Inter-professional: health

Question 1

How does the WHO define ‘mental health’?

Answer 1

“a state of well-being in which an individual

• realises his or her own abilities
• can cope with the normal stresses of life
• can work productively
• is able to make a contribution”

Question 2

Who is part of Australia’s health workforce?

Answer 2

• Nurses (most)
• Medical practitioners (general & specialist)
• Allied health professionals
• (not all psychs in health)

Question 3

What are the general issues for the Australian Health System?

Answer 3

1. Inequitable access to services based on location and income
2. Fragmentation of services for complex and chronic conditions
3. Focus on treatment rather than prevention
4. “Bewildering array of funding programs” and funding biased away from allied health
5. Division of responsibilities between Commonwealth and state
6. Workforce: low supply, expensive and time consuming to train skills, ageing
7. Decision-making too far removed
8. Difficult to introduce and sustain new models of care and other innovation

Question 4

What are the differences between a health care team and a health care group?

Answer 4

Team: brings individuals together on common aim (e.g. mixed roles in surgery)
Group: brings individuals together on common ground (e.g. nurses)

Question 5

What does IPL stand for?

Answer 5

Inter-professional Learning

Question 6

What is IPL?

Answer 6

“multi-disciplinary” educational practices of health care professionals - learning with and from each other = collaboration

Question 7

How is IPL implemented?

Answer 7

In higher-education institutions - not successfully (seen as more work/ group work/ costly)

Question 8

How does IPL relate to psychology?

Answer 8

APAC standards include recognition of the

importance of IPL for the entry level practitioner

Question 9

Who does allied health include?

Answer 9

ADOOOHPPPRSS
audiology; 
dietetics and nutrition; 
occupational therapy;
orthoptics; 
orthotics and prosthetics; 
hospital pharmacy;
physiotherapy; 
podiatry; 
psychology; 
radiography; 
speech pathology 
social work (ABS / AIHW)

Question 10

What are AEs?

Answer 10

Adverse Events: problems due to medical interventions NOT conditions but not always mistakes / errors

Question 11

What are the main causes of AEs in hospitals?

Answer 11

1. Failure of communication among staff
2. Staff shortages -> lapses in performance
3. Organizational cultures that punish whistle-blowers
4. Flaws in equipment design
5. Complexity of health care organisations -> many steps = mistakes

Question 12

What is the highest cause of AEs?

Answer 12

Communication failure

Question 13

What can AEs result in?

Answer 13

• Death/ injury
• Client frustration with repeating info
• Fragmented care
• Missed or delayed diagnosis
• Repeated or unnecessary testing
• Over medication / adverse drug interactions
• Increased risk of litigation

Question 14

What are 2 major errors by psychologists?

Answer 14

– Misdiagnosis

– Failure to disclose