Clinical Pharmacist – Pharmacy
Alison is a dedicated, well-respected clinical pharmacist who always goes out of her way to put patient care first. She is respectful to her colleagues and builds excellent rapport with staff on wards she is rotated to. Alison often stays back beyond her usual finish time of 5pm to ensure any patients with complex medications and discharges are reviewed and completed and patients counselled rather than have them go to community pharmacy or stay an extra night, which would otherwise diminish the patient experience and affect patient flow.
Alison has previously worked at the Royal Children’s Hospital and been involved in LEAN dispensary processes. LEAN was introduced at the Footscray Pharmacy Department in May 2017 and Alison provided useful feedback and ideas on how to make the process work better, whilst respecting the views of current dispensary staff and managers. Alison provided valuable insights from a ward pharmacist’s perspective and how this could work with the dispensary team. Alison’s dedication to completing her work each day and ensuring late discharge patients have medications properly screened and dispensed and counselled demonstrates a commitment to patient safety.
Alison displays exemplary behaviour, always has a positive attitude, provides constructive feedback and is always willing to help even at the busiest of times and when pharmacy is most challenged.
Registered Nurse – Ward 2 East
A patient wrote: Arvind demonstrated respect towards my dad and I from the minute we arrived on the ward. This continued throughout our stay. Arvind was processional, efficient, kind and respectful at all times. He supported Dad’s dignity and rights and made him feel comfortable with him straight away, which is not an easy achievement with my dad.
Dad doesn’t call everyone ‘Mate’ or offer eye contact, but with Arvind he did. Arvind demonstrated compassion in attending to my Dad’s needs and checking in with us after Dad was in recovery. He made me feel comforted when he knew I was Dad’s only support.
Arvind’s practice reflects excellence and safety through his daily delivery of his role on the ward. He is an excellent communicator who shares his knowledge and role models the values of Western Health.
Associate Midwifery Unit Manager – Ward 2C Sunshine Hospital
Bernadette displays many wonderful strengths, one of which is consistency. She is consistently great to work with, and consistently provides great leadership and care. Bernadette is a strong advocate for women, babies and families. She treats her patients as individuals, and will always tailor care appropriately. Bernadette is a skilful communicator, particularly with families from CALD backgrounds. She will always listen to any concerns and act on these appropriately. Bernadette ensures that the very busy ward works as efficiently and effectively as possible, while continuing to be responsive to the changing needs of women, babies and their families.
Bernadette is calm and quietly spoken, is consistently professional when talking with colleagues and she communicates with women and their families in a careful and considered way. She is also a great listener and will always take concerns of staff and patients seriously. Bernadette contributes to a Positive Workplace by consistently displaying professionalism and strong leadership. She is always approachable, calm, organised and very supportive of colleagues. In the pursuit of providing best care to patients, Bernadette has a high expectation of those working with her, yet she is very gentle and encouraging. She obviously values young midwives and goes out of her way to support and teach. Under the difficult circumstances of high patient turnover and limited resources she will always offer to help those with whom she works.
Food Services Assistants – Footscray Hospital
Borka and Anne have always gone above and beyond in upholding the Western Health values. They are both extremely hard workers who always ensure that they complete their duties in a timely, efficient manner and are always there to assist others to finish on time. Their positive attributes and skills do not end with their hard work. They also project a warm, respectful and cheerful attitude to our patients, always greeting them with a smile, taking the time to listen to them and assisting them wherever they possibly can.
Borka and Anne love people and always try to lift the spirits of those around them. They come to work happy and spread the positivity amongst other work colleagues.
Occupational Therapist – Footscray Hospital- Acute team
Clare provides leadership and support to junior staff within the occupational therapy service assisting learning and skill development. During times of high clinical demand, Clare goes above and beyond to ensure effective prioritisation and communication to facilitate the provision of timely, best care to patients. Clare is solution focused, raising and identifying issues early and taking the initiative to identify possible solutions to problems. She creates a positive and inclusive team culture which is highly valued by those with whom she works.
A team player, Clare is always volunteering to take on additional tasks and challenges for the good of the team and to support high quality service provision. When issues arise, Clare seeks a respectful resolution and demonstrates mindfulness in the way she communicates in order to ensure positive outcomes.
Clare supports junior clinicians to develop in their roles, building confidence in the provision of high quality best care. She does this by inviting questions and being approachable, even though she carries a very busy clinical load herself. Clare is always tuned into how others around her are feeling and frequently checks in with staff around her to ensure they are feeling well supported. Clare models the WH values in her work daily and goes about her role in a quiet, reliable manner without seeking recognition or thanks.
