This research was undertaken to inform future telehealth policy directions regarding the socioeconomic impact of telehealth. Fifty-seven sources were identified and analyzed through a comprehensive literature search of electronic databases, the Internet, journals, conference proceedings, as well as personal communication with consultants in the field. The review revealed a focus on certain socioeconomic indicators such as cost, access, and satisfaction. It also identified areas of opportunity for further research and policy analysis and development (e.g., social isolation, life stress, poverty), along with various barriers and challenges to the advancement of telehealth. These included confidentiality, reimbursement, and legal and ethical considerations. To become fully integrated into the health care system, telehealth must be viewed as more than an add-on service. This paper offers 19 general and 20 subject-specific telehealth recommendations, as well as seven policy strategies.

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Objective: This study examined registered nurses’ perspectives of being supportive of nursing students and providing them with learning opportunities when on clinical placements. Background: In Australia, as part of their three-year Bachelors degree, undergraduate nursing students undertake a minimum of 800 hours of clinical placement. During these clinical placement hours, nursing students are supervised by registered nurses who are required to be supportive of the students and provide them with learning opportunities. Study design and methods: This study used a grounded theory approach. In this qualitative study there were fifteen registered nurse participants. Thirteen participants were female participants and two were male. Participants were individually interviewed. Transcripts from these in–depth interviews were analysed using constant comparative analysis. Results: The major category, an added extra, emerged from this study. An added extra is about registered nurses’ perception that having a student is an added extra to their daily duties. The major category an added extra is informed by three emergent themes. The first theme was time, the second theme was workload and the third theme was wanting recognition. Discussion: Registered nurses perceived that their workloads tend not to be taken into consideration when they have nursing students. The literature suggests that nursing students often miss out on learning opportunities when they are on clinical placement because registered nurses do not have additional time to effectively support students’ clinical learning. Conclusion: Participants in this study believed being supportive of nursing students and providing them with learning opportunities was an added extra to their daily nursing duties. Findings revealed registered nurses want to be recognised for the extra time and effort they dedicate to students’ learning.

Problem: Pre registration nursing students do not always feel supported by Registered Nurses during their clinical placements. To help develop and refine clinical skills, in order to deliver safe, competent nursing care, nursing students rely on Registered Nurses to teach and support them in their clinical learning. Background: Pre-registration nursing students in Australia must undertake a minimum of 800 clinical placement hours as part of their undergraduate nursing education. Registered Nurses are required to provide professional development and to teach and support students during these clinical placements. Little is known about Registered Nurses' understanding of this nursing standard requirement. Aim: To explore Registered Nurses' understanding of the nursing standard requirement to provide professional development to pre-registration nursing students during their clinical placements. Methods: A Grounded Theory study was used involving in-depth semi-structured individual interviews to gather data from fifteen Registered Nurse participants. Constant comparative analysis was used to analyse the data and it was from this data analysis that the substantive theory emerged. Findings: The substantive theory developed as a result of this research is titled, Doing the Right Thing Doing the Right Thing. The core category, the right thing to do the right thing to do, is informed by four elements; sense of responsibility sense of responsibility, an added added extra extra, choice choice , and nursing standard nursing standard. Conclusion: Registered Nurses are motivated to teach and support nursing students on clinical placements because they believe it is the right thing to do.