project was to develop a PGD for use within an Outreach team to administer colloid boluses to patients presenting with hypovolemia. Method: Using a case exemplar this paper will discuss the development of a PGD using aspects of transitional change theory to highlight the potential barriers that were encountered. Implications for Practice: The implications for this PGD are wide reaching. First it now enables members from the nursing Outreach team to administer colloid fluid boluses to a prescribed patient cohort without the need for prescription. Second, it ensures the deteriorating patient has interventions initiated in a timely and appropriate manner to reduce inadvertent admission to high care areas. Last, it will improve inter-professional team-working and communication so much so that collaborative patient care reduces health costs and identifies earlier those patients requiring substantially greater nursing and medical input. Conclusion: The experience of developing a working PGD for fluid administration has meant that the Outreach team is able to respond to patients in a more effective way. In addition, it is the experience of developing this PGD that has enabled the team to contemplate other PGD’s in the execution of Outreach work.

A stakeholder analysis of one institution’s assuring learning experience – is the promise and the practice worth the price?

Universities around the world are rushing to implement assurance of learning policies and practices with varying degrees of success. One School investigated its own policy and practice development through the eyes of its key stakeholders to identify whether the practice was worth the price. Findings indicate that although the key stakeholders considered different needs and viewed their experiences differently, value did abound and was in the eye of the beholder.

On the topic of competency and excellence of our graduate engineers

Problem solving is an essential element of civil engineering education. It has been I observed that students are best able to understand civil engineering theory when there is a ' practical application of it. Teaching theory alone has led to lower levels of comprehension and motivation and a correspondingly higher rate of failure and "drop-out". This paper analyses the effectiveness of introducing practical design projects at an early stage within a civil engineering undergraduate program at Queensland University of Technology. In two of the essential basic subjects, Engineering Mechanics and Steel Structures, model projects which simulate realistic engineering exercises were introduced. Students were required to work in small groups to analyse, design and build the lightest I most efficient model bridges made of specific materials such as spaghetti, drinking straw, paddle pop sticks and balsa wood and steel columns for a given design loading/target capacity. The paper traces the success of the teaching strategy at each stage from its introduction through to the final student and staff evaluation.

Improving the teaching and learning of steel structural design

Engineering students are best able to understand theory when one explains it in relation to realistic problems and its practical applications. Teaching theory in isolation has led to lower levels of comprehension and motivation and a correspondingly higher rate of failure. At Queensland University of Technology, a number of new methods have been introduced recently to improve the teaching and learning of steel structural design at undergradt1ate level. In the basic steel structures subject a project-based teaching method was introduced in which the students were required to analyse, design and build the lightest I most efficient steel columns for a given target capacity. A design assignment involving simple, but real structures was also introduced in the basic steel structures subject. Both these exercises simulated realistic engineering problems from the early years of the course and produced a range of benefits. Improvements to the teaching and learning was also made through integration of a number of related structural engineering subjects and by the introduction of animated computer models and laboratory models. This paper presents the details of all these innovative methods which improved greatly the students' understanding of the steel structures design process.

A model for reflection in the pedagogic field of higher education

This chapter provides an introduction to the use of pedagogical patterns in capturing and sharing educational design experience. In higher education, helping students to learn to engage in productive reflection presents a complex set of challenges. Delicate balances must be found: too little structure and support for students’ reflective work can leave them floundering; too much, and some will remain dependent. Moreover, this is a dynamic teaching problem – scaffolding needs to be adjusted as students develop confidence and capability, which they will do at different rates. The model presented in this chapter embraces the three main elements that teachers can legitimately design, or help set in place, to support their students’ reflective activity: good tasks, the right tools, and appropriate divisions of labour. It delineates a complex, shifting architecture of tasks, tools and people, activities and outcomes associated with reflective learning. It shows how the designable elements of this complex mix can be described in patterns and pattern languages, which then become design resources for teachers’ own action, reflection and professional development.

Are Australia’s universities in deficit? A tale of generic managers, audit culture, and casualisation

Managerial changes to Australian universities have had considerable impact on employees. In this paper we consider some of these changes and apply a theory known as the democratic deficit to them. This theory was developed from the democratic critique of managerialism, as it has been applied in the public sector in countries with Westminster-type political systems. This deficit covers the weakening of accountability through politicisation, the denial of public values through the use of private sector performance practices, and the hollowing out of the state through the contracting out and privatisation of public goods and services, and the redefinition of citizens as customers and clients. We suggest that the increased power of managers, expansion of the audit culture, and the extensive use of contract employment seem to be weakening the democratic culture and role of universities in part by replacing accountability as responsibility with accountability as responsiveness.

To boldly go where no advertising academic has gone before

We are the future: A Proposal for a Special Topic Session from the Students of the World" began as an international collaboration between like-minded and technology-fearing advertising academics."Star to the right..and straight on 'til morning." Videoconferencing exponentially grows the possibilities and the boundaries of academic collaboration.

