Thursday, October 15. 2009
Deans Report September 2009
Professor Hal Swerissen
This month the Faculty, with the rest of the University participated in the AQUA review. I would like to thank all those staff in the Faculty who took part. This is an important process for improving the outcomes for students and our research effort.
The Faculty continues to make excellent progress in the implementation of our new curriculum model. The review of the Common First Year has highlighted a number of strengths and some important areas that need improvement. A number of changes have been made in response to the semester one evaluation. A further review will be held in semester two and the results will again be used to make improvements. I would like to thank Matt Oates and the first year team for the excellent work they have done in implementing and reviewing the program.
I have conducted a number of meetings with schools and departments to discuss the introduction of the clinical school network model for practicums with staff. The overall framework for the new model is firming up and the Faculty has a number of detailed discussions about the implementation of the model underway with health agencies. I look forward to being able to report on the outcomes of these discussions toward the end of the year.
The La Trobe Rural Health School implementation is proceeding. A formal proposal to establish the School at the beginning of 2010 has been agreed by the Faculty and will shortly be considered within the University. The positions of Head of School, Professor of Nursing and Head of Department and Professor of Allied Health and Head of Department have been advertised. The anatomy and physiology facility in Bendigo is being built, user group meetings on the design of the buildings are being held and the curriculum structure of the rural clinical school network is being finalised. I anticipate consulting with staff about organisational and governance matters relating to the school in the near future.
The building works for the new student hub in health sciences buildings one and two have gone out to tender. The new building will provide state of the art administrative space to support students and staff. As this project proceeds there will be consultation with staff to manage the building works over the next six months or so.
- Alternate format
- Dean's Report September 2009 (PDF 1.53MB)
Out and About
This month I have been out and about on the following activities:
- Guest Editorial in VHA Health Matters;
- Attended Tertiary Education Plan, Bendigo;
- Premier roundtable on health reform;
- State Health Minister roundtable on health reform;
- Spoke to Albury Wodonga GP network on "To reform or not to reform: options for Aust Health system";
- Guest Speaker Victorian Divisions of General Practice forum ”Primary Care Strategy”;
- Guest speaker at Library planning day.
Staff Publications
I have received notification of the following publications and conference presentations since our last newsletter. Congratulations to the staff who have been involved.
Jennings N, Lee G, Chou K, Keating S. A survey of patient satisfaction in a metropolitan Emergency Department: comparing nurse practitioners and emergency physicians. International Journal of Nursing Practice 2009; 15 (3): 213-218.
Lee G. Comorbid illness affects health-related quality of life after Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery. Australian Journal of Advanced Nursing 2009; 26 (3): 24-31.
Free B, Lee G, Bystrzycki A. Literature review of studies on the effectiveness of Nurse Practitioners ability to order and interpret X-rays. Australasian Journal of Emergency Nursing 2009; 12 (1): 8-15. Doi:10.1016/j.aenj.2008.11.004.
Azzopardi S, Lee G. Quality of life two years after Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Surgery. Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing 2009; 24(3):232-240. Impact Factor=1.47.
Lee G, Metcalf S. Building research capacity through a hospital-based clinical school of nursing. Nurse Education Today 2009; 29 (3): 350-356. Impact factor =0.702.
Lee G. “Commentary on Lau-Walker MO, Cowie MR, Roughton M. Coronary heart disease patients’ perception of their symptoms and sense of control are associated with their quality of life three years following hospital discharge”. Journal of Clinical Nursing. Accepted April 2009. Impact Factor=1.376.
Davis P, Lin V, and Gauld R. "Public health in Australia and New Zealand" in Beaglehole and Bonita (eds). Global Public Health. Oxford University Press. 2009.
Lin V. Looking Back to Look Forward: Lessons from Chinese medicine registration in Victoria. Australian Journal of Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine. 4, 1, 2009. it was based on a keynote address at the Australian Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine Association national conference in May.
Sovan Dey article on Stem cell therapy is published in national news paper. Here is the link for it. http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=101372.
Carey, L.B., Robinson, P. Cohen, J. (2009) Organ procurement and health care chaplaincy in Australia, Journal of Religion and Health, On-line, DOI 10.1007/s10943-009-9279-1 [In press].
Australian e-Journal for the Advancement of Mental Health (AeJAMH), Volume 8, Issue 2, 2009 ISSN: 1446-7984 Toward an understanding of how art making can facilitate mental health recovery. Theresa Van Lith, 1, 2 Patricia Fenner1 and Margot J Schofield 1, 3.