Senior Communications Advisor – Clinical Projects – Allied Health
Claire is a pillar of strength and provides inspirational leadership and guidance to Allied Health. She has a clear passion for Allied Health and ensuring our workforce is well supported, innovative and making a difference for our patients, clients, families and staff. Claire as the first person in the ASPIRE team, has built a highly professional and hardworking team around her in the unit to support the development of Allied Health services. She has been integral to implementing key changes in Allied Health.
Claire’s door is always open and she is often a sounding board for staff, to listen, provide advice or just be. She is a compassionate and caring person who many people go to for support and guidance. She displays accountability through all the work she has done within Allied Health to develop policy and procedures and to ensure all of our staff are accountable and understand the values of Western Health, which she exemplifies.
Claire always manages herself professionally, communicates well with others, particularly in difficult times, and always maintains her respect for all individuals and supports their choices. This is where Claire is a stand out. She inspires those around her to do and be better, she is always innovative, bringing new projects and ideas to Allied Health, and she is visionary in her work. Within her role in Allied Health there are many key stakeholders with which to work closely with and bring together. Claire is a person who is able to unify and have everyone working together with a driven purpose.
Administration Support Officer – Breast Cancer Unit
Since commencing work for the breast care nurse unit in December 2017, Darcie has demonstrated exemplary work ethic. She has been committed to developing her communication skills and style that has benefited both patients and staff alike. Darcie’s learnt understanding of breast cancer and the emotional impact of this diagnosis upon the individual is exceptional, though she has always worked within the boundaries of her administration role. Her administration support to both the breast care nurse and the breast cancer patients of Western Health has been vital for the functioning of the unit over the past 6 months and I would suggest would have faulted without her dedication and commitment.
Darcie demonstrates compassion through her outstanding ability to acknowledge and listen to distressed and anxious patients on a daily basis. Having never worked with the CALD community, Darcie has learnt to respectfully work within this community. She is always exploring the use of telephone interpreters in order to ensure appropriate support and follow up and she is able to recognise that each person has a unique story and perspective. Darcie is a positive, determined and inspiring individual, always empowering others to achieve. Her self-confidence inspires both patients and her colleagues. Darcie demonstrates accountability and safety in her work by ensuring timely follow up for all calls received to the breast care nursing services including escalation to clinicians, the community and GPs as required. Darcie is a vibrant and empathetic young woman who is committed to the care of not only the patients of Western Heath but also her colleagues.
Stomal Therapy Nurse Consultant
Diana is a high performing and efficient Stomal Therapy Nurse who is committed to supporting bowel cancer patients at Western Health. Diana supports her nursing colleagues at a ward level and is a well-rounded team player. Diana is also a published clinician and recognised leader in her field.
Diana demonstrates compassion through her person centred care and consistently treats patients as individuals, providing care that is welcoming and respectful. She promotes safe care amongst staff, patients and community and provides patients with timely and accurate information regarding their health care so they make informed decisions regarding their health. Diana promotes an environment where staff and patients feel safe to attend.
Diana is invested in nursing and education and support. She presents at staff education days, compiles and circulates a bi-monthly newsletter to staff about stoma care and offers nursing staff the opportunity to spend the day with her to improve their clinical knowledge.
