David McIntyre - Nursing and Midwifery Research Fellowship recipient

Queensland nurse practitioner, researcher and proud Scotsman, David McIntyre, has been awarded a $14,513 Nursing and Midwifery Research Fellowship to further test the validity and feasibility of his McIntyre Audit Tool (MAT 26).

David will use the Fellowship grant to further his PhD research and put the focus firmly on the quality of nursing care being delivered in Queensland, specifically in a haemodialysis setting.

His project involves developing a set of haemodialysis specific nurse sensitive indicators, a way to measure the quality of care that nurses provide. These indicators capture how nursing care directly impacts the outcomes of patients with end stage kidney disease that require haemodialysis therapy.

“Prior to this project, the only measurements of patient outcomes were either medical or satisfaction based” said Mr McIntyre. “This new research will measure the unique aspects of nursing that are not currently captured”.

“Patients with end stage kidney disease are complex to manage with multiple comorbidities and a heavy symptom burden and add to this the need to have renal replacement therapy. The nurse is well placed to assist these patients achieve an improved quality of life.”

While David reports that he is often misunderstood due to his broad Scottish accent, we can’t wait to hear the results of his research (even if we do have to ask him twice!).

David McIntyre has over 20 years of nephrology nursing experience and is a nurse practitioner in kidney replacement therapy. David has worked in Canada, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia. He has a master’s degree (nurse practitioner) and is currently a PhD candidate at Griffith University.

The Nursing and Midwifery Research Fellowships (NMRF) program is a partnership between Queensland Health and the Queensland Board of the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia, supporting nurses and midwives to improve health outcomes for Queenslanders through research that:

• enhances the value of the professions through discipline specific research
• promotes innovative healthcare through evidence-based nursing and midwifery practice and new models of care, and
• contributes to the advancement of nursing and midwifery policy and education.