Bauer, M., Nay, R., & McAuliffe, L. (2009) Catering to love, sex and intimacy in residential aged care: What information is provided to consumers? Sexuality and Disability, 27, 3-9.
Bauer, M., Fitzgerald, L., Haesler, E., & Manfrin, M. (2009). Hospital discharge planning for frail older people and their family. Are we delivering best practice? A review of the evidence. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 18, (18), 2539-2546.
Conference Presentations
Kenny, A. (2009) Nursing shortages: current policy is no easy solution. Core address NET Conference, Fitzwilliam College, 7-10 September, Cambridge, UK.
Kenny, A. (2009) Conference chair. Partnership Working Theme, NET Conference, Fitzwilliam College, 7- 10 September, Cambridge, UK.
Bish, M., Kenny, A., Gussy, M., Keith, B., Kidd, S., McKinstry, C. (2009) A partnership approach to improving oral health outcomes for mental health clients. NET Conference, Fitzwilliam College, 7-10 September, Cambridge, UK.
Carey, L.B. (2009) "Chaplaincy Reporting and Coding", RAAF Chaplains Conference 17-21 August, RAAF Base Glenbrook, Sydney, NSW.
Liang Z. and Howard P. ‘Strategies to improve the use of evidence in health management decision making’, ACSHE National Congress, Aug 2009, Gold Coast.
Liang. Z. (2009) ‘The practice of evidence-based decision making among healthcare managers in Victoria: implications to researchers and research institutions’. SHAPE Symposium, July 2009, Glenelg.
Chandana Unnithan participated in the national Health Informatics Conference and presented the following research paper, published in the refereed proceedings by Health Informatics Society of Australia.
Unnithan C, Smith R, Fraunholz B (2009) Maximising the Benefits of RFID Integration in Clinical Contexts: A Linear Conduit, HIC’09 – Frontiers of Health Informatics Conference, National Convention Centre, 19-21 August, Canberra, Australia.
Vivian Lin gave the lunch time address at the annual symposium of the National Institute for Complementary Medicine in June, on "National registration of Chinese medicine – implications for researchers, practitioners, and industry".
Vivian Lin was an invited speaker on the gender equity and health panel at the International Society for Equity in Health meeting, in Crete, in June.
Dr Michael Bauer has been invited to speak at an international symposium in October organised by the Canadian Research Network for Care in the Community in Toronto. Event: Keep on Rockin: Sexuality and Aging.
Petrie, E. (2009). Paper - “Mindfulness of Care” Paper submitted for the Australian College of Mental Health Nurses. September 29 – October 3.
Page, K., Edward, K., Hamilton, B., Gilbert, M., Davidson, P., Salzberg, M., Wilson, A., Castle, D., &Worrall-Carter, L. (2009) – Paper - A medical record audit of current depression and anxiety screening practices in those with coronary heart disease. St Vincent’s Research Week. Melbourne, August 25.
Edward, K., Page, K., Hamilton, B., Gilbert, M., Davidson, P., Salzberg, M., Wilson, A., Castle, D., & Worrall-Carter, L. (2009). -Paper- Screening For Depression and Anxiety - Physical and Mental Health Considerations. Paper submitted for the Australian College of Mental Health Nurses. September 29 – October 3.
Deegan, J (2009) A View of the Cost of Failure to Identify and Utilise the Professional Skills of Culturally & Linguistically Diverse Nurses. Royal College of Nursing Annual Conference Melbourne: September 2-4 2009.
Research – funding/grant success
Professor Bigby has received the following research grant:-Carling- Jenkins, R., Icono, T, Torr, J, Bigby, C. Alzheimer’s Disease in People with Down Syndrome: Developing a Model of Care. Alzheimers Dementia Research Program.$20.000.
Awards
The following staff have received awards. Congratulations!
Dr. Zhanming Liang obtained the Fellowship of the Australian College of Health Service Executives in Aug 2009.
Lynne McPherson received an award for 'excellence in service and commitment to Child Protection' from DHS Child Protection during Child Protection week.
Professor Christine Bigby has been appointed as a Visiting Professor in the Tizard Centre, University of Kent, UK from Nov 2009 to Sept 2014.
