Dr Sean Heagney1, Mr Ciaran McHugh1
1Careflight Northern Operations, Darwin, Australia
Abstract:
Aims:
Continued professional development (CPD) is an essential part of maintaining effective and safe clinical practices within any aeromedical organisation. Although most organisations cover essential skills, procedures and equipment familiarisation as part of a routine induction process, it is recognised that decay of these skills and knowledge is likely to occur without further practice.
The authors believe that periods of relative ‘down time’ during the working retrieval shift represent an excellent opportunity for additional learning. The authors have, therefore, developed a series of learning activities that can be accessed rapidly, on an ad-hoc basis, with minimal organisational effort on the part of the learner.
Method:
Twenty-six learning activities have been created, each available for one-week at a time, cycled over a six-month period. A comprehensive curriculum of essential skills and equipment has been divided amongst these activities.
Activities are presented in a visible and easily accessible location within the workplace. All required equipment is laid out ahead of time. Each activity begins with a clinical vignette, from which the learner is prompted to practice a number of specified skills and equipment re-familiarisation.
Results:
Although participation is not mandatory, we will continue to monitor learner engagement using a voluntary register in the upcoming months (results available by time of conference).
Conclusions:
Through the creation of easily accessible learning resources, it is hoped that clinical staff within our organisation will have the opportunity to better utilise periods of relative inactivity in order to better maintain their clinical skills and familiarity with essential clinical equipment.
Biographies:
Biographies to come