New firearms licensing guidance: GP responsibilities

On 1 November 2021, new guidance for firearms licensing, including new arrangements for medical checks for firearm certificates, came into effect. This article will discuss the key considerations for GPs and the practice team

Betreuung durch ein Advanced Nursing Practice-Team – Erfahrungen Lymphombetroffener und ihrer Angehörigen

Zusammenfassung. Hintergrund: Patient_innen mit Lymphomen, die mit Hochdosis-Chemotherapie (HDC) und autologer Stammzelltransplantation (ASZT) behandelt werden, sind mit einer lebensbedrohlichen Krankheit und einer stressvollen Therapie konfrontiert. Durch den Einsatz eines Advanced Nursing Practice (ANP)-Teams sollte diesen Patient_innen und ihren Angehörigen am Inselspital, Universitätsspital Bern eine kontinuierliche und bedarfsgerechte Betreuung über den ganzen Therapieverlauf geboten werden. Zu Erfahrungen von Betroffenen mit ANP ist wenig bekannt. Ziel: Mit dieser Studie wurde deshalb untersucht, wie diese Patient_innen und ihre Angehörigen die Betreuung durch das ANP-Team erlebten. Methode: Die qualitative Studie orientierte sich am Forschungsansatz “Interpretive Description”. Acht Paarinterviews mit Patient_innen und Angehörigen wurden durchgeführt und mittels reflexiver thematischer Analyse ausgewertet. Ergebnisse: Die Teilnehmenden erlebten eine kontinuierliche Begleitung durch die Pflegeberaterinnen über den ganzen Therapieverlauf hinweg, erfuhren fachliche, administrative und emotionale Unterstützung und fühlten sich kompetent informiert und beraten. Sie hatten eine gut erreichbare Ansprechperson für Fragen, zu der sie eine emotionale Beziehung aufbauten. Dadurch fühlten sich Patient_innen und Angehörige nicht nur ermutigt und bestärkt, sondern auch sicher und gut aufgehoben. Schlussfolgerung: Der Einsatz eines ANP-Angebots wird für Betroffene empfohlen, da die kontinuierliche Begleitung durch eine fachkompetente, mitfühlende, vertraute und engagierte Ansprechperson für sie unerlässlich war.

Effectiveness of an Academic-Practice Team Approach on Research Capacity Building of Nurses and Public Health Professionals

The purpose of this study was to determine the need for research training among nurses and health professionals in a rural province of Thailand and to evaluate the effectiveness of the interventions designed to address the identified factors. This two-phase study used a cross-sectional design with one-group pre- and post-tests. In phase I, 149 subjects from 16 subdistrict health promoting hospitals and one district hospital were sampled. As an intervention, an academic-practice team approach to research capacity building was designed. Twenty-four volunteers completed a three-time point assessment of intervention in phase II. Data were collected using self-report questionnaires and analyzed using bivariate and multivariate statistics. Phase-I results indicated that 33.6% of subjects were involved in the research implementation. They had a moderate perception of research barriers and capacity. The research experiences, capacity, and barriers associated with the research implementation were described in detail (p < 0.05). The only positive predictor of research implementation was research training (p < 0.001). The intervention improved 24 participants’ competency (p < 0.05). Most of their research proposals had received ethics approval and a small grant. These findings highlight the efforts of innovative research capacity development and its impact on research and health practices among nurses and health professionals.

Case Study in Project Management: A Vehicle for Business Curriculum Integration

This case can be team-taught to combine the different elements of business education taught by individual faculty within a course in Project Management, as a partial, half credit module within a business curriculum. This case study is written to address the feedback from prospective employers that the fresh recruits are reticent and need a long period of “internship / training/ mentoring” before they are ready to be a part of the company’s internal team. The case depicting a real company undergoing substantial changes provides the students with opportunities to gain the analytical skills developed in the study of various business disciplines, while providing the opportunity for discussion and illustration of real-life scenarios, constraints, and roadblocks. Moreover, students practice team development and process efficiencies. Instructors will teach how marketing, sales, and procurement functions impact the accounting and finance components of the project so the project scope is managed within the resources, schedule, and budget.

A comparative assessment of two tools designed to support patient safety culture in UK general practice

Background The NHS has recognised the importance of a high quality patient safety culture in the delivery of primary health care in the rapidly evolving environment of general practice. Two tools, PC-SafeQuest and MapSaf, were developed with the intention of assessing and improving patient safety culture in this setting. Both have been made widely available through their inclusion in the Royal College of General Practitioners’ Patient Safety Toolkit and our work offerss a timely exploration of the tools to inform practice staff as to how each might be usefully applied and in which circumstances. Here we present a comparative analysis of their content, and describe the perspectives of staff on their design, outputs and the feasibility of their sustained use. Methods We have used a content analysis to provide the context for the qualitative study of staff experiences of using the tools at a representative range of practices recruited from across the Midlands (UK). Data was collected through moderated focus groups using an identical topic guide. Results A total of nine practices used the PC-SafeQuest tool and four the MapSaf tool. A total of 159 staff completed the PC-SafeQuest tool 52 of whom took part in the subsequent focus group discussions, and 25 staff completed the MapSaf tool all of whom contributed to the focus group discussions. PC-SafeQuest was perceived as quick and easy to use with direct questions pertinent to the work of GP practices providing useful quantitative insight into important areas of safety culture. Though MaPSaF was more logistically challenging, it created a forum for synchronous cross- practice discussions raising awareness of perceptions of safety culture across the practice team. Conclusions Both tools were able to promote reflective and reflexive practice either in individual staff members or across the broader practice team and the oversight they granted provided useful direction for senior staff looking to improve patient safety. Because PC SafeQuest can be easily disseminated and independently completed it is logistically suited to larger practice organisations, whereas the MapSaf tool lends itself to smaller practices where assembling staff in a single workshop is more readily achieved.