Queensland Paediatric Cardiac Service: Lessons from evolution to a unified service in a tertiary children's hospital

We describe a complex change process for the paediatric cardiac service in Queensland that involved transitioning the service out of an essentially adult hospital into one of two children's hospitals in Brisbane. This initial step was complex as the governance was changed from Queensland Health to Mater Health, an independent faith‐based organisation who became the new employer. Six years later, the service was again transitioned; this time to the newly constructed Queensland Children's Hospital, with a Hospital and Health Services Board as the employer under the aegis of Queensland Health. This was a complex journey. As with all change processes there was resistance to change on the part of some individuals. Five years on from the second major change, the service is settled, has an excellent workplace culture, has excellent clinical outcomes and has become research intensive.     

When did “teaching” become a taboo word for clinician educators?

Abstract

In our recent work with clinician educators leading UME small groups, we noticed a phenomenon – many clinician educators are saying they don’t teach, they just facilitate. Medical schools have moved to a new model of curriculum that integrates basic, clinical, and social science concepts. As curriculum shifts, so too must the definition and role of a teacher in medical education. The purpose of this article is to explore the work of current clinician educators and to encourage clinician educators to embrace their teaching role and seek educator development opportunities. In this article, we explore the history of how and why the word “teaching” became taboo for clinician educators. Then we explain the current state of the complex work of teaching for today’s clinician educators and its implications for educator development.     

Trust,choice and obligation: a qualitative study of enablers of colorectal cancer screening in South Australia

Colorectal cancer (CRC) has the second highest cancer prevalence and mortality rates in Australia. The Australian National Bowel Cancer Screening Program (NBCSP) aims to increase early detection of CRC by offering free faecal occult blood testing. The NBCSP aims to offer choice to consumers about whether or not to participate in screening. This article presents data on trust, choice and perceived obligation to participate in the NBCSP by population groups with low uptake. A qualitative study was undertaken in South Australia. We interviewed 94 people from four culturally distinct groups: Greek, Iranian, Anglo‐Australian and Indigenous peoples. This article demonstrates the complexity of factors shaping the choice, or lack thereof, to participate in the NBCSP. Informed choice is based on adequate knowledge, although this varied among our participants, highlighting the need for more health education in appropriate languages. An obligation to participate was found in the Iranian and Anglo‐Australian groups and resulted from an established personal relationship with the doctor, a sense of duty, the acknowledgement of government investment and appreciation. Overall, this article makes a link between trust, choice and obligation, adding to literature on the sociology of trust and medical screening and highlighting important issues in the need of a policy and practice to improve CRC screening rates.