Advancing Nursing Informatics Through Clinical Placements: Pilot Study.

Work integrated learning in the space of nursing informatics is a new concept in Australian nursing curriculum. This study examined nursing students' experiences in the pilot nursing informatics clinical placement centered on electronic medical records, their use in patient care and clinical decision making. Students completed reflective diaries of their learning during the four-week placement. Data was explored by thematic analysis. Emergent themes included: importance of adequate training in using EMR; impact of EMR on nursing workflow and patient care; shaping future career choices; forming rewarding relationships; and potential for improvements. These themes will be used to enhance teaching and learning opportunities as this pilot placement evolves into permeant part of the nursing curriculum.

The use of telemedicine to aid in assessing patients prior to aeromedical retrieval to a tertiary referral centre.

We evaluated the effect of telemedicine compared with traditional telephone conversations when evaluating patients for aeromedical retrieval. A convenience sample of consecutive patients referred for retrieval from Palm Island over a six-month period was compared retrospectively with patients referred during the previous six months. There was a significant difference (P = 0.014) in the number of patients referred in the telemedicine period (113) compared to the previous six months (78), which may have been a seasonal fluctuation. There was a smaller proportion of aeromedical retrievals in the telemedicine period (78%) compared to the control period (92%), P = 0.009. Other significant differences between the telemedicine and control period included a larger proportion of patients not transferred at all (16% compared to 5%, P = 0.022) and a smaller percentage of rotary flights (52% compared with 73%, P = 0.004). Retrieval coordinators perceived that telemedicine use prevented 10 aeromedical flights and six night flights. The coordinators and referrers felt that telemedicine improved patient care in 75% and 65% of consultations, respectively. The coordinators felt that it improved communication with the referring doctor for 84% of the consultations.