Download PDF: RAC Communiqué February 2017
In this edition
Editorial
Welcome to our first issue of 2017. We have kept this issue simple. Three cases are presented without any formal expert commentaries. This ‘back to basics’ format is intended to challenge you to be an expert. What do you think are the lessons? and, What would you have done differently in these situations?
One of the few downsides of using ‘experts’ is we tend to defer to their opinion and may at times ‘switch our brains off’ rather than challenge or debate the advice. Context and setting are very important whenever we want to change or improve care. Experts offer us general principles, the translation of these principles into practice requires the people who do the work, to determine how changes are made and sustained. We each know our service better than any one else. Our building and how it flows along with the available equipment. The people we work with, their strengths and limitations. The residents and their families as well as what is important to them, and the many other local factors that influence what changes are desired and possible.
How we translate knowledge or ideas to enable transfer from one place to another is an emerging area, sometimes referred to as ‘implementation science’. This is usually used in reference to knowledge from formal research studies that have tested an intervention. The basic principles involve exposing ourselves to new ideas, deciding to apply the idea, putting it into practice and then troubleshooting to make it work and become part of our routine.
Future Leaders Communiqué
We are also delighted to announce that the introduction of the Future Leaders Communiqué has been a great success. Future Leaders Communiqué was launched in October 2016 and joined our two other educational resources to improve clinical care, resident and patient safety.
The Future Leaders Communiqué is designed for junior medical practitioners and any other recently graduated health professionals. Each issue is developed, written, reviewed and edited by a junior medical practitioner to ensure we have provided the relevant clinical context combined with accessible language and up-to-date expertise.