TY - JOUR
T1 - Microbiology education for rural nurses
T2 - Continuing professional development strategies
AU - Green, Elyce
AU - Seaman, Claire Ellen
AU - Vanniasinkam, Thiru
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 CSIRO. All rights reserved.
PY - 2023/6/23
Y1 - 2023/6/23
N2 - Nurses play an important role as frontline staff in infection control. Continuing professional development (CPD) in microbiology is key to helping nurses stay up to date with the latest developments in this area. A pilot study was conducted to determine the value of a microbiology laboratory-based workshop to support regional nurses. A team of microbiology academics and clinical microbiologists presented the laboratory-based workshop at Charles Sturt University, Wagga Wagga campus in New South Wales. Pre- and post-surveys were conducted. After the workshop, learners were significantly more confident explaining the process of culturing and identifying organisms from clinical samples (z = 2.84, P = 0.005), the importance of antimicrobial resistance in relation to common healthcare-associated infections (HAI) (z = 2.56, P = 0.011), cutting edge technology used in the rapid diagnosis of infectious diseases (z = 2.69, P = 0.007), and which antibiotics are appropriate for different bacterial infections (z = 2.72, P = 0.007). CPD opportunities such as workshops are vital for nurses in rural locations, particularly as health professional shortages in rural locations mean that nurses at all levels are required to take a lead role in infection control practices.
AB - Nurses play an important role as frontline staff in infection control. Continuing professional development (CPD) in microbiology is key to helping nurses stay up to date with the latest developments in this area. A pilot study was conducted to determine the value of a microbiology laboratory-based workshop to support regional nurses. A team of microbiology academics and clinical microbiologists presented the laboratory-based workshop at Charles Sturt University, Wagga Wagga campus in New South Wales. Pre- and post-surveys were conducted. After the workshop, learners were significantly more confident explaining the process of culturing and identifying organisms from clinical samples (z = 2.84, P = 0.005), the importance of antimicrobial resistance in relation to common healthcare-associated infections (HAI) (z = 2.56, P = 0.011), cutting edge technology used in the rapid diagnosis of infectious diseases (z = 2.69, P = 0.007), and which antibiotics are appropriate for different bacterial infections (z = 2.72, P = 0.007). CPD opportunities such as workshops are vital for nurses in rural locations, particularly as health professional shortages in rural locations mean that nurses at all levels are required to take a lead role in infection control practices.
KW - Continuing professional development
KW - Infection control
KW - Interprofessional
KW - Nursing
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U2 - 10.1071/MA23045
DO - 10.1071/MA23045
M3 - Article
SN - 1324-4272
VL - 44
SP - 162
EP - 165
JO - Microbiology Australia
JF - Microbiology Australia
IS - 3
ER -