ICU Consultant / Anaesthetist – ICU / Operating Theatre
Forbes demonstrates utmost compassion in his clinical practice every day. Forbes is the model Senior Clinician and ‘Green Champion’. As a clinician, he demonstrates the values of care, compassion, respect, excellence on a daily basis. As a Green Champion, he goes even further. He is aware of all the ways available to him to reduce the environmental impact of his role as an anaesthetist, and willing to provide positive reinforcement to others to try to do the same. His colleagues describe him as “passionate”, “amazing” and “inspiring”. Because he is. As a Medical Donation Specialist, Forbes is drawn in to sensitive end-of-life conversations as the expert voice for the team. This role requires a mixture of integrity and compassion in supporting donors. Everything the team does is led by the families of the donors. Forbes is exceptionally respectful of their wishes, and what they think their loved ones would have wanted. Forbes has been the Chair of WH’s Sustainability Committee for about 9 years. As such, he is the source of perennial ideas, perpetual good humour, enthusiastic collaboration and good strong debate. His approach is always underpinned by respectful communication and the ability to listen carefully to other people’s perspectives. Forbes enjoys exploring with clinicians, engineers, chemists, et al ways to make healthcare more patient centred, less polluting, less expensive and more environmentally sustainable. Forbes is a worldwide recognised leader in his field of research, recently determining the carbon footprint of healthcare in Australia. This study was published in the Lancet Planetary Health journal in January this year and it concluded that healthcare contributed 7 per cent of Australia’s total carbon footprint in 2014–15, with hospitals and pharmaceuticals accounting for two-thirds of this amount. Forbes led a behaviour change initiative with the aim of converting anaesthetists’ choice of anaesthetic agent from desflurane and nitrous oxide to sevoflurane and propofol where clinically possible, to reduce greenhouse impacts associated with anaesthetic practice in healthcare and achieve financial savings. Like so many of the ‘loaded’ projects that Forbes has taken on (Donate Life; End of Life etc.), this leadership warranted careful consideration of the issues of safety. In this initiative, the successful conversion was done collaboratively over a comfortable period of time, demonstrating leadership, with attention to issues of patient safety and respect for his peers’ personal opinions. Western Health has recently been nominated as Finalist in the Premiers Sustainability Awards (PSA) for this initiative. Forbes is committed within his role as an anaesthetist and takes every opportunity to demonstrate his commitment to healthcare environmental sustainability too. This is at Western Health and within broader dialogues and audiences, locally and internationally.
Environmental Services – Cleaner – Sunshine Hospital
Kay is so incredibly kind, welcoming and caring. Kay and I greet each other in the early hours on weekday mornings as I walk through the Women’s Clinic on the way to my office. She is always cheery and welcomes me with a smile, remembers things about my family, shares the birthday cake she has made for one of her colleagues with me, gives me lemons off her tree – especially when I am under the weather and she thinks I need hot water and lemon. Kay even provides gardening advice when I can’t work out what is digging up my daffodil bulbs! She brightens my day and obviously those around her.
Kay works incredibly hard with a very early start but still remains positive and gets the job done, whilst ensuring all standards are met. Her work is of a high standard for the benefit of the staff and women in the clinic and she seems equally happy to help out in other areas of need, often helping her colleagues without being asked. Kay has the utmost respect for her peers and colleagues, regardless of their role in the organisation. She fosters a positive workplace culture consistently in the way she goes about getting her job done and remaining positive and kind. Kay shows genuine interest in other people and always tries to ensure their wellbeing. She is a delight to chat to every morning.
Midwife/RN – Ward 1B
A patient wrote: I had a day procedure that resulted with my needing to have an overnight stay. Kimmy was my nurse for the majority of my admission. Kimmy has a wonderful balance of professionalism and approachability. Her kindness and manner left me feeling at ease and confident with what was for me, a very unfamiliar process.
Having Kimmy as my primary carer during my stay on the ward made my overall experience an exceptional one.
Senior Grade 3 Dietitian – Sunshine Hospital, Nutrition Department
Kristi commenced with Western Health as a Dietitian in September 2017. From the moment she stepped into her role it was clear that she is a born leader. Kristi is not only a fantastic Dietitian working primarily in the busy units of ICU and the surgery, but she always has time for her colleagues. She gets to know everyone both professionally and personally and advocates for the well-being of her staff.
Kristi photocopies and displays the monthly ‘well-being’ calendar and encourages all staff during their work lunch break to take a moment to reflect and promote positive self-talk. She also encourages all of her staff to take adequate breaks throughout the day. Although Kristi promotes well-being she always has the attitude of putting patients first and using resources appropriately. Often at Sunshine Hospital our department is short staffed. Kristi is always the first person to take on extra responsibilities and leads by example. Kristi consistently shows respect to all of her colleagues and patients despite an often extremely demanding workload.
She demonstrates a dedication to helping others learn and grow and is always available to discuss patient care in a timely manner to foster ‘Best Care’ and professional development. Kristi has demonstrated a dedication to foster a positive workplace from the moment she started working at Western Health. Her calm and level-headed nature has been a breath of fresh air to our entire department. She takes a genuine interest in her colleagues, is someone that we all trust and respect and is always available to trouble shoot any problems. She is an asset to Western Health.
