Providing doctors, therapists and nurses working in remote areas with mentoring support will deliver better patient care and will keep our healthcare workers in the bush longer, according to Queensland researchers.
Healthcare workers often need support and guidance when they start a new job, especially if they are recent graduates and working in isolated areas.
Research shows that the quality of mentoring and supervision for healthcare staff is crucial in rural areas so that patients receive the best possible care.
“This is about delivering the best quality of care to patients, by supporting the people that are caring for them,” says Dr Priya Martin from Darling Downs Hospital and Health Service.
In rural areas, there are less face-to-face interactions, and healthcare workers often rely on teleconferencing for their supervision by a senior colleague.
“I have been looking at the best way of delivering supervision to staff. Doctors, therapists and nurses do not have time to consider the best way to carry out clinical supervision,” Dr Martin says.
“Using my research, I have developed supervision training and guidelines at four different levels which are simple and practical.
“This research-based training has already been completed by over 1000 healthcare workers across Queensland.”
Fresh Science is on hold for 2022. We will be back in 2023.