Tuesday, May 5, 2020

Problems Facing Clinicians In Australia Rural Acute

Question: Discuss about theProblems Facing Clinicians In Australia Rural Acute. Answer: The Issue In Australia, the majority of the minority healthcare experts work in communities that are relatively distance from the major cities and consequently, these healthcare professionals have limited access to specialist services. Research shows that the rural clinical practice is often significantly different from that practiced by the metropolitan clinicians since it needs greater diversity of knowledge and skills in a setting where there are minimal support frameworks as well as limited resources (Lea et al. 2008; Baernholdt Mark 2009). In general, it is often difficult to define rurality (Muula 2007). Nonetheless, scholars agree that rurality is a reflection of smaller populations that are distant and isolated from a countrys major urban areas or cities with a corresponding limited access to diverse services and infrastructure. Incidentally, Jackson and Daly (2004) observe that in the rural context, acute care can be described as a health care level where a patient may receive treatm ent for various acute health conditions, including disease, surgery, disease, trauma, and disease. In the Australian setting, this type of health care provision is traditionally provided in multi-purpose services, district health services, and referral hospitals where a patient is given care services from a diverse nursing, medical and related health professionals. Subsequently, it is agreed that the rural health context is demographically, sociologically, and geographically different to the metropolitan health context (Wakerman 2008; Phillips 2009). Wakerman (2008) and Grobler et al. (2015) explicate that from a critical perspective, there is significant inequity in the provision of health care services in the rural setting when compared to the metropolitan settings. For example, studies show that the mortality and morbidity rates for the remote and rural populations of Australia are significantly higher than those of their metropolitan populations (Armstrong et al. 2007). The researchers attribute this situation to the poor availability of diverse health services as well as insufficient number of healthcare experts in the rural setting. In comparison to the metropolitan clinicians, the rural health experts, especially nurses and doctors, require a wide range of clinical skills in order to function in a more effective manner (Rosenthal, Zaslav sky Newhouse 2005; Murray Wronski 2006; Montour et al. 2009). Ideally, the implication of this observation is that the rural-based clinicians need to perform their duties as generalists as opposed to specialists. Consequently, there is a significant pressure on the rural clinicians to formulate and adopt an increased practice scope to address the diverse health care needs of their patients in the rural areas (Roberge 2012). The particular challenges that clinicians encounter in the rural health care service setting include: limited access to opportunities that can help them to develop their profession; lack of peer and supervision support; and lack of access to specialist practice exposure (Alexander Fraser 2001; Hegney et al. 2002; Charles, Ward Lopez 2005). Moreover, multiple studies indicate that access to career development is a significant problem that the rural clinicians are confronting (Lea Cruickshank 2005; Rosenthal et al. 2005). On the other hand, studies have also established that there is a strong correlation between job satisfaction and access to professional development opportunities. In this context, the major reasons that influence clinicians to leave the rural setting is because they lack reasonable, if any, access to the relevant continuing education as well as professional isolation (Hegney et al. 2002; Charles et al. 2005). Fundamentally, the inadequate access to mentoring and formal education increases the risk of new graduates feelings professionally isolated and are less likely to continue working in the rural health service sector (Mills et al. 2005; Mills et al. 2007). In the recent years, various empirical pieces of evidence suggest that the different generations at the workplace have distinct attitudes towards work (Wilson et al. 2008). The researchers observe that in most instances, the new graduates that enter the practice profession prefer to work in large and adequately-resourced health care facilities because it provides them with the necessary opportunities to develop their knowledge and skills in specialized practice, as opposed to the rural health care facility where they are compelled by circumstances to play a generalist role. In a nutshell, the clinicians in the rural acute care environment face a broad range of challenges that require immediate attention if the rural health care system in Australia is to be sustained. In this paper, a fictitious case study referred to as Wadula Puzzling Cube: Solutions to the Problems facing Clinicians in Australias Rural Acute Care Environment, is explored with an objective of proposing the solutions to the challenges facing the clinicians that are working in Australias rural health care sector. Puzzling the Issue Mary, a cardiac rehabilitation nurse expert in