Implementation and utilisation of Australian critical care practice standards: What do we know?

Background: The Australian College of Critical Care Nurses published the third edition of practice standards (PSs) for specialist critical care nurses in 2015. Higher-education providers currently use these standards to inform critical care curricula; however, how critical care nurses perceive and use PSs in clinical practice is unknown.

Objectives: The objective of this study was to explore critical care nurses' perceptions about the Australian College of Critical Care Nurses PS for specialty critical care nursing, to understand how the PSs are used in clinical practice, and what opportunities exist to support their implementation.

Novel COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy and acceptance, and associated factors, amongst medical students: a scoping review.

Medical students are likely to be exposed to COVID-19 patients so achieving high vaccination coverage rates for this group of healthcare workers is important, as is their potential as vaccination role models. The aim of this scoping review was to evaluate the current literature to determine the rates of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy and acceptance, and associated factors, amongst medical students. Systematic searches of the Medline Ovid, Embase, PubMed, and Education Resources Information Centre (ERIC) online databases was conducted for relevant articles with keywords: 'COVID-19', 'vaccine hesitancy & acceptance' and 'medical students'.

Teaching medical students how to interact with the pharmaceutical industry: A scoping review.

The influence of the pharmaceutical industry is of significant concern in physician prescribing decisions; medical students may not be fully equipped with the knowledge or skills to manage interactions with industry prior to graduation. The aim of this study was to evaluate the characteristics of educational interventions undertaken to improve students' knowledge, attitudes, and skills in managing interactions with the pharmaceutical industry. A systematic search of Ovid Medline, EMBASE, CINAHL and ERIC databases identified 3210 primary studies with keywords related to "pharmaceutical industry" and "undergraduate medical education".

Pregnancy and parental leave policies at Australian and New Zealand medical schools.

Background: Research into how medical schools support students who are pregnant or with current parental responsibilities has been mostly limited to the US context.

Objectives: To review pregnancy and parental leave policies for students at Australian/New Zealand medical schools.

Design: A cross-sectional survey.

Burnout in rehabilitation medicine trainees: a call for more research.

Burnout is recognised as a significant occupational hazard for medical professionals. For graduate trainees, across various medical specialties, there is growing evidence burnout results in personal harm and reduces the quality of patient care. Rehabilitation medicine, with its challenge of emotional exhaustion bought about by greater involvement in patient psychosocial well-being over a prolonged period, is significantly under-represented in research into burnout prevalence, impact and prevention strategies.

Assessing a Capstone Research Project in Medical Training: Examiner Consistency Using Generic Versus Domain-Specific Rubrics.

Rubrics are utilized extensively in tertiary contexts to assess student performance on written tasks; however, their use for assessment of research projects has received little attention. In particular, there is little evidence on the reliability of examiner judgements according to rubric type (general or specific) in a research context. This research examines the concordance between pairs of examiners assessing a medical student research project during a two-year period employing a generic rubric followed by a subsequent two-year implementation of task-specific rubrics.

Determining Expected Research Skills of Medical Students on Graduation: a Systematic Review.

Background: Global interest in research skills in undergraduate medical education is growing. There is no consensus regarding expected research skills of medical students on graduation. We conducted a systematic review to determine the aims and intended learning outcomes (ILOs) of mandatory research components of undergraduate medical curricula incorporating the teaching, assessment, and evaluation methods of these programs.

Teaching complementary and alternative medicine in undergraduate medical education: a scoping review.

Objectives: This scoping review explores the extent to which undergraduate medical education have incorporated complementary and alternative medicine in their curricula and evaluates the teaching, delivery and assessment approaches used.

Methods: ERIC, Ovid Medline and Pubmed databases were searched with keywords related to "complementary and alternative medicine" and "undergraduate medical education" for relevant articles published until August 2020. Data extraction included the presence/absence of complementary and alternative medicine integration, program duration, instructor background, and assessment methods.

Defining competency for Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists training: An exploratory study of Victorian Integrated Training Program coordinators' understanding of competency.

Background: Competency-based medical education (CBME) is increasingly employed by postgraduate training programs worldwide, including obstetrics and gynaecology. Focusing on assessment of outcomes rather than time-in-training, and utilising a well-defined curricular framework, CBME aims to train doctors capable of meeting the needs of modern society. When this study was undertaken, in 2019, the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RANZCOG) had a time-based curriculum and was due to undergo a curriculum review starting in 2020.

Motivations & Experiences of Postgraduate Anatomy Training.

This article was migrated. The article was marked as recommended. Anatomy teaching at medical schools has undergone significant changes in philosophy, and reduction in content, in recent years.

Analysing clinical reasoning characteristics using a combined methods approach.

Background: Despite a major research focus on clinical reasoning over the last several decades, a method of evaluating the clinical reasoning process that is both objective and comprehensive is yet to be developed.The aim of this study was to test whether a dual approach, using two measures of clinical reasoning, the Clinical Reasoning Problem (CRP) and the Script Concordance Test (SCT), provides a valid, reliable and targeted analysis of clinical reasoning characteristics to facilitate the development of diagnostic thinking in medical students.

Methods: Three groups of participants, general practitioners, and third and fourth (final) year medical students completed 20 on-line clinical scenarios -10 in CRP and 10 in SCT format.

