Co-creating an introduction to implementation science and practice

Fields: 

• Health services
• Internal medicine
• Implementation science

Location: Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital

Type of student: Both HDR and Extra-curricular

Type of work: 

• Clinical work
• Literature review
• Qualitative methods

Brief synopsis:

Evidence-based medicine is a cornerstone of modern medical practice. Getting evidence into practice is often complex, particularly when it involves behaviour change in practitioners from more than one discipline or within a complex system like acute hospitals. Delays in translating evidence into practice can lead to avoidable patient harm and/or inefficiency in care provision. Implementation science (or ‘knowledge translation’) is an emerging discipline that aims to enhance the application of evidence in practice to improve health and provide more effective health care services.

This project will provide an introduction to the science and practice of implementation, and build skills in translating evidence into practice to improve acute hospital care. The project would be suitable for a small group of medical students (4-6 students) in their clinical placements at Royal Brisbane Clinical Unit. It will test whether a structured experiential learning opportunity in implementation science and practice is feasible, acceptable and perceived to be valuable to medical students.

It will consist of three components:

1. A series of 5-6 small group tutorials outlining key concepts in implementation, supported by readings for self-directed learning (March-April, estimated commitment 16-20 hours)
2. Supervised participation in activities within a large implementation program in care of older inpatients (the Eat Walk Engage program), including engaging with older patients and staff, assessing current practice, developing improvement plans and evaluating impact. (June-July, estimated commitment 20-40 hours)
3. Developing and presenting a plan for implementing evidence into practice in an area of the student’s choice using theory, with peer review and feedback (August-September, estimated commitment 20-40 hours)

Students will nominate to participate in this project. They will be expected to participate in each component; provide feedback about the content, delivery and integration of the program; and suggest improvements. Outputs will include an individual implementation plan, and a co-created implementation course suitable for future delivery for medical students.   

Prerequisite skills: Interest in or experience with complex system change would be an advantage.

Time frame: Anticipated March-October 2021

Website: https://clinicalexcellence.qld.gov.au/improvement-exchange/eat-walk-engage