Nurses and midwives are among society’s most highly valued professionals. But a disturbing national picture is emerging of escalating levels of over-work and burnout.
Personal care attendants are responsible for residents’ personal hygiene – they’re not trained to undertake more complex assessments.
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Nursing home providers looking to cut costs are bypassing registered nurses and employing less-skilled personal care attendants (PCAs) who aren’t trained for the job.
When doctors aren’t engaged, things can go tragically wrong.
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Highly engaged doctors do much better on a wide range of important measures, from clinical performance, financial management and safety indicators to patient experience and overall quality standards.
While medical schools have equal numbers of men and women, few female doctors go on to become surgeons.
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In Australia, estimates suggest undesired harmful effects from medication or other intervention such as surgery occur in around 17% of hospital admissions. But blaming the doctors won’t help.
Some hospitals have substantially higher costs. Others have higher rates of death.
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There is substantial variation in the safety and quality of care provided in Australian hospitals. The data can tell us why.
Patients often rely on their GP to make the choice of specialist for them through the referral process with little or no discussion of prices.
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Why is it so difficult to find out exactly how much it’s going to cost to have that suspicious mole removed or to be admitted to hospital for that colonoscopy or hip replacement?
One element of emergency departments (EDs) which can cause frustration is the triage assessment.
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Whether it’s an emergency or a planned admission, going to hospital can be anxiety inducing – not knowing where you’re heading or who will be looking after you. Here’s a cheat sheet to guide you.
It’s estimated general practitioners see up to five abused women every week.
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Victoria’s Royal Commission into Family Violence will today hear how the health system can better respond to partner abuse, with the help of trained professionals and broader, government support.
England’s NHS is taking implementing seven-day services in an attempt to reduce excess deaths on weekends.
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If you present to a hospital on the weekend, you have a higher chance of dying than if you present during the week. This is known as the “weekend effect”.
There is a skewed distribution of skilled staff and an imbalance of skills.
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As the 2015 parliamentary year approaches, The Conversation is examining five key policy areas that have a new minister in charge: health, immigration, defence, social services and science. Today we begin…
Physician assistants provide high-quality care and can help fill Australia’s rural doctor shortage.
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At a ceremony in Townsville today, four people will graduate from James Cook University’s physician assistant program. They will be Australia’s first bachelor’s graduates in that field. This is an important…
People who experience compassion fatigue are taking on the issues they witness without an appropriate outlet.
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Health and social workers often choose their profession because they want to help people. But seeing trauma and suffering on a regular basis can have a deep impact on these workers. “Compassion fatigue…
National registration would set educational and professional standards to better protect patients.
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Paramedics are one of the few health practitioners who can administer drugs and anaesthetics, deliver babies and perform high-risk interventions, all with relative autonomy. Yet the paramedic profession…
Specialists in Australia earn almost twice as much as GPs.
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The opening of [eight new medical schools](](http://www.medicaldeans.org.au/wp-content/uploads/Website-Stats-2013-Table-4.pdf) in Australia in the past decade has seen a massive increase in the number…
The budget has introduced a $7 co-payment for visits to the general practitioners.
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The Abbott government has announced a A$20 billion medical research “future fund”, to help discover what Treasurer Joe Hockey calls the “cures of the future”, paid for with money generated as a result…
Replacing registered and enrolled nurses with lower-skilled workers leads to poorer patient outcomes.
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A shortage of qualified nursing staff and rising health costs have led to an increase in the employment of unregulated nursing workers. In 2012, the average weekly salary for full-time nursing professionals…
Honorary Enterprise Professor, School of Population and Global Health, and Department of General Practice and Primary Care, The University of Melbourne