Early identification of autism: a comparison of the Checklist for Autism in Toddlers and the Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers.

There is still debate as to what is the most effective strategy for identifying the early signs of autism in very young children. Two levels of screening having been advocated: broad-based developmental surveillance and targeted screening. Two popular tools for use in developmental surveillance are the Checklist for Autism in Toddlers (CHAT) and the Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers (M-CHAT).

Use of video feedback intervention in an inpatient perinatal psychiatric setting to improve maternal parenting.

This study utilizes video feedback to improve maternal parenting behavior in clinically depressed mothers admitted to a perinatal inpatient psychiatric unit. Depressed mothers (n = 74) were randomized to "video" (n = 25), "verbal" (n = 26), or "standard care" (n = 23). "Video" mothers were taped playing with their infant; interaction was reviewed with a mental health specialist.

The requirement for bioscience knowledge in medical education.

The recent 100-year anniversary of the Flexner review and the release of the Australian Medical Education Study have stimulated vigorous debate about the role of bioscience knowledge in medical education. Two critical questions define debate in this area: does bioscience learning assist in educating medical students to become competent doctors, and, if so, what are the most effective teaching and learning methods to facilitate this outcome? There is tacit acceptance that specific bioscience knowledge is critical for the development of clinical expertise; however, there are few empirical data to support this notion. Two differing theories have been proposed to describe the role of bioscience learning in the development of clinical reasoning skills - the "two-worlds" model and the "encapsulation" model.

Review of patients admitted to a specialist inpatient parent-infant psychiatric service.

Objective: The aim of this paper is to review the clinical, demographic and psychosocial characteristics of consecutive admissions to a specialist inpatient parent-infant psychiatric service during a 2-year period.

Methods: Data from consecutive admissions between January 2006 and December 2007 were evaluated in terms of primary and secondary diagnosis, demographics and psychosocial risk, psychiatric history, referral source, inpatient care and child protection involvement.

Results: The majority of admissions (n = 149) recorded during the audit period were for a major depressive disorder (n = 69; 46%), schizophrenia (n = 29; 19%) or postnatal psychosis (n = 19; 13%); the most common comorbidities were a physical health problem (35%), substance abuse (24%) or borderline personality disorder (15%).

Primary care physician's attitudes and practices regarding antidepressant use during pregnancy: a survey of two countries.

Little is known about the practices of primary care physicians regarding the prescribing of antidepressants during pregnancy. An anonymous survey was administered to a group of nonrandomly selected Australian general practitioners (n = 61 out of 77) and randomly selected Canadian family physicians (n = 35 out of 111). Responses to a hypothetical scenario and questions regarding beliefs about the use of antidepressant medication during pregnancy were collected.

Client evaluation of a specialist inpatient parent-infant psychiatric service.

Objective: The aim of this paper was to collect feedback on a specialist parent-infant psychiatric service in terms of client satisfaction with inpatient treatment, and the impact on health outcomes of providing written information about available support options in the community following discharge.

Methods: Women (n = 37) from consecutive admissions between January 2006 and December 2007 were contacted by telephone and administered a service quality evaluation questionnaire.

Results: Women were happy with the quality of inpatient care provided but suggested areas of improvement included continuity of staff during the inpatient stay and better communication between inpatient and outpatient services post-discharge.

Bipolar affective disorder in the postnatal period: investigating the role of sleep.

Objectives: Psychotic disorders have a high rate of relapse in the postpartum period for reasons that are unclear, but may be related to changes in sleep patterns that occur during pregnancy and after birth. Understanding of the influence of sleep on postpartum psychosis presentation is limited. The aim of the current study was to investigate changes in sleep/wake activity during pregnancy and the postpartum period in women with a history of psychosis.

A geographic comparison of the prevalence and risk factors for postnatal depression in an Australian population.

Objective: This study sought to compare the contribution of demographic and psychosocial variables on the prevalence of, and risk for, PND in urban and rural women.

Methods: Demographic, psychosocial risk factor and mental health data was collected from urban (n=908) and rural (n=1,058) women attending perinatal health services in Victoria, Australia. Initial analyses determined similarities and significant differences between demographic and psychosocial variables.

Antenatal risk factors for postnatal depression: a large prospective study.

Background: This study measured antenatal risk factors for postnatal depression in the Australian population, both singly and in combination. Risk factor data were gathered antenatally and depressive symptoms measured via the beyondblue National Postnatal Depression Program, a large prospective cohort study into perinatal mental health, conducted in all six states of Australia, and in the Australian Capital Territory, between 2002 and 2005.

Methods: Pregnant women were screened for symptoms of postnatal depression at antenatal clinics in maternity services around Australia using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) and a psychosocial risk factor questionnaire that covered key demographic and psychosocial information.

Postnatal mental health of women giving birth in Australia 2002-2004: findings from the beyondblue National Postnatal Depression Program.

Objectives: To describe the postnatal mental health status of women giving birth in Australia 2002-2004 at 6-8 weeks postpartum.

Method: Women were recruited from 43 health services across Australia. Women completed a demographic questionnaire and an Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) in pregnancy; the latter was repeated at 6-8 weeks following childbirth.