Mungallala, is not satisfied with her job at the local dispensary. On this occasion, shortly after leaving work in the evening, Mary is out for coffee with two of her colleagues, Tim and Grace, at the Mungallala restaurant. She sips her coffee, and then looks at both Tim and Grace, who are seated on the opposite side of the table. I am thinking of resigning from my work and finding a job in Melbourne. For about half a minute, Tim and Grace stare at Mary in disbelief, unable to reconcile with what they have just heard. What!, the two say in unison. Before Grace could speak, Tim asks Why are you thinking of quitting. You just started work six months ago! Mary takes another sip of her coffee, looks straight into Tims eyes, and replies. When I was hired at the dispensary, I saw the job as a great opportunity for me to develop my career. In fact, on the day that I received my appointment letter, I was extremely excited that my journey into be coming one of the best cardiac rehabilitation nurse expert had just begun. Mary pauses, sips her coffee, and continues, The dispensary does not provide me with an opportunity to develop my speciality. Instead, we are understaffed and I am forced to perform the general nursing roles instead of focusing on my field of speciality. Grace nods her head in agreement, and adds, I too have felt the same way since I started work here four years ago. However, due to the difficulty involved in getting a job in a large hospital like those referral hospitals in Melbourne, I have had to stay. Tim joins and says, I thought I was the only feeling the same way for the last two years. It seems we share that feeling. In my view, instead of us considering resigning from work and going to the metropolis to look for a job, we should find solutions to our problems. The community here needs us. Grace then asks, How can we compel the administration of the dispensary to support us to develop our profession? Tim jumped to answer, we can boycott work, picket, or demonstrate to the management. What do you guys think? Neither Mary nor Grace seems to agree to any of those suggestions. The three agree to meet the following day to discuss the way forward. Later that night, Mary talks to her elder, John, about the earlier discussion she had with both Tim and Grace. More importantly, she tells John about the important question that Grace introduced in the course of their discussion, which is, how can we compel the administration of the dispensary to support us to develop our profession? John reminds Mary about the importance of them not jumping into solutions about their problem. Rather, John encourages Mary and her colleagues to consider exploring the issue with a sense of curiosity as opposed to coming up with solutions, and reminded Mary of the significance of Why? rather than Why dont you? questions, which incidentally focus on establishing an understanding (Teare Prestoungrange 2004). In this regard, John advices Mary and her colleagues to consider restating their issue as a puzzle statement, for example, how can we work more effectively in order to impress the dispensarys administration, and in turn, support our access to profess ional development? John explains to Mary that the framing of the question in this manner will enable them to clarify their puzzle (how can we), and also provide them with a purpose for engaging in puzzling (in order to) (Walsh et al. 2008). Subsequently, John requests Mary and her colleagues to apply the Positive Unconditional Generative Question (PUGQ) test to the puzzle statement how can we work more effectively in order to impress the dispensarys administration, and in turn, support our access to professional development? (Cooperrider,Whitney Stavros 2008). Ideally, John explains to Mary that the importance of developing the puzzle statement using the approach his proposed approach was to ensure that it is stated positively so that there would be no implied criticism of her and her colleagues. Therefore, the puzzle statement would help Mary and her colleagues to develop a direction towards achieving a positive change with themselves as well as the dispensary (Cooperrider Sekerka 2003). Nonetheless, John explains to Mary that the next step that they should undertake as colleagues is to determine if their puzzle question sounded unconditional. Once they have established whether it is unconditional or otherwise, the n ext phase was to determine if was generative, in other words, does it have a solution from within or is it open to several possible questions. Overall, after a few refining to the puzzle question, the final phase is to come up with a puzzle statement (Walsh et al. 2008), which in this case should be, how can we best provide patients with customized health care to support in order to achieve high satisfaction, thereby stimulating the dispensary management to support the professional development of its employees. The Action Plan Overall, the final puzzle statement offers Mary and her colleagues the possible solutions to their problem: Formulate and implement patient tailored care to improve care output. Search and identify the organizations that offer distant learning programs and use their off-time to engage in career development. 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