Nurse Unit Manager – ED Sunshine
Louise Cooke has worked tirelessly; above and beyond expectations to not only manage the daily operational needs of the Emergency Department (ED), but to provide critical leadership in the many change management issues which have occurred over her time as NUM. This includes addressing the many demands of the forthcoming introduction of EMR, anticipating changes across 2018-19 and beyond with the Joan Kirner Women’s and Children’s Hospital, and assisting with the planning for the exciting new expansion of the ED.
Louise is highly respected by her team as well as the medical, allied health and mental health teams and the many external people to the ED with whom she liaises. Louise has a warm, friendly and approachable manner towards staff, patients and their families. Staff feel comfortable approaching Louise with concerns; her door is always open and despite her extremely busy workload, Louise is always available to listen, provide support and wise counsel for the staff in her area.
Louise is also passionate about the patient experience and is a key driver in improving patient safety. She genuinely cares about the patients and their relatives experience. The ED is an extremely busy area that often has patients and their families in an acutely stressful situation. Louise was a key manager in identifying and managing the recently identified occupational violence issues. Louise’s excellent management skills enabled significant clinical practice change around documenting and managing patient/family ‘Behaviours of Concern’, which has made the Sunshine ED a safer workplace. Staff are more empowered to assess and escalate concerns and patients are having their issues/behaviours managed earlier, preventing further escalation.
Louise is a decisive and inspiring leader, who “leads from the front”. She has been described by her nurses as being fun and vibrant, as well as being EXTREMELY approachable. Under her guidance, the Sunshine ED continues to be well recognised for its positive workplace culture built upon respectful multi-disciplinary team-based support.
Midwife / Aboriginal Continuity of Care Research Project Midwife – Sunshine Maternity Services
Lynnelle is a midwife within maternity services. In addition to this role, Lynnelle has taken on the Research Midwife role to support the implementation and evaluation of a research program ensuring all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (ATSI) women have access to Midwifery Group Practice (MGP) – a continuity model of maternity care that ensures every woman has a designated midwife to help her through the journey of pregnancy, birth and early parenting.
The outcomes for women receiving continuity of midwifery care are well known, therefore ensuring all ATSI women are offered MGP endeavours to address many of the known variables that impact on perinatal outcomes for ATSI women and babies.
Lynnelle is incredibly kind and compassionate to all who are privileged to come into contact with her. She strives to ensure the service delivery of the organisation meets the needs of those most in need. Lynnelle displays an exemplary level of respect not only for the women and babies in her care, additionally Lynnelle displays a level of respect and understanding of the often challenging circumstances of women she is advocating for.
Lynnelle has demonstrated excellence through her efforts in developing partnerships, programs and improvement initiatives and in her delivery of education for the benefit of all women accessing the service. She remains positive and challenges any attitudes or behaviours that are detrimental to the important work she is doing. Lynnelle is an incredibly compassionate and respectful member of the Women’s & Children’s team.
Volunteer – Footscray Hospital
Maria is an amazing volunteer and an asset to the Volunteer Team. She mentors new volunteers and promotes an environment of inclusiveness and respect.
Maria demonstrates confidence in dealing with patients and visitors and is always friendly and welcoming. Her compassion is obvious to all of those who deal with her. Maria is very reliable and responsible for her actions. She reports any issues or concerns to the Coordinator in a timely manner and follows up where necessary. As a visitor guide, Maria treats everyone equally and strives very hard to promote a positive experience for anyone who comes to the hospital.
Maria, in her many roles, delivers a service which is of the highest quality and the patients, visitors and staff receive the assistance they need. She is committed to ensuring that our hospital is a safe and welcoming environment to patients and visitors and she diligently reports any issues of concern immediately. Maria is always smiling and willing to help in any way she can. She is a valued member of the Footscray Volunteer Team.
Allied Health Assistant – Acute Services Sunshine Hospital
Mary consistently goes above and beyond in her role. She coordinates the acute Allied Health Assistant (AHA) team, leads the AHA student placement planning and provides excellent support, expertise and training to other AHAs and students. Mary is a fantastic example to the rest of the team, always putting her hand up to take on new challenges and managing her responsibilities competently with a calm manner and a smile on her face. Mary consistently demonstrates respect for her colleagues and patients and is very approachable, thoughtful and compassionate.
Mary is a very experienced AHA. She capably shares her experience with other AHAs and students who look up to her. Mary provides an example of how effective and important the AHA role can be in helping our patients recover. She operates at the top of her scope of practice, providing excellence in patient care and leadership to her team. Mary leads by example and consistently makes suggestions to improve care for patients but never oversteps her boundaries. She is caring to those around her and her responses are always well considered and measured.
