Monash Health held its inaugural Nursing and Midwifery Research Showcase last month, celebrating the vital role of research in enhancing patient care. The event featured three research projects, highlighting their innovative studies aimed at improving clinical practices.
Jerric Jose, an Associate Nurse Manager at South 6 Ward of Kingston Centre, presented his study on the preparedness, experience and support needs of graduate nurses caring for patients with dementia in a hospital setting. The research explores the perceptions and experiences of both graduate nurses and senior nurses, using surveys and focus groups.
“This research is important to ensure that graduate nurses are supported in the workplace to develop their skills and confidence in caring for people living with dementia, which should translate into a better care experience for patients when they are admitted to hospital,” Jerric said.
Rachel McKittrick, an Assessment Clinician at Kingston Aged Care Assessment Service, presented her study seeking to address a gap in knowledge about the characteristics, care and support needs of older people requiring home-based aged care. Using aged care assessment data from nearly 95,000 Victorians, Rachel was able to demonstrate how diverse they were in terms of their socio-demographic characteristics. She identified that many of them had advanced day-to-day care needs and a high degree of vulnerability or complexity.
“I identified seven distinct care and support needs profiles, which may be useful in informing service needs and workforce skill mix requirements.
“Interviews with staff highlighted the importance of care management to help clients navigate their way through ageing and aged care,” Rachel said.
Eva Yuen, a Research Fellow at Centre for Quality and Patient Safety Research – Monash Health Partnership, presented a study initiated by staff from General Medicine wards at Monash Medical Centre, to improve communication between inter-disciplinary teams about patient discharge. The brief intervention involved medical staff identifying whether the presenting patient was medically stable for discharge within the next 48 hours, during multidisciplinary team meetings. This information would allow other staff to begin discharge preparations as soon as possible, minimising delays.
“Survey results suggested a trend toward more positive responses for nursing staff following the intervention, but there was still room for improvement, particularly with regards to communication among all stakeholders, pharmacy responses, discharge processes, and acting early,” Eva said.
The showcase offers an opportunity for staff to hear about research being undertaken at Monash Health by their nursing and midwifery colleagues and discover how their findings translate into clinical practice.
It was also an opportunity to celebrate nursing and midwifery research at Monash Health and inspire others to turn their own research ideas into reality.
“There is a lot of nursing and midwifery research being undertaken at Monash Health that we don’t often hear about.
“The showcase is a fantastic opportunity to hear about the important research they are doing and how it has made an impact on improving our clinical practice and improving our support for the nurses and midwives throughout Monash Health,” says Professor Andrea Driscoll, Chair in Nursing, Centre for Quality and Patient Safety Research, Monash Health Partnership.
Details of the next showcase will be announced soon. Active and aspiring nursing and midwifery researchers are invited to share their current research or research ideas here or email nursingmidwifery_research@monashhealth.org. They are also welcome to meet with the research committee to discuss and get support for their research.