Teaching
Vivian Lin has been teaching a short course version of our health promotion leadership program (Prolead program) at the Swiss Summer Public Health School, University of Lugano, on Aug 16-22.
Inaugural Nurse Educator Workshop
Nursing and Midwifery recently held the Inaugural Nurse Educator Workshop for sessional staff on 27 August 2009. The feedback was very good and thanks to Dawn Whittall for developing and launching this initiative. Facilitators included John Hannon, Judy Lyons, and Dawn Whittall. Results of the evaluation are as follows - Number Enrolled = 20, Number Attended = 17, Yield Rate = 85.0%; Number of Respondents = 15; Response Rate = 88.2 %. More specifically, 80% of participants rated the overall value of the educational content high to very high and 80% rating the quality of the session high to very high. In terms of the presentation of the workshop 100% participants rated this high to very high.
News from Bendigo
Bendigo continues to receive significant media coverage for the new regional programs in speech pathology, podiatry and paramedics, including The Age, My Careers for the new Bachelor of Health Science/Master of Paramedic Practice course.
Bendigo campus has also successfully launched a Student Mentoring Program involving 17 year 11 students from Bendigo Senior Secondary College. La Trobe students from various FHS courses together with psychology and pharmacy students will provide mentoring for secondary students, giving them insights into university life and training for their relevant health profession. Dr Rob Townsend has provided the training sessions for this program.
The Faculty will also be involved with the Bendigo South East College year 9 Aspire Program in 2010 which is a similar program to what is conducted at the Bundoora campus with Ivanhoe Grammar students.
Bendigo South East College and Bendigo Senior Secondary College will be industry partners for the second year Bachelor of Health Science/Master of Occupational Therapy Practice unit: Participation in Diverse Communities through Service Learning. Students will be working with indigenous students and students from a Karen refugee background at these schools.
45 year 10 students from Weeroona College visited FHS Bendigo on the 14th for experiential activities, tour of the building and campus and information on health professions and courses.
Staff Changes
I would like to thank the following staff for their contribution to the Faculty, Cathy Driver, Nursing & Midwifery, Bendigo and Natalie Humphries, Senior Executive Officer, FHS.
I would like to welcome Pam Lyons has been appointed Project Officer with the LRHS.
Wednesday, September 2. 2009
Dean's Report August 2009
Professor Hal Swerissen
The University is strongly committed to growth in response to the Federal Government's aim to expand the number of young people with a degree by 30% over the next 15 years. Our program of curriculum change, clinical school networks and the introduction
of the La Trobe Rural Health School is a key part of the La Trobe's growth strategy, but in the end the Faculty's success is based on the commitment of the staff. In particular, I would like to thank all staff who assisted with open day activities this year. We had a great response and I look forward to it translating to greater student demand in 2010!
Out and About
- Reappointed as Director of Alfred Health for a further three year
term. - Attended launch of health reform in Canberra by Prime Minister.
- The regional strategy for La Trobe was launched in Albury Wodonga and Shepparton.
- Attended the National Health Workforce Taskforce clinical training funding reference group meeting in Sydney.
- Participated in the National Health and Medical Research Partnerships Research panel in Canberra.
- Attended the Innovative Research Universities Australia Senior Management Forum.
- Participated in the development of the National Primary Care Strategy as a member of the Minister for Health's External Reference Group.
- Published an opinion article in The Age on health reform.
Staff Publications
Bragge, A. & Fenner, P. (2009) The Emergence of the 'Interactive Square' as an Approach to Art Therapy with Children on the Autistic Spectrum. International Journal of Art Therapy 14 (1).
Liamputtong, P. (2009) Qualitative data analysis: Conceptual and practical considerations. Australian Journal of Health Promotion,
20 (2), 133-139.
Carey, L.B., Rumbold, B., Cohen, J. (2009) Health Care Chaplaincy and Euthanasia in Australia (Feature article), Scottish Journal of Healthcare Chaplaincy, Vol. 12, No. 1, p. 1-9.
Williamson Dianne, Best Practice Article on the website of www.latrobe.edu.au/careers/staff/staff-profiles/DWilliamson.html
A non-residential alternative to off campus writers' retreats for academics Authors: Virginia Dickson-Swift, Erica L. James, Sandra Kippen; Lyn Talbot; Glenda Verrinder; Bernadette Ward. www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~db=all?content=10.1080/03098770903026156
McLachlan H, Forster D. The safety of home birth: is the evidence good enough? CMAJ. Accepted for publication 9 July 2009.