Mary is always humble, hardworking and genuinely cares for the team of AHA’s that she leads. She consistently adheres to Western Health values and is an excellent role model for both her colleagues and the students that she is involved with. She is a pleasure to work with!
Grade 4 Occupational Therapist – Sub acute, In-patient rehabilitation at Sunshine
Matthew is a positive and inspiring role model to the staff that he directly manages and is seen as a positive influence across Subacute services. He demonstrates an awareness of individual needs while striving to provide the best possible service.
Matthew challenges individuals to consider “did they provide the best service in the most efficient and effective way?” across all work areas. He models a very respectful attitude and approach to all individuals – patients and staff alike. Matthew continuously encourages staff to work to their full potential whilst ensuring that they maintain good self-care habits.
Matthew provides excellent leadership, promoting safety and continued relevant education through his prior role of convenor of the OT Capabilities Committee. He always provides constructive feedback in a manner that assists to guide self-awareness and improvement in areas where deficits may have been noted.
Breast Care Nurse Consultant
Mel has worked in the role of Breast Care Nurse since 2012, caring for patients with both early breast cancer and metastatic disease. She reviews patients in clinic and spends valued time talking with them and their families and assisting them through their surgery and treatment journey. Mel puts in many hours outside of her normal working day and goes out of her way to ensure that patients understand and are aware of what their upcoming treatment entails. Many patients leave their first visit to Breast Cancer clinic and they remember their cancer diagnosis and Mel’s name – an indication of her immediate personal contact with patients.
Mel has seemingly endless compassion and her interaction with patients and families is inspirational. She has a very approachable and warm manner toward her patients and encourages them to contact her and openly speak about any issues they may have. Mel ensures that patients understand and comprehend information they have been given and often follows up with phone calls and extra consultations until she feels that patients fully understand what step comes next in their treatment.
Mel works with many other disciplines within her role and has built up excellent rapport with other medical, nursing and administrative staff who assist in her role. She works closely with them to ensure continuity and comprehensive care for the patient is attained to the best of her ability.
Mel speaks at GP information sessions and community based breast care advocacy and support groups, and this is often done in her own time. Mel has represented WH at national and international breast cancer meetings, with particular focus on exercise and survivorship. She has been innovative and inspirational in helping to co-ordinate exercise programs at Western Health for those patients keen to participate.
Mel’s attitude to her fellow workers is always very supportive, positive and encouraging. She will always greet you with a smile and will take time to talk with you about patients and ensure that she does all she can to help, assist and advise you in your role, with the patient as the main focus.
Head of Unit/Surgeon – General Surgical Unit Sunshine
A patient wrote: My mother was a patient of Dr Pitcher some 13 years ago when she was first diagnosed with Breast Cancer. She overcame the breast cancer then, but unfortunately was recently diagnosed with breast cancer again. My mother and our family were very concerned until my mother called me to tell me she was being treated by Dr Pitcher again.
My mother was very relieved and so happy to see her again. I just wanted to thank the hospital staff and Dr Pitcher for their support and kindness to my mother. Dr Pitcher was very comforting and professional but most of all she gave my mother much confidence and emotional security. She went beyond what would be expected and gave us much calm during this difficult time. We are overwhelmed with gratitude.
Thank you again for being who you are and all that you do! I am in Queensland and it was very difficult to not be there for my mother. So the reports and feedback l received from my mother about Dr Pitcher and my mother’s journey with her brought comfort to us all. My mother expressed that she has always had positive and comforting support from Dr Pitcher. When she was in theatre just before the recent operation she was feeling frightened and stressed as she doesn’t like operations. Dr Pitcher came into see her and held my mother’s hand tightly with both her hands and talked comfortingly to her. My mother said that in that instant she felt relief and security and was instantly calm.
My mother is 72 years old so this experience was not easy for her but Dr Pitcher went over and beyond what would be expected and made the experience so much less stressful for her. We cannot express how much Dr Pitcher has done for our family.
Clinical Nurse Consultant – Chronic Wound Clinic – Outpatients Sunshine Hospital
A patient wrote: I have been seeing Sally from Chronic Wounds Services since December 2017. I have to say that the treatment she provides is just exceptional. She makes me feel comfortable and does the best for me every visit. I am made to feel relaxed and optimistic about the treatment I am receiving, and always with a smile.
