The Australian party.

The first, vague rumour heralding the Australian Party occurred as far back as August 1929, when it was whispered that the A.W.U. and W.M. Hughes were in an alliance to unseat the government

Medical student ultrasound education, a WFUMB position paper, Part II. A consensus statement by ultrasound societies

Publisher Copyright: © 2020 Societatea Romana de Ultrasonografie in Medicina si Biologie. All rights reserved. Copyright: Copyright 2020 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.Ultrasound is becoming a fundamental first-line diagnostic tool for most medical specialties and an innovative tool to teach anatomy, physiology and pathophysiology to undergraduate and graduate students. However, availability of structured training programs during medical school is lagging behind and many physicians still acquire all their ultrasound skills during postgraduate training. There is wide variation in medical student ultrasound education worldwide. Sharing successful educational strategies from early adopter medical schools and learning from leading education programs should advance the integration of ultrasound into the university medical school curricula. In this overview, we present current approaches and suggestions by ultrasound societies concerning medical student education throughout the world. Based on these examples, we formulate a consensus statement with suggestions on how to integrate ultrasound teaching into the preclinical and clinical medical curricula.publishersversionPeer reviewe

The ultrasound use of simulators, current view, and perspectives: Requirements and technical aspects (WFUMB state of the art paper)

Simulation has been shown to improve clinical learning outcomes, speed up the learning process and improve learner confidence, whilst initially taking pressure off busy clinical lists. The World Federation for Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology (WFUMB) state of the art paper on the use of simulators in ultrasound education introduces ultrasound simulation, its advantages and challenges. It describes different simulator types, including low and high-fidelity simulators, the requirements and technical aspects of simulators, followed by the clinical applications of ultrasound simulation. The paper discusses the role of ultrasound simulation in ultrasound clinical training, referencing established literature. Requirements for successful ultrasound simulation acceptance into educational structures are explored. Despite being in its infancy, ultrasound simulation already offers a wide range of training opportunities and likely holds the key to a broader point of care ultrasound education for medical students, practicing doctors, and other health care professionals. Despite the drawbacks of simulation, there are also many advantages, which are expanding rapidly as the technology evolves

How to perform Contrast-Enhanced Ultrasound (CEUS)

"How to perform contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS)" provides general advice on the use of ultrasound contrast agents (UCAs) for clinical decision-making and reviews technical parameters for optimal CEUS performance. CEUS techniques vary between centers, therefore, experts from EFSUMB, WFUMB and from the CEUS LI-RADS working group created a discussion forum to standardize the CEUS examination technique according to published evidence and best personal experience. The goal is to standardise the use and administration of UCAs to facilitate correct diagnoses and ultimately to improve the management and outcomes of patients

A THOUSAND THOUSAND CAMPFIRES: Policy change and Aboriginal broadcasting in Australia 1967-1990

Between 1967 and 1990 Ministers directed a succession of Commonwealth interdepartmental Committees (IDCs) to make recommendations for an Aboriginal broadcasting policy. Part A: Context establishes historical context and nominates the starting point for development of an Aboriginal broadcasting policy. I suggest that since the activities of IDCs are confidential, the bulk of the policy cycle is effectively hidden from public view. Reviewing the literature on major policy change, I suggest that work based upon Thomas Kuhn’s seminal notion of paradigms provides an heuristic basis for analysing developments in the area. In particular, subsequent speculation by Peter Hall about policy paradigms, by Baumgartner and Jones on punctuated equilibrium (PE) theory and the multiple streams approach developed by Kingdon, Mintrom and others, provide a strong theoretical basis for analysis. Part B: Case Studies provides a detailed historical account of what actually happened on the Other side of the Moon — inside the black boxes that are the venues for policy work in the Australian Public Service (APS). It records that in our Westminster-based system the official experts of the Australian Public Service (APS) normally wield substantial influence. However, in this area they experienced significant policy failure. Cultural myopia — an inability to see that Aboriginal cultures worked differently and that Aboriginal peoples had to be consulted — was the root cause of failure, fatally undermining successive attempts to devise a policy. The First Working Party (1976-1979) objected to ministerial directions not to consult and concluded that the parameters set by Ministers were faulty. When it provided contrary advice its recommendations were ignored. By 1980 the Second Working Party (1980-1981) was facing an Australian Broadcasting Commission determined to run its own race, pressure from a number of Aboriginal communities now seeking to establish community controlled public broadcasting (including television) and Ministers who still wanted neither. Its attempt to straddle all schools of thought resulted in a confusing interim report that was again ignored. The Third Working Party (1982) was a futile rump formed after Ministers had refused to act and soon disappeared into oblivion. In 1984 a resurgent Labor Government reiterated its support for selfdetermination and invited strong Aboriginal participation in a Task Force on Aboriginal and Islander Broadcasting and Communications (TFAIBC). The TFAIBC provided a comprehensive description of developments to that point and nominated a series of policy options. Its recommendations were fully adopted. Nevertheless, its report (¿2/// o f the Si/ent Land) was flawed. The TFAIBC consulted widely and attempted to support almost any suggestion but it also avoided prioritisation, cost estimates and recommendations regarding migratory paths. Significantly, it then left implementation in the hands of settler bureaucrats in the Department of Aboriginal Affairs, whose notion of consultation with Aboriginal broadcasters and communities proved to be quite manipulative. Some valuable developments, such as the Broadcasting for Remote Aboriginal Communities Scheme (BRACS), resulted from Out o f the St/ent Land. Yet the flaws in its recommendations did little to dispel conceptual confusion and eventually led to significant under funding, particularly in supporting Aboriginal communities for operations and maintenance as well as training.Part C: Conclusions analyses the case studies. In each succeeding case there is a consistent theme — the difficulties experienced by settler policymakers in coming to terms with Aboriginal community control. The two interlocking and overlapping policy paradigms: statutory regulation (broadcasting) and assimi/ation (Aboriginal affairs) were both under strong pressure. In the case of broadcasting there was rapid and major policy change. The prevailing paradigm was swiftly replaced by diversity of c/ioice. Yet in Aboriginal affairs the prevailing paradigm proved highly resistant and the proffered alternative — seif-determination — was consistently rejected in favour of re-badged versions of assimilation. I call this very different path ‘the boomerang trajectory’. Most case studies cover situations in which paradigm change has already occurred and consequently provide only limited insights into causation. Noting that experienced practitioners seek to calculate resistance to change utilising a rough calculus based upon the notion of policy inertia, I suggest that in order to make the PE framework more effective it is necessary more consciously to focus upon this concept. Finally I suggest that a better understanding of causation depends upon deployment of Multiple Streams theory with its related notion of policy entrepreneurs