(Invited commentary) IF = 7.5.
McLachlan HL, Gold L, Forster DA, et al. Women's views of postnatal care in the context of the increasing pressure on postnatal beds in Australia. Women Birth, 2009. May 22 (E-pub ahead of print). IF = 0.9.
Forster D, McLachlan H. Women's views and experiences of breast feeding:
positive, negative, or just good for the baby? In press, Midwifery. Accepted 24 April 2008. IF =1.04.
Staff Presentations
Carey, L.B. (2009) 'Chaplaincy, Pastoral and Spiritual Care Research': Integrating spirituality in the practice of health care', Seminar Paper presented at the 3rd Australian Conference on Spirituality and Health,
13-15 July, Elder Hall, University of Adelaide, South Australia.
Carey, L.B. (2009) 'The Sacralisation of Identity Interfaith Spiritual Care Paradigm': Integrating spirituality in the practice of health care', Key Note Address presented at the 3rd Australian Conference on Spirituality
and Health, 13-15 July, Elder Hall, University of Adelaide, South Australia.
Jon Willis has been invited to the 17th Ministerial Rural Health Forum
7/8/09 - he will be speaking on "Indigenous Health Issues and Rural
Victoria.
Prof Warburton chaired an international symposium on age friendly communities at the International Assoc of Geriatrics and Gerontology Conference in Paris, July; she also was invited to present at a symposium at Shandong University in Jinan, China in July on Productive Ageing.
Dr Eileen Petrie presented a paper at an International Community Health Nursing Research conference in Adelaide this month. The conference theme "Health in Transition - Researching the Future" focussed on the future of nursing, leadership roles of nurses and nurse-led policy development.
Lael Ridgway also presented to the international 'Health In Transition: Researching for the Future' conference. The talk was entitled "Use of information technology in primary health care: the views and experiences of nurses working in the Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Service".
Dr Eileen Petrie and Ms Judith Moore, Upper Hume Primary Care Partnership presented a paper at the National Rural health conference held in Perth in May. The presentation reflected the benefits and outcomes of forming an alliance between La Trobe University undergraduate nursing students and community agencies in the development of health promotion.
Dr Helen McLachlan recently presented three papers at the Perinatal Society of Australia and New Zealand Conference.
Research - Funding and Grant Success
Staff in Podiatry and the MRC were recently awarded a competitive, external research grant. Podiatrists Registration Board of Victoria Research Funding Scheme: $85,000,
Investigators: Landorf KB, Raspovic A, Bird AR, Menz HB, Miller J, Tenant J, Spring A., Project Title: : Offloading modalities for
healing and preventing diabetic neuropathic foot ulceration: a multi-centred, evidence-based project. This was a joint application and the last three investigators are from Austin Health and Northern Health.
Podiatry has recently finalised Memorandum's of Understanding with the University of Salford and the University of Southampton in England. These have primarily been set up to further research links and to investigate teaching staff swaps between the universities.
The large rural aged care workforce research project funded by DHS
is well under way at the John Richards Initiative with 5 research staff.
New ARC Linkage grant 2009-11, Obst, White, Warburton, Spencer, Responding to the rural skills crisis: Developing and implementing an empirical model of incentives to attract retired/semi-retired professionals as volunteers in rural areas. This model will be implemented in rural sites across Queensland and Victoria.
Two new PhD scholarships have been awarded at the John Richards Initiative (one funded by regional DHS) and both students will start on 1 September.
The Centre for Health Communication and Participation has been awarded nationally competitive grant funding from the Department
of Health and Ageing for Cochrane Collaboration activities in Australia for three years.
Pearson Education Videos
The Division of Nursing and Midwifery was approached by publishers, Pearson Education to develop nursing skills videos as a companion to their text, Fundamentals of Nursing, Australian Edition. Three skills DVDs have been produced and are currently being used as a resource for a year one nursing unit. We are currently developing another five DVDs.
Accreditation News
The Australian Physiotherapy Council has advised that full accreditation of the La Trobe Bachelor of Physiotherapy programs at Bundoora and Bendigo had been extended to 2012. The
Accreditation Panel report commended the School on many aspects of the accreditation submission and the quality of the physiotherapy program.
Social Work accreditation visit week of 17 August.
Awards
Congratulations to Robert Townsend, Social Work, Bendigo who has just had passed his PhD.
