Partnership to deliver evidence-based nursing in aged care
Bolton Clarke has partnered with Queensland University of Technology to improve dementia care.
Australia’s largest aged care provider Bolton Clarke has partnered with Queensland University of Technology to appoint a research position.
The role – which will sit jointly with Bolton Clarke and QUT’s School of Nursing – has been created to further develop knowledge and evidence-based nursing practice to support better outcomes for older people receiving dementia care.
Appointee Dr Linda Schnitker is a QUT School of Nursing academic and a leader in dementia research. Dr Schnitker told Australian Ageing Agenda that hers is a unique role embedded in both organisations where delivering care, research and teaching expertise meet.
“This partnership is important because it will allow me to use my research and teaching skills to support aged care staff with the complex challenges they may face when looking after an older person in residential aged care,” she said.
Dr Schnitker is no stranger to Bolton Clarke. She took leave from QUT last year to join its Senior Clinical Nurse Adviser team.
“This position gives both Bolton Clarke and the QUT School of Nursing the opportunity to work with residents, their family members and aged care staff to co-design solutions for common challenges in aged care and concurrently think about effective and feasible implementation strategies to make a sustainable change in the industry,” said Dr Schnitker.
With 50 per cent of aged care residents living with dementia, Bolton Clarke executive general manager Clinical Associate Professor Wendy Zernike said: “Having Linda, who is a dementia expert, in this position brings a level of practical nursing expertise in a research setting which is so important to the care we deliver to our clients every day.”
The appointment formalises a longstanding relationship between the provider and the university and “will strengthen the nexus between aged care education, research and clinical practice,” said QUT head of nursing Professor Jane Phillips.
She added: “We are excited by the opportunities to build the evidence for providing best practice care to older people living in residential aged care, many of whom have very complex needs.”
Main image: (from left to right) Professor Judy Lowthian, Professor Jane Phillips, Linda Schnitker and Clinical Associate Professor Wendy Zernike.
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