Emergency medicine Australasia : EMA
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Emerg Med Australas · Apr 2013
Blind prescribing: a study of junior doctors' prescribing preparedness in an Australian emergency department.
The present study examined junior residents' and registrars' preparedness to prescribe in an Australian ED. It measured the medication knowledge of participants and identified antecedent factors relevant to prescribing practice. ⋯ The majority of participants in the study had inadequate knowledge on medications they had most recently prescribed and medications most commonly prescribed in the ED. Junior doctors' perceptions of their medication knowledge were inflated in relation to their actual knowledge.
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Emerg Med Australas · Apr 2013
Review Comparative StudyReview article: Paramedic education opportunities and challenges in Australia.
Paramedic education has been undergoing major development in Australia in the past 20 years, with many different educational programmes being developed across all Australian jurisdictions. This paper aims to review the current paramedic education programmes in Australia to identify the similarities and differences between the programmes, and the strengths and challenges in these programmes. A literature search was performed using six scientific databases to identify any systematic reviews, literature reviews or relevant articles on the topic. ⋯ Included in this review are a total of 28 articles, which are focused around five major issues in paramedic education: (i) principle on paramedic programmes and the involvement of industry partners; (ii) clinical placements; (iii) contemporary methods of education; (iv) needs for specific programmes within paramedic education; and (v) articles related to the accreditation process for paramedic programmes. Paramedic programmes across Australian universities vary with many different practices, especially relating to clinical placements in the field. The further advances of the paramedic education programmes should aim to respond to population change and industry development, which would enhance the paramedic profession across Australia.