CQUniversity Masters researcher Andrea Reid is checking what factors impact on nurses' effective use of the Modified Early Warning Score (MEWS) in hospitals...

Andrea says early warning systems such as MEWS have been introduced to aid the decision-making process and to help nurses make judgments relating to intervention, timing and communication.

Masters researcher Andrea Reid

"Success of such warning systems is pivotal on the involvement of the registered nurse," she says. "Hence this research aims to explore acute care registered nurses' understanding of the use of the MEWS."

Andrea will be able to interpret her findings with help from her own specialised career in Australia and England.

The Rockhampton Hospital-trained nurse started to specialise when she worked in the Cardiac Medical Ward at Brisbane's Prince Charles Hospital, before moving across to the Cardiothoracic Intensive Care Unit.

Then followed a stint at London's Royal Brompton Hospital in Chelsea and Andrea completed her Cardiothoracic ICU certificate through the Royal Brompton Hospital at Thames Valley University in London.

Returning to Australia, Andrea worked in intensive care at Brisbane's Princess Alexandra Hospital and enrolled in a Bachelor of Nursing (post registration), which she completed in 2000. She transferred to Brisbane's Wesley Hospital to work in post-operative recovery, looking after cardiothoracic intensive care patients.

Andrea has been back at Rockhampton Hospital for almost a decade, taking up a position as a Registered Nurse in a Coronary Care Unit. In 2003 she was appointed to the position of Nurse Educator, responsible for education in the Critical Care areas of Accident and Emergency, Intensive Care and Coronary Care.

"As the hospital has expanded and services are now more demanding, my role has been divided and now shared. I am now only responsible for CCU and this year was given Yeppoon Hospital to coordinate and facilitate education for RNs," she said.

Andrea juggles her work and research commitments with her role as a wife and mother of a young child.

CQUniversity's expanded range of Health and Medical Sciences degrees for 2011 includes Medical Imaging, Medical Sonography, Medical Science and Paramedic Science.  For details contact 13CQUni (13 27 86).

Deputy Vice-Chancellor Professor Mark Burton said research supports the need for new health and medical science programs in regional Queensland.

"The data clearly proves that if you take in rural or regional-sourced students from a regional area and provide enhanced curriculum then 60 - 70 percent will stay in the region to work for at least 3 years afterward," he said.