Plants predict the mineral mines - A methodological approach to use indicator plant species for the discovery of mining sites.

Introduction: There has been limited research conducted on the identifications/methodological approaches of using plant species as indicators of the presence of economically, important mineral resources.

Objectives: This study set out to answer the following questions (1) Do specific plant species and species assemblages indicate the presence of mineral deposits? and (2) if yes, then what sort of ecological, experimental, and statistical procedures could be employed to identify such indicators?

Methods: Keeping in mind these questions, the vegetation of subtropical mineral mines sites in northern Pakistan were evaluated using Indicator Species Analysis (ISA), Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA) and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM).

Results: A total of 105 plant species belonging to 95 genera and 43 families were recorded from the three mining regions.

Ethnobotanical profiling of the medicinal flora of Kotli, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan: Empirical reflections on multinomial logit specifications.

Objective: To report the indigenous people's uses of plants from a multidimensional perspective in a remote area where strong ethnobotanical cultural practices prevail.

Methods: An ethnobotanical survey was conducted in the field during 2014-2016. Ethnobotanical data were gathered from 182 informants through oral interviews and semi-structured questionnaires.

Sustainable utilization and conservation of plant biodiversity in montane ecosystems: the western Himalayas as a case study.

Background: Conservation of the unique biodiversity of mountain ecosystems needs trans-disciplinary approaches to succeed in a crowded colloquial world. Geographers, conservationists, ecologists and social scientists have, in the past, had the same conservation goals but have tended to work independently. In this review, the need to integrate different conservation criteria and methodologies is discussed.

Medicinal flora and ethnoecological knowledge in the Naran Valley, Western Himalaya, Pakistan.

Background: Mountain ecosystems all over the world support a high biological diversity and provide home and services to some 12% of the global human population, who use their traditional ecological knowledge to utilise local natural resources. The Himalayas are the world's youngest, highest and largest mountain range and support a high plant biodiversity. In this remote mountainous region of the Himalaya, people depend upon local plant resources to supply a range of goods and services, including grazing for livestock and medicinal supplies for themselves.

How well prepared are Australian dentists for retirement? A survey of practitioners aged 50 and above.

Aims: To determine how financially prepared Australian dentists are for retirement.

Methods: Information was collected in the Dentist Retirement Intentions Study from members of the New South Wales branch of the Australian Dental Association, all of whom were aged over 50 years. One way ANOVAs were used to test for differences between groups of variables.

Retirement intentions of dentists in New South Wales, Australia.

Background: The Australian dental workforce is ageing and current shortages have been predicted to worsen with the retirement of the growing contingent of older dentists. However, these predictions have been based on retirement trends of previous generations and little is known about the retirement intentions of today's older dentists.

Methods: The Dentist Retirement Intentions Survey was mailed to 768 NSW Australian Dental Association members aged over 50 and achieved a response rate of 20%.

Where do students in the health professions want to work?

Background: Rural and remote areas of Australia are facing serious health workforce shortages. While a number of schemes have been developed to improve recruitment to and retention of the rural health workforce, they will be effective only if appropriately targeted. This study examines the factors that most encourage students attending rural clinical placements to work in rural Australia, and the regions they prefer.

Doctors trading places: the Isolated Practitioner Peer Support Scheme.

We describe the outcomes of a practice exchange in which an isolated general practitioner from a remote region traded work and living arrangements with a rural group practice GP. An exchange can provide an opportunity for mid- and senior-career professionals to refresh their outlook on their careers. Involving the rural medical workforce in practice exchanges can enable the development of peer networks that can improve retention of isolated practitioners in Australia.

Improving vaccination cold chain in the general practice setting.

Background: This study compared temperature control in different types of vaccine storing refrigerators in general practice and tested knowledge of general practice staff in vaccine storage requirements.

Methods: Temperature data loggers were set to serially record the temperature within vaccine refrigerators in 28 general practices, recording at 12 minute intervals over a period of 10 days on each occasion. A survey of vaccine storage knowledge and records of divisions of general practice immunisation contacts were also obtained.

Twelve tips on rural medical placements: what has worked to make them successful.

Providing undergraduate and post-graduate rural training opportunities aids rural medical recruitment. Medical schools that provide rural educational placements, and the communities that host those placements, must give serious consideration to the structure and supports required to ensure both quality and enjoyment of rural placements. This paper presents tips for success gleaned from the results of experience in providing rural placement opportunities to medical students throughout their medical school experience.

Medical schools can cooperate: a new joint venture to provide medical education in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales.

The medical schools at the University of Western Sydney, University of Wollongong and University of Sydney have developed a joint program for training medical students through placements of up to 40 weeks on the New South Wales North Coast. The new partnership agency - the North Coast Medical Education Collaboration - builds on the experience of regional doctors and their academic partners. A steering committee has identified the availability and support requirements of local practitioners to provide training, and has undertaken a comparative mapping of learning objectives and assessments from the courses of the three universities.

21st century medical education.

Australian universities provide good examples of how to meet the growing challenges to the training of doctors that have resulted from information overload in traditional curricula, new models of care, including multidisciplinary team dynamics, and the rigours of evidence-based practice.

Decision criteria in health professionals choosing a rural practice setting: development of the Careers in Rural Health Tracking Survey (CIRHTS).

Introduction: Rural background and training have previously been found to increase the likelihood of rural practice. However, practitioners of many health professions remain in shortage in rural and remote Australia. This study builds on previous work in that it includes medical, nursing and allied health professions, considers the role of the health professional's family in employment decisions, and includes a broader array of factors influencing employment preference and the preferred location of practice.

Workforce development: planning what you need starts with knowing what you have.

Health workforce planning and research occurs at both national and state/territory levels, but identifying current workforce availability and future workforce need is more problematic at a regional level. We report on the practical approach to workforce development taken by North Coast Area Health Service (NCAHS) in NSW, Australia. The NCAHS plan considers the impact of workforce ageing, changes in casemix and volume predicted by population demographics, staff level guidelines associated with service enhancements, and changes in service delivery models driven by the need for economic efficiencies, greater investment in disease prevention and medical technological advancements.

Teaching by videoconference: a commentary on best practice for rural education in health professions.

This article offers a primer on how to get started in videoconferencing, focusing on practical approaches to technical and protocol issues. The technical capabilities of videoconferencing systems, linked with initiatives supporting greater rural access to broadband, means videoconferencing is expanding rapidly as a health education tool. Forethought allows the purchase of the most appropriate equipment, reducing costs overall and increasing the functionality of the system.