Working in the dark – The impact of a state-wide black systems event on emergency departments: A case study from clinician perspectives

Free full-text article is available here (PDF)

ABSTRACT
Background: A black system event (BSE) is a large scale black-out where there is a loss of a major power supply. From a health perspective a BSE may disrupt essential equipment within a health service that may be necessary for providing care. There is a paucity of literature relating to BSE and their impact on emergency departments (EDs).

Aim: The research aimed to understand the impact of a BSE on ED clinicians in South Australia.

Method: This research used a cross sectional survey design by surveying South Australian ED clinicians who worked during the BSE. Data was collected via a survey with closed and open questions. Quantitative data was analysed using descriptive statistics and qualitative narrative was analysed using a thematic analysis.

Results: Surveys were returned from 42 nurses and 7 doctors. The respondents were mostly female and most worked in a metropolitan ED. The majority of participants had undertaken some form of disaster education and/or training, despite never been involved in a major incident or disaster. A lack of lighting radiography systems not working, communication systems not working and patient tracking systems not working were the most common ways the ED was impacted.

Conclusion: This research is the first to focus exclusively on the impact of a BSEs on EDs in Australia. Emergency departments are encouraged to educate and train staff to be prepared for BSEs, test electrical systems and improve communication with the ED



Hammad K, Wake M, Zampatti C, Neumann S, Ranse J. (in-press, 2018). Working in the dark – the impact of a state-wide black systems event on emergency departments: A case study from clinician perspectives. Collegian.

Read More

Phenomenology: Moving from philosophical underpinnings to a practical way of doing

Presentation notes (word document)

Thank you to the students and staff of @Uni_Newcastle for inviting me to present at the #research week on "#Phenomenology: Moving from philosophical underpinnings to a practical way of doing". https://t.co/23p5OU7Jt1 pic.twitter.com/Dm9gpwWcVV

— Jamie Ranse (@jamieranse) August 10, 2018

Biography
Dr Jamie Ranse is an Early Career Researcher currently working as a Research Fellow in Emergency Care. This is a joint appointment between Griffith University and the Gold Coast Health Service. His work focuses on emergency health care, primarily in the areas of high visibility, high consequence events that are either planned (such as mass gatherings / major events) or unplanned (such as disasters). His work has been supported by competitive research grants, published in peer-reviewed journals and presented at national and international conferences.

Jamie completed his Doctor of Philosophy in 2017 at Flinders University, where he researched the experience of Australian nurses who assist in the out-of-hospital disaster environment. He received the Flinders University Vice-Chancellor's Prize for Doctoral Thesis Excellence.

Jamie is an active member of a number of national and international nursing associations. He is a Fellow of the Australian College of Nursing and College of Emergency Nursing Australasia. He is an Associate Editor for the Australasian Emergency Care Journal, holding the disaster portfolio. Additionally, he Chairs the World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine, International Mass Gathering Special Interest Group and Chairs the Australian College of Nursing Disaster Health Community of Interest. Jamie volunteered with St John Ambulance Australia for over 20 years; previously holding the role of Chief Nurse. In this role, he engaged in high-level strategic decisions regarding mass gathering and emergency health care.

He has been involved in a number of research projects using phenomenology as a research methodology. His interest in phenomenology lies in how the underlying philosophical assumptions of phenomenology are applied to the practical way of doing phenomenological research in the health care context.


Ranse J. (2018). Phenomenology: Moving from philosophical underpinnings to a practical way of doing; presentation at the University of Newcastle, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Research Week, Newcastle, NSW, 10th August.

Read More