Although I know I will be attending the clinic for a very long time, I feel confident in Sally that she will do whatever she can for me, which is more than I can ask for.
Administration Assistant – Community Based Rehab (CBR)
Sandra leads the admission of clients to CBR. Since she took over this role, she has brought a positive attitude and dedicated approach that makes this arduous process a joy for all involved. She is committed to the patient experience and always has our patients best interests at heart. She ensures they get the right care in a timely manner whether this be staying back late to book new patients into available slots, forwarding referrals onto the right service rather than bouncing them back to the referrer and delaying their care further, or meticulously ensuring every patient is accounted for.
Sandra manages admissions in an exceptionally punctual and efficient manner, giving patients every opportunity to attend therapy but appropriately redirects them if now is not the right time for rehab for them. She chases clinicians for completion of triage so that admission isn’t delayed and one person’s delay doesn’t impact on the rest of the clinical team. Sandra always has a smile on her face, nothing is every too hard and she makes you feel like your work is important, no matter your role.
Sandra’s speed and efficiency of work is of high excellence. Of course no one is faultless but I’ve never witnessed her make an error in her work. She is supportive of others, particularly playing a coaching role with other admin staff and maintains positive working relationships with all levels of staff at CBR.
Sometimes patients will decline therapy but Sandra will question the safety of this decision based on information that is provided in their referral. For example, if someone with cognitive deficits declines therapy, Sandra advocates for the patient by requesting that a clinician phone them and make sure they have made an informed decision to decline therapy. Sandra has been a big advocate for bridging the gap between the clinical and administration team. Her calm, warm and respectful nature and inclusive approach means she develops strong relationships with others.
Administration Assistant – Community Based Rehab (CBR)
Sandra leads the admission of clients to CBR. Since she took over this role, she has brought a positive attitude and dedicated approach that makes this arduous process a joy for all involved. She is committed to the patient experience and always has our patients best interests at heart. She ensures they get the right care in a timely manner whether this be staying back late to book new patients into available slots, forwarding referrals onto the right service rather than bouncing them back to the referrer and delaying their care further, or meticulously ensuring every patient is accounted for.
Sandra manages admissions in an exceptionally punctual and efficient manner, giving patients every opportunity to attend therapy but appropriately redirects them if now is not the right time for rehab for them. She chases clinicians for completion of triage so that admission isn’t delayed and one person’s delay doesn’t impact on the rest of the clinical team. Sandra always has a smile on her face, nothing is every too hard and she makes you feel like your work is important, no matter your role.
Sandra’s speed and efficiency of work is of high excellence. Of course no one is faultless but I’ve never witnessed her make an error in her work. She is supportive of others, particularly playing a coaching role with other admin staff and maintains positive working relationships with all levels of staff at CBR.
Sometimes patients will decline therapy but Sandra will question the safety of this decision based on information that is provided in their referral. For example, if someone with cognitive deficits declines therapy, Sandra advocates for the patient by requesting that a clinician phone them and make sure they have made an informed decision to decline therapy. Sandra has been a big advocate for bridging the gap between the clinical and administration team. Her calm, warm and respectful nature and inclusive approach means she develops strong relationships with others.
Associate Nurse Unit Manager – ED Sunshine
A patient wrote: I was taken to Sunshine Hospital by ambulance on the 17th of May where in Emergency my heart stopped. Thanks to the quick action of staff, in particular the young nurse Suzanne, who jumped on the trolley and commenced CPR, bringing me back to life. My wife was very impressed by the level of care I was provided in Emergency, especially by Suzanne.
From Emergency I was sent to the wards where the nurses were the best I’ve ever met. I have to commend all of the staff involved in my care. I understand that episodes like mine only represent the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the degree of diligence, dedication and loyalty that these staff members bring to their day to day work, as challenging as it may be.
Physiotherapist Grade 2 – Orthopaedic In/Outpatients, including Neurosurgery inpatients – Footscray Hospital
Tom provides exceptional supervision skills for junior physiotherapy staff. Throughout numerous Grade 1 rotations, Tom continues to provide a high level of support and guidance to his junior peers. He always acts as a second pair of eyes and he understands the importance of supporting those who may be going through a tough time outside work. His empathetic nature ensures he is consistent, approachable and dynamic in providing strategies to his junior peers to optimise their own self-care.
