Eastern Shore Memorial Hospital

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: In 2014, Nova Scotia released a provincial palliative care strategy and implementation working groups were established. The Capacity Building and Practice Change Working Group, comprised of health professionals, public advisors, academics, educators, and a volunteer supervisor, was asked to select palliative care education programs for health professionals and volunteers. The first step in achieving this mandate was to establish competencies for health professionals and volunteers caring for patients with life-limiting illness and their families and those specializing in palliative care. METHODS: In 2015, a literature search for palliative care competencies and an environmental scan of related education programs were conducted. The Irish Palliative Care Competence Framework serves as the foundation of the Nova Scotia Palliative Care Competency Framework. Additional disciplines and competencies were added and any competencies not specific to palliative care were removed. To highlight interprofessional practice, the framework illustrates shared and discipline-specific competencies. Stakeholders were asked to validate the framework and map the competencies to educational programs. Numerous rounds of review refined the framework. RESULTS: The framework includes competencies for 22 disciplines, 9 nursing specialties, and 4 physician specialties. CONCLUSIONS: The framework, released in 2017, and the selection and implementation of education programs were a significant undertaking. The framework will support the implementation of the Nova Scotia Integrated Palliative Care Strategy, enhance the interprofessional nature of palliative care, and guide the further implementation of education programs. Other jurisdictions have expressed considerable interest in the framework.

To address the high rate of depression and suicide in rural Australia requires a multifaceted approach to educate the community, improve the skills of health workers and provide user-friendly patient counselling. The present paper describes a model that covers each of these aspects and details the outcomes with respect to the doctors and the community. Improved awareness in the community of mental illness and the availability of treatment, decreasing the stigma of such a diagnosis, and increasing the skills and reducing the isolation of doctors in rural areas who treat mental illness were all positive benefits from this cost-effective way of providing mental health care in a primary setting. The adoption of this model in all primary care settings is advocated.

Objectives - The objective of this project was to gain insight into the extent to which user information seeking behaviours should inform the design and development of digital libraries in an academic setting. Researchers conducted this study at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada to explore the information seeking behaviours of business students. Methods - The students participating in the study were enrolled in the School of Business Administration at Dalhousie University. The study was based on qualitative and quantitative data collected through a survey, in-depth semi-structured interviews, an observational study, and document analysis. Qualitative case study data was coded using QSR N6 qualitative data analysis software (. The data was categorized using Atkinson’s Model of Business Information Users’ Expectations and Renda and Straccia‘s personalized collaborative digital library (DL) model. Atkinson’s model defines the expectations of business students in terms of cost, time, effort required, pleasure, and the avoidance of pain. Renda and Straccia’s model of a personalized and collaborative digital library centres around three concepts: actors, objects, and functionality. The survey data was analysed using Zoomerang software . Results - The study results revealed that students tend to select resources based on cost (free or for fee), accessibility, ease of use, speed of delivery (of results), and convenience. The results showed that similar to Atkinson’s findings, business students’ information seeking behaviour is influenced by the concepts of cost-benefit and break-even analyses that underlie business education. Concerning speed of delivery and convenience, the organization of the resources was paramount. Students preferred user-defined resource lists, alert services, and expert-created business resource collections. When asked about the usefulness of potential digital library functionalities, students valued a personalized user interface and communal virtual spaces in order to share information and communicate in real-time with their peers. Conclusion - This study reveals that when digital libraries are developed, user behaviours and needs should be taken into consideration. Results demonstrate that the activity as well as the “user’s orientation and motivation” (here the business student training) can directly influence the design and use of a digital tool. In other words, this study confirms a new typology of a business digital information user, one that requires the building of dedicated accredited library research systems. Providing information and information tools tailored to this specific audience is more likely to increase the appeal and use of an academic business digital library.

This editorial will address two issues that are still a source of global controversy and confusion in present day perfusion practice. Membrane oxygenators are designed and tested to a set of stringent flow standards prior to their release from every manufacturer. But how well do we know the iatrogenic consequences of pushing these devices beyond their maximum rated limits? In addition, how well do we know the meaning of the term 'AAMI Reference Flow' as it relates to the Manufacturers Maximum Rated Flow?

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