Anne Holland, Associate Professor of Physiotherapy at Alfred Health,
was recently awarded a Jack Brockhoff Foundation Churchill Fellowship. The fellowship will enable Anne to investigate new ways to deliver pulmonary rehabilitation to Australians with chronic lung disease using broadband technology. She will travel to Norway, Spain, Scotland, Canada and the USA to visit world leaders in the provision of remote pulmonary rehabilitation via the internet. Anne's project aims to address the shortage of pulmonary rehabilitation programs in regional and rural areas of Australia and to improve access to this essential service using new technologies. The Winston Churchill Memorial Trust Fellowships were presented at Government House by Governor de Kretser on 31st July.
Professor David de Kretser, Governor of Victoria, presenting award to Anne Holland.
Photo by Tegan Ringin.
Julie Bernhardt leads the Very Early Rehabilitation Research Program, a key aim of which is to determine the efficacy, cost effectiveness and mechanisms of very early (<24 hours) and intensive exercise for people following stroke. The National Heart Foundation Career Development Awards are highly competitive. Julie was delighted to receive an award, "to be named as the top ranked fellow for Victoria was incredibly exciting, particularly given that my research field is in the less prominent area of stroke".
Professor de Kretser presented Julie with the award at ceremony held at the National Heart Foundation head office in Melbourne. "Professor
de Kretser is an enthusiastic medical scientist and having him present the award and show interest in my research was a real thrill" Julie said.
Telmo Languiller, Parliamentary Secretary (left), and Professor David de Kretser, Governor of Victoria (right) with Julie Bernhardt.
Submission of Curriculum for Approval
The Division of Nursing and Midwifery has submitted four curriculum proposals to the Nurses Board of Victoria for approval, i.e. :
- The Bachelor of Nursing (Graduate Entry)
- The Bachelor of Nursing (Division 2 Conversion)
- The Bachelor of Nursing (Post-Registration)
- Master of Nursing (Nurse Practitioner)
Staff Changes
Professor Rhonda Nay is taking over as Director of the Australian Institute for Primary Care for the next 12 months. This role is in addition to Rhonda's leadership of ACEBAC and the Institute for Social Participation. Rhonda is replacing Assoc. Professor Peter Foreman, Associate Dean, International & Future Students in the Faculty.
Lorna Luke is ending a long career with the Australian Institute for Primary Care and La Trobe University. Her contribution over the years has been enormous and her absence will be deeply felt.
Shane O'Meara has been appointed to the position of Business
Manager within AIPC.
Mr Kevin Anslow, Admin Officer, Div of Nursing & Midwifery, Bundoora.
Ms Michelle Kuipers, Admin Officer, Alfred Clinical School.
Ms Joanna Lee, Research Assistant, Div of Nursing & Midifery, Bundoora.
Ms Sally Squire, Lecturer in Nursing, Albury-Wodonga. Professor Susan McDonald has been elected Co-Chair
International Confederation of Midwives Education Standing
Committee.
Student Achievements
Nicholas Gaynor, Masters of Nursing (Nurse Practitioner) was recently endorsed by the Nurses Board of Victoria as a Mental Health Nurse Practitioner.
Rebecca Sedgman who completed her Masters of Nursing
(Nurse Practitioner) in June has been advised by the Nurses Board of Victoria that she has been endorsed as an Emergency Nurse Practitioner. Rebecca is the 50th nurse to be endorsed in Victoria!
Anne Booms a Masters of Nursing (Nurse Practitioner) student, will be presenting a paper entitled: "Breaking the Silence... Autism and Palliative Care: A case Study" at the 5th Australian College of Nurse Practitioners Conference.
There were six presentations by midwifery Masters students at the Perinatal Society of Australia and New Zealand Conference. One of the students received the new investigator award for the best poster in midwifery.
Other Divisional News
The Division of Nursing & Midwifery hosted an Inaugural Nurse Educator
Workshop for sessional staff on 27 August 2009.
Alternate Format
- Dean's Report August 2009 (PDF 2.13MB)
Wednesday, July 29. 2009
Community engagement
Turtle Dreaming – a project for indigenous children at the Mildura Primary School participating in the HOPE project (Hope & opportunity through education) in which the School of Social Work, Mildura Campus is actively involved. Turtle Dreaming is the second public exhibition of the children's work which now has an extended exhibition at the Alfred Deakin Centre.