Tom is an excellent team player in advocating for his junior staff to manage the stresses of multiple competing demands and work load burn out. Further, his exceptional team work skills are demonstrated in his role supporting the junior staff who work independently on the orthopaedic weekend service. Tom consistently, across multiple rotations, makes supervision a priority. As supervisee’s we never feel as though it is a “tick on his to do list” but instead a valuable opportunity of mentorship.
Tom is consistently approachable in sharing clinical reasoning skills across streams and sites. Regardless of whether he is your direct supervisor or not, he is also happy to be a sounding board for junior staff to ensure we work towards ‘Best Care’. As a supervisor for an annual leave reliever, Tom understands there can be times where there is minimal daily contact with you and therefore ensures it is a priority for you to feel confident and seek assistance from other clinicians in your current team if urgent issues arise.
Tom is not only professionally sound in demonstrating the importance of ‘Best Care’ in his day to day work, but as a fellow colleague he also seeks to ensure we have FUN by initiating lunch time quizzes, regularly attend Friday cake day and other various social engagements within the department.
Grade 2 Dietitian – Oncology
Yvette is a friendly, calm, important member of the allied health team in cancer services and across Sunshine Hospital. She consistently supports and assists staff to ensure we provide a high level of service as a department. Whilst Yvette uses evidenced based practice, she provides individualised, patient centred care and is always willing to lend a hand or advice to her teammates.
Yvette goes the extra mile to maximise the experience for patients having cancer treatment. She builds rapport easily and provides care based on patients’ individual goals and circumstances. She also shows compassion and interest in others work and lives and leads by example.
Yvette is very organised, efficient and dependable. She consistently completes her clinical and non-clinical tasks in a timely manner and conducts herself in a friendly and positive manner in the workplace. Yvette provides strong patient advocacy through respectful communication with the team and family members. She takes patient preference and goals in to account and empowers and encourages patients to implement change.
Yvette has excellent clinical knowledge, especially in oncology and follows best practice guidelines to demonstrate high standards in her work. She is a great team player and has honed her prioritisation skills to maximise the support and assistance she can give to fellow team members. She seeks advice when required and makes herself available to upskill other staff members and students.
Her behaviour is consistent, making her a reliable and important member of the team. She is efficient, yet supportive of her team members and always keen to join in on social activities to get to know her teammates better. She is one of the great people that make coming to work enjoyable and fulfilling.
Occupational Therapists – Elizabeth (Liz) Witherow, Jeffrey Sanderson, Holly Kozlowski, Jessica Newton, Georgia Munro and Emily Donovan
– Outpatients
The Western Health Hand Therapy Team have supported each other through significant staff changes (including 7 occasions of maternity leave within 12 months for a team with an EFT of 5 during 2016/2017). The team warmly welcome new staff members and demonstrate enormous patience during their orientation period which contributes towards a positive work environment. Everyone goes above and beyond to ensure the service runs cohesively and are accepting of increased workloads during periods of staff shortages.
The team fosters a strong culture of excellence with multiple actions to improve patient care, patient experience and building a strong presence and positive reputation within the wider Australian Hand Therapy community. Three members of the team are representing Western Health in the Australian Hand Therapy Association (AHTA) Conference committee and two staff members are contributing to presentations at the AHTA conference. Some of the initiatives that they have implemented to improve the service delivered include text messaging for appointment reminders, liaising with plaster technicians for a shared treatment space to facilitate more privacy during treatments and the installation of fans in treatment spaces due to high number of vasovagals.
The team demonstrate compassion and empathy by listening to their patients who are often frustrated by the long waits in clinics and have undertaken a review of practices to try and minimise waiting times. This has resulted in reducing the waitlist from 74 to 22 over the past 8 months. The team demonstrate respect for their patient’s choices and prioritise patient recovery by adapting splint designs to best support their return to function.
This team always look out for each other and lift each others spirits and morale by bringing in home cooked baked goods to share or buying coffee for the team, providing a positive environment for all.
Sue Wallace – Urology Clinical Nurse Consultant, Bernadette Pahuay – Urology Clinical Nurse Specialist, Amanda Hickling – Urology Clinical Nurse Specialist
– Footscray Hospital
The number of Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) patients who are seen and managed at WH has consistently increased over the last 10 years. The Urology Nursing Team work hard to deliver a personalised service to people who require BCG to help manage a bladder cancer diagnosis. In addition to the BCG patients, the Urology Nursing Team also support patients undergoing Botox injections, people who self-catheterise and a range of other urology diagnosis. The Urology Nursing Team continually provides ‘Best Care’ that is appropriate, equitable and effective for each patient. They provide timely, person centred care and consistently treat patients as individuals. They are welcoming, respectful and encourage patients to be active members in their treatment decision making by providing clear and concise information regarding their diagnosis and treatment.
