Professional Experience Placement

The eHealth Research Virtual Centre is a collaboration between UTAS eHealth researchers, industry partners and government. It is based within the School of Nursing and Midwifery, within the Faculty of Health Science.  The Centre aims to provide leadership and a single point of contact for e-health initiatives in Tasmania. Currently the portal hosts information about the Committee and collaborators.  One of the projects that is being undertaken is the define-ehealth project, which aims through using the Delphi technique in obtaining a global consensus for the meaning of e-health.

Over time there has been considerable literature that discusses the definition of e-health.  A systematic review published in 2005 reported the results of suggested, published or proposed definitions at that time. The authors found 51 unique definitions, but no clear consensus about the meaning of the term e-health. The concluded that eHealth is an important concept and there is a tacit understanding of its meaning, however a more refined definition may improve communication among the individuals and organisations that use the term. If you would like to contribute to this project go to the define-ehealth webpage and join this global study.

The National eHealth strategy provides opportunities if you have an interest in this area. The eHealth centre is a systems approach to furthering our understanding and connection about eHealth. At an individual level, UTAS provides opportunities for healthcare workers to learn about eHealth by undertaking graduate qualifications in health informatics and eHealth.  Additionally, eHealth technologies are being developed and implemented in healthcare organisations where you work. There is also a need for professional experience supervisors to understand current information communication technology that is used by students and colleagues. I have previously blogged about nurses and ICT. It is up to us to facilitate our students into appropriate use of ICT in the workplace and to ensure we are contemporary in our understanding of the technology used within our workplaces. I urge you to make 2013 the year you join the PEPCommunity or virtual community of practice for professional experience facilitators offered by the School of Nursing and Midwifery. It is a network of people interested in clinical supervision that share information about supervision including professional development opportunities, contemporary literature and University information.  If you have comments about eHealth and its use or impact on you, you are welcome to post them here.