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new Emergency and Trauma Centre in Galle, Sri Lanka.n early 2007 the first team from The Alfred Emergencynd Trauma Centre completed a training program on traumaare and trauma triage. Twelve months later, after furtherraining visits to Sri Lanka addressing other emergency pre-entations, the original team revisited to evaluate the effectf the training program.

Significant improvements where noted in nursing lead-rship, documentation, the use of universal precautions,atient advocacy and department organisation. Critical carenowledge has been a major area of improvement espe-ially with the introduction of invasive and non-invasiveentilation. Improved skills and confidence in utilising newquipment that has been provided as part of the projects apparent and increased enthusiasm in self education andelf governance is also evident. Areas for further educationuch as triage where also identified.

The effects of this nursing education program are evi-ence of the importance of nurses as educators and roleodels within specialities such as emergency nursing in theeveloping world.

oi:10.1016/j.aenj.2008.09.003

ultural diversity: Crossing contextual borders in emer-ency care

armel Stewart

School of Nursing and Social Work, University of Melbourne,IC, Australia

Managing cultural diversity in health care is a challengeacing nurses globally. The issues experienced by migrantopulations in health care transcend clinical, political andocial borders. Australia is one of the most culturally diverseations and the adherence to a Western biomedical modelf health care creates inequalities in health care for migrantopulations. These inequalities occur in health care out-omes, access to, and delivery of care during interactionsetween consumers and health care professionals. Severaltrategies have been introduced, both globally and withinustralia, with little effect on reducing inequality, with lit-le explanation of why they have been ineffective. Thesetrategies include introduction of cultural content in healthrofessional curricula, and government policy and guide-ines.

A grounded theory study currently in progress is exploringhe perceptions of nurses working in emergency depart-ents and consumers from a culturally linguistic and diverse

CALD) background who experience care delivery in emer-ency departments. The aims of the study are to identifylements of the nurse—patient interaction that affect thebility of nurses in emergency departments to provided careeading to positive outcomes for consumers from a CALDackground.

The presentation aims to:

Present the relevance and importance of this area foremergency nurses.Outline the methodology used in the study.Introduce significant areas identified in initial analysis todate.

Esgn

Abstracts

Consider potential recommendations emerging from theanalysis and exploration.

oi:10.1016/j.aenj.2008.09.004

nvironmental change and human health: Are we ahreatened species?

ane Mateer

RMIT University, Bundoora, VIC, Australia

In 1993 Anthony Carmichael’s Planetary Overload coinedhe concept of humans as a potentially endangered species.entral to this notion were overpopulation and the impact ofechnology and human consumption demands overreachinghe earth’s capacity to supply, replenish and repair. In worldopulation terms, there appeared little interest in exploringhis concept, perhaps because we have always had cyclesf drought, floods, pestilence and climate change and ashe ‘tragedy of the commons’ demonstrates, we are oftenoathe to consider the impact of our actions on our neigh-ours. In 2008, we have a clearer view of an anthropogenicole in exacerbating changes in the earth’s ecosystems, andhe potential risk of becoming a threatened species: vic-ims of the effects of habitat destruction, overexploitation,isease, pollution, predation, competition with others andimited distribution.

Thus, environmental change threatens the health andecurity of our species. To mitigate this threat and pro-ect our life sustaining systems, we are faced with a dualhallenge. We must underpin technological solutions withfundamental cultural shift in our behaviour. If we do not

lter our interaction with the environment, over demand foramaging technology and expectations of what the earthan provide, technology will be unable to find sustainableolutions for what ultimately threatens our health.

The purpose of this presentation is to review how theain environmental issues may impact on human health andsustainable future and to challenge nurses as individuals

nd a profession, to develop solutions to a sustainable globalnvironment and explore how our practice might need tohange to address new or expanding areas of health concern.

oi:10.1016/j.aenj.2008.09.005

ORKFORCE EDUCATION

hursday 28 August—–Concurrent Session 1

s a consistent approach to education in the ED achiev-ble?

manda Charles

Southern Health is one of the largest hospital networks inictoria, Australia. There are three Emergency DepartmentsED) within the network, of varying acuity, and patient pre-entation numbers more than 128,000 patients annually. The

Ds are staffed by Registered nurses Division 1 and 2 and alsoupport a variety of formal education programs. These pro-rams include post-graduate students studying emergencyursing and novice practitioners undergoing a structured