Australian health review : a publication of the Australian Hospital Association
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The evaluation of a new model of care for older people with complex health care needs that aimed to reduce their use of acute hospital services. ⋯ A model of care that facilitates access to community health services and provides coordination between existing services reduces hospital demand.
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As Australian medical educators become more accustomed to the increasing pressures imposed upon them, there is a risk that the traditional educational relationship between a student and his or her teacher is replaced by a pure transactional relationship between a customer and his or her supplier. A large sample of medical students surveyed revealed that medical students seem to value directed rather than independent learning. ⋯ Medical students do not seem to have strong preferences when it comes to assessment, contradicting some of the fundamental suggestions of the recent educational literature, in which assessment is often viewed as a key element in the formation and the direction of learning. The fact that medical students seem to reject many of the paradigms of the psychology-based educational literature, at least based on the large sample surveyed at the University of New South Wales, suggests that caution should be used in the development of training programs for teachers in medical faculties, and that learning and teaching should ensure that students' expectations and teachers' training do not mismatch.
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We administered an electronic survey in October-November 2006 to gauge stakeholder perspectives on Australia's recently adopted health workforce policies. Nearly all of the 41 survey respondents (65% response rate) ranked workforce as very important to overall health policy. ⋯ The survey results suggest the need for clear goals and measurable outcomes. Although they represented different organisations and perspectives, the health workforce policy opinion leaders that participated in this survey reflected remarkable commonality in goals, measures, alternatives, and potential threats.
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This paper describes a service-based initiative to enhance capacity for evidence-based practice (EBP) in the South Western Sydney Area Health Service Division of Population Health. A working group planned an organisational response to a customised EBP needs assessment using the New South Wales Department of Health's framework for capacity building focussing on five key action areas; organisational development, workforce development, resource allocation, leadership and partnerships. ⋯ Because there was commitment and leadership from senior staff for the initiative, a comprehensive approach to building capacity for EBP in population health was possible. Evidence of impact needs to be collected in the future.