Anaesthesia (Ballarat Health Services)

Unit Code

01978

Department/Institution Offering Unit

Anaesthetic Department
Critical Care Division
Ballarat Health Services
Cnr Mair and Drummond St
Ballarat
Victoria 3350 Australia

web: www.bhs.org.au
in combination with the Emergency Department and Rural Clinical School in Ballarat.

Unit Points

Research Points: 75

Coursework Points: 25

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Contacts

Unit Coordinator/s:

Dr Tony Keeble
Staff Specialist
Ballarat Health Services
Cnr Mair and Drummond St
Ballarat
Victoria 3350 Australia

tel: +44 3 5320 4590
email: tonyk@bhs.org.au

Alternative Contact:

Dr Jaycen Cruickshank
Director of Emergency Medicine, Clinical Director, Critical Care Division
Ballarat Health Services
Cnr Mair and Drummond St
Ballarat
Victoria 3350 Australia

tel: +44 3 5320 6455
email: jaycenc@bhs.org.au

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Overall Objectives

• To understand the basic concepts of clinical research, and how these may apply in research in anaesthesia and peri-operative care in a regional setting.
• To understand the principles of study design, including ethical issues relating clinical research in anaesthesia and peri-operative care.
• To implement high quality clinical research in anaesthesia and peri-operative care by understanding the key principles of a project management framework.
• To clarify the scope of a research project and ensure that deliverables are defined and met

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Content

Coursework:The two components (each 12.5 points) are:

1. Intermediate Epidemiology and Biostatistics

2. Research and Education in Anaesthesia and peri-operative care. This unit involves a combination of

a) Education in anaesthesia, at a level more advanced than the Anaesthesia component of the Undergraduate Curriculum. In Ballarat this will include 3 hours per week of formal teaching, access to resuscitation training, and web based tutorials developed locally.

b) Education in the application of research methods locally, including project management, key aspects of teamwork, and of the statistical methods, study design, and ethical issues that are relevant to the student's project.

Research: The student(s) will be based in the Department of Anaesthesia and peri-operative care at Ballarat Health Services. Clinical Research topics relate to the use of clinical indicators in anaesthesia to improve patient care, evaluation of clinical practises in pain management, and evaluation of resuscitation training.

Sample Research Topics:

1. The use of Clinical Indicators in improvement of patient care in Anaesthesia

• A recent project at BHS demonstrated that the role of clinical indicators is important in improving and understanding patient care. We examined reporting of post operative hypothermia, using statistical control methods and validation of reported data.
• Further evaluation will be undertaken at BHS, with measurement pre and post implementation of quality improvement activities

• We will conduct a study of the use of diluted heavy marcain for spinal anaesthesia in patients undergoing surgery for fractured neck of femur.
• Patient outcomes will be measured including the use of vasopressor to treat hypotension, and will be compared to a control group.

• In combination with the Emergency Department and Centre for Health and Nursing Education, we evaluated the benefit of structured training in basic and advanced life support, using video analysis and structured assessments.
• We will evaluate this program by repeating the video assessments to demonstrate that the program is repeatable over time, given there have been staff changes.
• We will compare the results to the cohort studied in previous years
• Despite MJA editorials suggesting that we should focus on semi automatic defibrillators and public education in resuscitation, competency in resuscitation should be a fundamental part of medical practise, at least at the Basic Life Support level, and we intend to demonstrate that this can be achieved in a cost effective manner.

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Assessment Breakdown

Research Component: 75 points
Research Report (up to 7,000 words): 75%
Oral presentation of the research (20 mins): 12.5%
Supervisor Evaluation: 12.5%

Coursework Component: 25 points
Intermediate Epidemiology and Biostatistics will be assessed as per subject description.
Research in Anaesthesia and Peri-Operative Care: One exam (1 hour, 2*15 minutes questions and 4 * 7 ½ minute questions)

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Student Numbers

Number of places available:
2