Ultrasonic assessment of fetal size and growth

This work investigates a number of issues. Firstly it examines ultrasonic fetal biometry, the parameters and techniques for accurate measuring and reviews the procedure adopted for graph formation and application of regression analysis for a mathematical model to describe the relationship between fetal size and weeks of gestation. Next it establishes new Australian fetal measurement charts for the crown rump length, head circumference and abdominal circumference, based on an Australian population, to replace the charts currently in use that are over 20 years old and relate to middle class white American and British women. The new graphs, along with previous work completed by the author in 1999 on the BPD, OFD femur and humerus length, were subsequently accepted by the Australasian Society for Ultrasound in Medicine (ASUM) in 2001 as the new Australian standard for ultrasonic fetal measurements. The accuracy of first trimester ultrasound dating is also investigated, displaying the variations seen in the crown-rump length due to fetal flexion and the implications of inaccurate measuring. The third study examines inter- and intra-sonographer ultrasonic fetal measurement reproducibility in the final 6 weeks of pregnancy. The study highlights the importance of sonographer competence, standardised measuring protocols, image planes and reference charts, particularly for patients undergoing ultrasound examinations for fetal growth assessment at different practices. The fourth study looks at the incidence of fetal macrosomia and birth complications in Chinese women and Caucasian women in two time periods, 1992 and 1999/2000. The results showed a rise in macrosomic babies born to Chinese immigrants from 4% of total Chinese births in 1992 to 9.8% in 1999/2000. There was also a rise in the rate of macrosomia among Caucasian women with respective rates of 11 and 14% for the same periods. The incidence of post partum haemorrhage increased significantly over this time in both Chinese immigrant and Caucasian women. Interventions declined in all Caucasian birth-weight ranges whilst interventions for Chinese births remained stable except between 3500grams and 4000grams, where interventions rose from 35.7% to 60.5%. Fetal macrosomia is a complication of pregnancy that is increasing in incidence. One of the causes of fetal overgrowth is uncontrolled gestational diabetes mellitus and so if women thus diagnosed are closely monitored, the risks of a macrosomic baby and associated birth complications may be reduced. The final study examines the effect of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) on fetal growth. GDM is a complication of mid to late pregnancy caused by glucose intolerance. In the Australian population up to 8% of all pregnancies can be affected. In the Australian Chinese community the GDM rate is as high as 15% compared with 4% in Caucasian women. The risks to the fetus as a result of GDM include increased perinatal mortality, large for gestational dates, macrosomia and prematurity. The aim of this study was to determine whether the fetuses of women diagnosed with GDM were significantly larger for dates for any of the commonly ultrasonically measured fetal parameters, than in the general pregnant population. The results show that if the glycaemic levels are properly controlled, fetal size should not be compromised. The abdominal circumference measurement appears to be the important marker for fetal macrosomia, particularly in the Chinese population. The study also assessed fetal weight gain from 36 weeks gestation to term in Caucasian women with GDM and Chinese pregnancies both with and without GDM. No statistically significant difference was seen in daily weight gain between the groups investigated

COVID‐19: Infection prevention and control guidance for all ultrasound practitioners

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS‐CoV‐2), an enveloped virus, is the causative agent of the disease known as COVID‐19 (Coronavirus Disease 2019). The virus is transmitted via the droplet and contact route1 and there is a higher risk of virus transmission when aerosol generating procedures are performed. The median incubation period for COVID‐19 is approximately 5 days2 with symptoms appearing 2‐14 days post exposure

COVID-19: Infection prevention and control guidance for all ultrasound practitioners

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS‐CoV‐2), an enveloped virus, is the causative agent of the disease known as COVID‐19 (Coronavirus Disease 2019). The virus is transmitted via the droplet and contact route1 and there is a higher risk of virus transmission when aerosol generating procedures are performed. The median incubation period for COVID‐19 is approximately 5 days2 with symptoms appearing 2‐14 days post exposure