The continuing challenge of providing drug information services to diminish the knowledge--practice gap in medical practice.

Information must be collected, evaluated and utilized to support every qualified activity. Medicine, with a written scientific tradition stretching back more than 2,000 years, is no exception. Here, we discuss a number of important items associated with the establishment of a drug information centre run by clinical pharmacologists and information pharmacists, serving a broad demand, mainly among clinical specialists.

Long-term effect of aspirin on colorectal cancer incidence and mortality: 20-year follow-up of five randomised trials.

Background: High-dose aspirin (≥500 mg daily) reduces long-term incidence of colorectal cancer, but adverse effects might limit its potential for long-term prevention. The long-term effectiveness of lower doses (75-300 mg daily) is unknown. We assessed the effects of aspirin on incidence and mortality due to colorectal cancer in relation to dose, duration of treatment, and site of tumour.

Mistaken, misshapen and mythical images of nurse education: creating a shared identity for clinical nurse educator practice.

The hospital-based clinical nurse educator is pivotal to the integration of formal learning and clinical practice. Clinical nurse educators are generally considered to be expert nurses within a particular clinical environment; however, many of those who are expert clinicians suffer some loss of identity when assuming clinical teaching roles. It is necessary to facilitate the expression of identity in order to foster collective agency and to empower individuals and groups.

Returning to nursing practice: a learning journey.

In response to the current shortage in the Australian nursing workforce, educational strategies that support organisational investment in nurses returning to the workforce are described. For many of these nurses, contemporary roles and responsibilities present a dramatic departure from their previous experiences. This hospital-based Return to Practice Programme described in this paper is pivotal to the integration of formal learning with current clinical practice.