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Decisions about progress through an academic programme are made by Boards of Examiners, on the basis of students' course assessments. For most students such pass/fail grading decisions are straightforward. However, for those students whose results are borderline (either at a pass/fail boundary or boundaries between grades) the exercise of some discretion by university staff is required. In the interests of the transparency of the exercise of this discretion and to increase the chances that the "right" decision is made, we tested the validity of the second version of the Objective Borderline Method (OBM2) decision-making tool in a medical programme. Our results suggest that application of OBM2 provides valid data to help university staff make robust decisions about a student's progression through a programme, and with which to defend these decisions if that should be required.

To report time from the onset of symptoms to hospital presentation in Australian and New Zealand patients with subsequently confirmed acute coronary syndrome, and to identify factors associated with prehospital delay time in these patients. Patients with coronary artery disease enrolled in a randomized clinical trial testing an intervention to reduce delay in responding to acute coronary syndrome symptoms had been followed for 24 months. In cases of admission to the ED for possible acute coronary syndrome, medical records were reviewed to determine the diagnosis, prehospital delay time, mode of transport to the hospital and aspirin use before admission. Clinical and demographic data were taken from the trial database. Patients ( n= 140) had an average (SD) age of 67.3 (11.5) years; 36% were female. Two-thirds of patients went to hospital by ambulance and 89.3% had a final diagnosis of unstable angina. The median time from onset of symptoms to arrival at the ED was 2 h and 25 min (interquartile range 1:25-4:59); 12.1% arrived ≤ 1 h and 66% within 4 h. Multiple linear regression analysis showed that use of ambulance (Beta = 0.247, P= 0.012) and younger age (Beta = 0.198, P= 0.043) were independent predictors of shorter delay times. The time from the onset of symptoms to hospital presentation was too long for maximal benefit from treatment in most patients. Further efforts are needed to reduce treatment-seeking delay in response to symptoms of acute coronary syndrome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the provision of interprofessional learning modules by the Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences at the University of Auckland in Auckland, New Zealand. The focus of the module "Patient Safety" is on understanding the factors and weaknesses in healthcare systems. "Maori Health" learning module associates the goals of interprofessional learning with those related to the healthcare quality dimensions of patient safety, access and equity.

Objective: Prolonged prehospital delay in persons experiencing acute coronary syndrome (ACS) remains a problem. Understanding which patients respond best to particular interventions designed to decrease delay time would provide mechanistic insights into the process by which interventions work.Methods: In the PROMOTION trial, 3522 at-risk patients were enrolled from 5 sites in the United States (56.4%), Australia and New Zealand; 490 (N=272 intervention, N=218 control) had an acute event within 2 years. Focusing on these 490, we (1) identified predictors of a rapid response to symptoms, (2) identified intervention group subjects with a change in these predictors over 3 months of follow-up, and (3) compared intervention group participants with and without the favorable response pattern. Hypothesized predictors of rapid response were increased perceived control and decreased anxiety. Knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs were hypothesized to differ between responders and non-responders.Results: Contrary to hypothesis, responders had low anxiety and low perceived control. Only 73 (26.8%) subjects showed this pattern 3 months following the intervention. No differences in ACS knowledge, attitudes, or beliefs were found.Conclusion: The results of this study challenge existing beliefs.Practice Implications: New intervention approaches that focus on a realistic decrease in anxiety and perceived control are needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main objective of this study was to identify the best predictors for student achievements (Undergraduate Grade Point Average (UGPA)) in their first year in an undergraduate nursing programme. Data were acquired from the Tracking Project database which is held by the Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences at the University of Auckland. The data (n=134) included information on student demographics, final year secondary school achievements (National Certificate of Educational Achievement Grade Point Average (NCEAGPA) & NCEA Credits), university admission ranking scores, and achievements in first year in the undergraduate nursing programme (UGPA). Linear regression models were used to identify the best predictors for first year students' UGPA in the nursing programme. The regression models suggest that the best predictor for the first year GPA is the NCEAGPA (beta=.488; R(2)(for the entire model)=.53), followed by the admission ranking scores (beta=.308; R(2)=.40). Based on these findings, it is suggested that a Dual Admission Model (DAM) be utilised whereby students could be admitted either by the current university admission criteria or by an alternative model, which is purely based on the predictability of achievement within the nursing programme. Application of the DAM to other institutions/countries was discussed., (Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Reflection was integrated into an undergraduate nursing curriculum, with different frameworks demonstrating the application of a structured approach to reflection. Reflection is defined as examination and exploration of an issue of concern to help create or clarify meaning. The aim of this qualitative study was to evaluate the usefulness of formal reflection in the context of undergraduate nursing education during the disability module. Twelve reflection assignments written by second-year nursing students were analyzed. The analysis indicated that students' reflection focused less on their experience of working with people with disabilities and more on their overall learning experience and coping with clinical practice. A central theme, Coping with Clinical Practice, and four subthemes were identified. Students acknowledged reflection as beneficial to their learning and linked to their clinical practice.