Research Portfolio

Comparison of the Implementation of Interventions for Controlling Laboratory Blood Tests Ordering in Four Queensland Teaching Hospital Emergency Departments.

Doctors frequently need to order blood tests in the Emergency Department when patients come to hospital with a medical or surgical emergency. In all but the most trivial cases, laboratory blood tests are requested as part of the diagnostic workup. Doctors and even the patient are often concerned about missing a diagnosis if enough blood tests are not done. However, medical research worldwide has revealed that test ordering is excessive and often unnecessary. The growth in test ordering places an enormous financial strain on our health care system, and includes unnecessary investigations or treatment. Thus, reducing the number of unnecessary…

Principal Investigator: A/Prof Kevin Chu
Amount Awarded: $130,723
Institution: Royal Brisbane & Women's Hospital

Will a mandatory clinical debriefing program affect levels of psychological distress in Emergency Registrars.

Emergency doctors have been shown to exhibit higher levels of psychological distress and burnout than both their medical colleagues and the general population. This study will measure levels of burnout and psychological distress amongst Emergency Registrars before and after the implementation of a clinical debriefing program. It will be ascertained whether there is a difference in the before and after scores and whether the change is statistically significant.

Principal Investigator: Dr David Ward
Amount Awarded: $9,050
Institution: Nambour General Hospital

The effect of consecutive night shifts on the psychomotor performance of registrars working in the emergency department.

The objective of this research was to evaluate the effect of working consecutive night shifts on sleep time, prior wakefulness, perceived levels of fatigue and psychomotor performance in a group of Australian emergency registrars. A prospective observational study with a repeated within-subjects component was conducted. Sleep time was determined using sleep diaries and activity monitors. Subjective fatigue levels and reciprocal reaction times were evaluated before and after day and night shifts.

Principal Investigator: Dr James Tilleard
Amount Awarded: $16,850
Institution: Nambour General Hospital

ABC (Arm-banding, Barcoding, Compliance) of Patient Safety – Arm-banding the Emergency Patient – Does technology reduce patient misidentification of pathology specimens.

Accurate identification of patients is critical to their safety and to the efficient management of health services. Without accurate identification incorrect procedures may be performed, patients may have unnecessary tests performed on them or there may be delays in their care as pathology or other tests must be repeated. We plan to study the process of patient identification during blood collection in the Emergency Department. This is the most common procedure performed in the Emergency Department. Mislabeling of pathology specimens can lead to fatal adverse events, such as incompatible blood transfusions. Results attributed to the wrong patient can lead to…

Principal Investigator: Dr David Spain
Amount Awarded: $42,400
Institution: Gold Coast University Hospital

Regulatory systems for occupational exposures in emergency care: Contemporary challenges for the emergency physician in prevention, control and management.

Healthcare workers in emergency departments are at high risk of exposure to blood-borne infections from occupational exposure. The financial and human costs of these injuries are significant. The risks such health care workers face are made more difficult in recent times because of three interconnected reasons. First, emergency care workers are at high risk of occupational exposures because of the nature of their work and the environment they operate in. They work in highly volatile and high-stakes situations. Second, emergency departments face unprecedented demands for emergency medical care. With increased numbers of patients, waiting times for medical treatment inevitably increase,…

Principal Investigator: Dr Michael Sinnott
Amount Awarded: $50,000
Institution: Princess Alexandra Hospital