SWISSResearch in Practice
Over the past 12 months two innovative research projects undertaken at the Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital (RBWH) have strengthened the collaborative relationship that exists between Queensland University of Technology (QUT) and the Queensland Health Social Work Clinical Education program at RBWH.
A field placement initiative in Semester 1 2013, allowed QUT students to undertake focused inquiry into practice challenges at RBWH which contain legal and social considerations. The specific aim was to gain greater understanding about how the use of Advanced Health Directives (AHD) can be improved and about current practice in the area. This practice need arose because of limited uptake of the service in hospitals. The project successfully brought the QUT Faculty of Law and the School of Public Health and Social Work, Faculty of Health, together with the Legal Services Department RBWH and Department of Social Work Services RBWH. A team of six students participated in the 'Royal Research Project' as a shared placement/project. Over the semester they developed a survey to be administered to various categories of hospital staff. The social work emphasis on the wider social and family context provided an important lens through which to view the problem. In functioning as a small learning team, the social work students learnt to negotiate inter-professional interactions, being cognizant of differences in status and power that were presented by a shared placement between social work and law. The innovation provided an excellent opportunity for research theory and methodology to be applied in practice as students gained real experience in understanding how research can improve service delivery.
A second research project was part of the Queensland Regional Training Network (QRTN) Clinical Innovation initiative. In this project the Department of Social Work Services RBWH partnered with 3 local universities, University of Queensland, ACU and QUT, to trail a clinical rotational model for final year social work students. This was the Placement Rotation in Aged Care (PRAC) model where six students on field placement at RBWH rotated in pairs across both acute and subacute clinical settings in aged care. In partnership with universities, participants were purposively selected into the trial on the basis of key selection criteria. Key outcomes were around the development of knowledge, skills and positive attitudes for working with older people as students engaged with older people in acute and sub-acute clinical settings, and participated in a specially designed program of learning about ageing. A small study was designed to evaluate the clinical placement model. The study utilized a mixed methodology consisting of a pre-test-post-test, content analysis of a reflective writing task and in-depth interviews at the end of placement. The study set out to examine student attitudes prior to and at the conclusion of the field placement to determine whether the placement experience made a difference to their attitudes. Findings are to be used to inform the future delivery of clinical education in aged care and contribute to discussions about equipping emerging clinicians to work in the sector as a viable employment option.
Both projects utilized the education affiliations that exist under the Student Deed Framework and agreement between the universities and Queensland Health. This enabled the usual placement processes to facilitate recruiting students into the projects as either a component of the field placement or the actual placement itself. The projects have been a successful collaboration between the three universities and Social Work Clinical Education at RBWH, creating opportunities to link practice standards with education outcomes, engage in practice research and enhance social work education via university-industry collaboration.
- Dr Suzette Fox, Social Work & Welfare Clinical Educator, Queensland Health