Developing knowledge and leadership in pre-service teacher education systems

Pre-service teacher education institutions are large and complex organizations, which are notoriously difficult to change. One factor is that many change efforts focus largely on individual pre-service teacher educators altering their practice. We report here on our experience using a model for effecting change, which views pre-service teacher education institutions and educators as a part of a much broader system. We identified numerous possibilities for, and constraints on, embedding change, but focus only on two in this paper: participants’ knowledge of change strategies and their leadership capacities. As a result of our study findings and researcher reflections, we argue that being a leader in an academic area within pre-service teacher education does not equate to leadership knowledge or skills to initiate and enact systems-wide change. Furthermore, such leadership capacities must be explicitly developed if education for sustainability is to become embedded in pre-service teacher education.

A humanistic approach to South African accounting education

Humanistic psychologist Carl Rogers made a distinction between traditional approaches and humanistic `learner-centred\' approaches to education. The traditional approach holds that educators impart their knowledge to willing and able recipients; whereas the humanistic approach holds that educators act as facilitators who assist learners in their learning processes. As a learning theory, humanism refers to the belief in the innate ability of humans to learn, and the creation of an environment in which students are given `Freedom to Learn\'. South African accounting education has, by and large, followed the traditional approach rather than the humanistic approach. This article attempts to expand on the existing references to a humanistic approach through a more detailed exposition and application of the educational theory of Carl Rogers in the context of South African accounting education. The prospects of a humanistic approach in accounting education are then discussed and some practical strategies provided in relation to a specific third-year undergraduate accounting unit offered in South Africa.

Alternative education engaging Indigenous young people: Flexi schooling in Queensland

This article will discuss some of the findings from a qualitative research project that explored the connections between alternative education and Indigenous learners. This study investigated how flexi school leaders reported they were supporting Indigenous young people to remain engaged in education. The results of the survey provide demographic data focusing on Indigenous participation in this sample of flexi schools. The results revealed that a high number of Indigenous young people are participating in flexi schools within this sample. Furthermore, a high number of Indigenous staff members are working in multiple roles within these schools. The implications of these findings are twofold. First, the current Indigenous education policy environment is focused heavily on ‘Closing the Gap’, emphasising the urgent need for significant improvement of educational outcomes for Indigenous young people. The findings from this study propose that flexi schools are playing a significant role in supporting Indigenous young people to remain engaged in education, yet there remains a limited focus on this within the literature and education policy. Second, the high participation rates of Indigenous young people and staff suggest an urgent need to explore this context through research. Further research will assist in understanding the culture of the flexi school context. Research should also explore why a high number of Indigenous young people and staff members participate in this educational context and how this could influence the approach to engagement of Indigenous young people in conventional school settings.

International students' perceptions of their experience of higher education in Australia: A focus on Saudi Arabian students in their first year of a business course in a major Australian university

This study examined perceptions of international students from Saudi Arabia living and studying in Australia. As a qualitative study that featured case study methodology, the thesis discusses the experiences of Saudi Arabian students in the light of two important factors: students' expectations prior to coming to Australia and the impact of intercultural competency on students' experiences. The study found that while study participants reported mostly positive experiences, there were challenges faced such as coping with English language and culture shock. The thesis culminates in a comprehensive list of implications for educators in the light of the study's findings.

Exploring links between pedagogical knowledge practices and student outcomes in STEM education for primary schools

Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education is an emerging initiative in Australia, particularly in primary schools. This qualitative research aimed to understand Year 4 students' involvement in an integrated STEM education unit that focused on science concepts (e.g., states of matter, testing properties of materials) and mathematics concepts (e.g., 3D shapes and metric measurements) for designing, making and testing a strong and safe medical kit to insulate medicines (ice cubes) at desirable temperatures. Data collection tools included student work samples, photographs, written responses from students and the teacher, and researcher notes. In a post-hoc analysis, a pedagogical knowledge practice framework (i.e., planning, timetabling, preparation, teaching strategies, content knowledge, problem solving, classroom management, questioning, implementation, assessment, and viewpoints) was used to explain links to student outcomes in STEM education. The study showed how pedagogical knowledge practices may be linked to student outcomes (knowledge, understanding, skill development, and values and attitudes) for a STEM education activity.

The transition from isolated, rural contexts to boarding school: Can school physical education play a part?

This study considers the transition of children from rurally isolated schooling environments to boarding school contexts. There is an assumption that these transitions are often carried out with little fuss. Moreover; there is some evidence to show this transition is beneficial to both child and school. However, contrary data suggest that parents of such children are deeply concerned about this transition from a sport and physical education perspective (Wright et al., 1998). This study attempts to address this under-researched area. Data were gathered using semi-structured interviews with teachers, children and parents in an isolated schooling context, and with teachers and children from a boarding school in a regional Queensland centre. Some videotape data of children in physical education and sporting contexts were also collected. The data indicate that the transition from rural contexts to highly competitive boarding school environments is relatively smooth, with physical education and sport being significant contributors to this process.