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Professional leadership resources for nurses
Care and service implementation
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Critical incident analysis
- From Monash University, learn about Reflective writing and critical incidents.
- From RMIT University, provide a resource for nursing students to assist with critical incident report writing. Watch their Critical incident reflection video.
- The Victorian Department of Education and Early Childhood development have a series of Reflective practice information sheets. Use them to guide your reflective practice.
- From the Agency for Clinical Innovation. Listen to Sandra Sullivan and Kate Weyman talk about clinical supervision – caring for the care provider.
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EBP / QI / Research / Audit
- clinical practice guidelines. You can also register a clinical practiced guideline in development.
- To understand more about quality improvement and what it aims to achieve, the Murray PHN provide an Introduction to quality improvement (p6-9) (4.01MB pdf).
- Many programs and toolkits have been developed within the Australian setting to support audit and feedback in the context of end-of-life care including:
- Palliative Care Outcomes Collaboration (PCOC)
- Safety and Quality Commission – End-of-life audit tools
- Improving Residential Aged Care Facility to Hospital Clinical Handover Produced by GPpartners
- The UK based Health care quality improvement partnership has information on strategies and guidance for providers. There is also an eLearning module that provides information about the principles and tools.
- Hoffman T, Bennett S, Del Mar C. Evidence-based practice: Across the health professions (2017) helps students and clinicians to focus on the knowledge and skills required to make decisions that are evidence based.
- Centre for Clinical Governance Research in Health, University of New South Wales: Clinical audit: a comprehensive review of the literature (2009) (706kb pdf) and Change management strategies and practice development in nursing: a review of the literature (2011) (8.48MB pdf) gives insight into practice development in nursing.
- Read the Rural and Regional Health and Aged Care Services Division, Victorian Government Department of Human Services: A guide to using data for healthcare quality improvement (2008) (1.79MB pdf) to understand more about taking a systematic approach to healthcare quality improvement.
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Evidence
- Central Queensland University (QLD) highlight what evidence-based practice is. Here you will find a description of the Levels of evidence.
- The Edith Cowan University (WA) describe the Levels of evidence and types of study design.
- The Clinical Information Access Portal eLearning (NSW) define the types of evidence and how they may help to answer clinical questions.
- The University of York (UK) offer a free electronic version of their guidance document Systematic Reviews (2009). Here you will learn more about undertaking a systematic review in healthcare.
- To understand the procedure and requirements for developing a high quality guideline, the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) provide the following resources:
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Evidence-based practice
Here are some resources that explain evidence based practice and evidence synthesis:
- From the Joanna Briggs Institute
- From the Australasian Cochrane Centre
- From the QUT Library: Evidence based practice
- From the Flinders University: Evidence Based Medicine
- From Duke University Medical Center Library and the Health Sciences Library at the University of North Carolina: An Introduction to Evidence Based Practice
- Clinical Information Access Portal (NSW): Integrating Evidence into Practice eLearning modules explains the importance of applying in the practice setting
- OvidWolterKluwer and the JBI provide a video Evidence-based practice: Improving practice, improving outcomes (part one) explains what evidence is and the benefits to improving health with evidence-based practice.
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Research
- The Australasian Cochrane Centre has a research section which has information and resources that may be of interest.
- At Finders University, the Research Centre for Palliative Care, Death, and Dying (RePaDD) develop innovative solutions and advance knowledge and evidence in palliative care.
- The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC): National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research 2007 (Updated 2018) is useful for any researcher using human participants, members of ethical review bodies, those involved in research governance and potential search participants. You must comply with this to receive NHMRC funding.
Policy, quality, standards
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Policy and planning
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- Victoria’s Palliative Care Program has a section on Tools under service coordination. They provide many templates and an eLearning module that can be included in staff orientation.
- The Australian government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing National Palliative Care Strategy 2018 outlines a plan to ensure the highest level of palliative care.
- Victoria’s Palliative Care Program has produced the document Strengthening palliative care: Policy and strategic directions 2011-2015 which expects improvements in access to quality care and support for communities.
- Palliative Care Australia has key reference documents including Palliative Care Service Development guidelines which aim to improve palliative care services as well as workforce systems and capabilities.
- Check out the CareSearch Grey literature database for policy documents.
- The International Association for Hospice & Palliative Care (IAHPC) (US) has produced a document to guide you through the process of starting a palliative care service or hospice. See Getting started: Guidelines and suggestions for those starting a hospice / palliative care service (2021).
- Here you will find links to State and Territory websites and documents relating to palliative care:
- Victoria
Department of Health Palliative Care Program - WA
Department of Health WA Cancer Network - ACT
ACT Health end of life and palliative care section - Tasmania
Department of Health and Human Services palliative care section - NT
Department of Health palliative care section - SA
SA Health Palliative Care Services - NSW
NSW Health Palliative Care - QLD
Queensland Health About palliative care.
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Public health palliative care
- The Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet has a range of Health promotion resources.
- The University of Edinburgh (UK) Primary Palliative Care Research Group explore Health promoting palliative care with their five key focusses on working towards caring for all towards the end of life.
- The Public Health Palliative Care International website has information relating to compassionate cities and compassionate communities that support those experiencing dying, death, caregiving, and grief.
- Rosenberg JP, Yates P. Health promotion in palliative care: the case for conceptual congruence. Critical Public Health. 2010;20(2):201-10, examines the use of a social model of palliative care as a specific approach to end of life care.
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Quality improvement
- The Palliative Care Outcomes Collaboration (PCOC) is regarded as a core national palliative care program funded by the Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing. By using their framework in clinical practice, it helps to improve access to care.
- The Palliative Care Self-Assessment (PaCSA) online portal, is a continuous quality improvement program from Palliative Care Australia for palliative care services. Watch the video that introduces you to the online portal.
- Find evidence-based information and resources at CareSearch searching for evidence pages.
- From the National Consensus Project for Quality Palliative Care (US): Clinical practice guidelines for quality palliative care (4th) provide the blueprint for excellence in the United States of America.
- From the Agency for Clinical Innovation. Listen to Peter Cleasby talk about quality and safety in palliative care.
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Standards
- Palliative Care Australia provides services with a secure online Palliative Care Self-Assessment portal (PaCSA portal).
- The Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care has resources to support End of -life care in the hospital.
- For a broad tool to assist palliative care services staff to provide bereavement support read, Hall C, Hudson P, Boughey A. Bereavement support standards for specialist palliative care services (325kb pdf). Melbourne: Department of Health; 2012.
- To see palliative care services data reports visit Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW).
- Palliative Care Australia has key reference documents: National Palliative Care Standards and Palliative Care Service Development guidelines to guide the development of high quality palliative care services.
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Last updated 25 May 2026