The Urology Nursing Team approach their jobs with compassion and kindness and deliver high quality care in a fast paced environment, with little or no fuss.
Activities Co-ordinator & Activities Assistant
– Hazeldean Transition Care Program
Every day Tim and Moira provide a range of physical, sensory and social activities for the patients in Hazeldean, which are designed to make them less stressed as well as entertained. They use music from the patient’s era for sing-alongs, occasionally with Tim joining in on the guitar. Tim even takes requests and incorporates patients into the sing-alongs. Some of the other activities they provide include bingo, word games and quizzes (for brain fitness). Prior to Tim coming to work at Hazeldean the entertainment for patients was limited to watching TV. There is no budget for their program. Tim and Moira provide all of the activities themselves and Tim even brings in his own CD’s.
Tim and Moira demonstrate respect and dignity for the patients by treating them as equals and never talking down to them. The patient’s relatives frequently comment and seem amazed as to how much their loved ones enjoy the activities that are provided. They demonstrate compassion through their positive and upbeat interactions with patients and by ensuring that all patients, regardless of impairment/ability are included and made to feel that they belong. They always look out for each other and assist patients with their particular needs. The attitude of patients is often greatly improved and more positive after their interactions with this team.
– Footscray Hospital
After caring for a patient for several months on the ward (as an inpatient), including managing several difficult aspects of care, the Ward 2D nursing team agreed to provide ongoing care as a ‘drop in’ ward for the patient. This has facilitated the patient’s discharge from hospital, and in co-ordination with the Department of Health and TB Program Victoria, allowed a reasonable and accessible means by which the patient can have supervised therapy.
This team demonstrated compassion by recognising that this patient has a public health requirement for the receipt of care and facilitating this in an environment he is comfortable with and staff whom he knows and trusts. They were willing to continue the care beyond the usual confines of the ‘inpatient’ stay; and work with the state bodies to ensure the patient is supported in meeting the requirements of his care. Providing ongoing support and longer term medication adherence monitoring to this discharged patient, and reporting any issues through other managing teams (internal to WH and external) is above and beyond the expectation of an inpatient nursing team. This responsibility is taken on by the nurses present when the patient attends for medications – which may include any of the staff. They are to be commended for this. Working as a team is a great strength of 2D and makes them highly regarded in terms of caring for very unwell patients at WH.
Jill Woods (Nurse Practitioner), Deanne Martin (Clinical Nurse Consultant), Davina Taylor (Clinical Nurse Consultant), Yasna Lara (Clinical Nurse Consultant), Natasha Dong (Clinical Nurse Consultant)
The Western Health Pain Management Clinical Nurse Consultant Team provide a consultative inpatient and outpatient service for patients with complex pain. The team work collaboratively with other teams to ensure that safe, high quality pain management is provided in addition to providing education and support to clinicians at Western Health.
This nursing team consistently treat patients as individuals and provide care that is welcoming, respectful and encourages patients to be active members in their treatment decision making. They provide compassion and comfort in a professional manner and promote an environment where staff and patients feel safe to attend. The team engage with their patients, are sensitive to the patients (and family) needs, ensuring that they receive timely and accurate information regarding the diagnosis and treatment. The team are active role models, promote safe and quality care amongst staff, patients and community and demonstrate the Western Health values and behaviours daily.
Volunteer Retail Assistants – Williamstown Opportunity Shop
This team of volunteers has enabled the community engagement program to continue in a sustainable way through accommodating and supervising two Williamstown High School (year 9) students on Wednesday afternoon at Williamstown Hospital Opportunity Shop. Each student placement is for a few weeks and then a new group of students arrive. Ada, Trish and Barb have done this over several years and have been accountable and trusted with these young adults. These three volunteers take on this extra responsibility regularly with great pride and have enabled students to gain confidence. Parents have come into the shop to personally thank these volunteers and they have told them that they have had a positive impact on their children. Some students lack confidence so the volunteers work on building a rapport with them and allocate them with a task that is straight forward or in an area that is of interest to them to help build their confidence. Ada, Patricia and Barbara are very respectful, kind and caring in their approach towards the students.
This community engagement part of the program strengthens Western Health Foundations’ reach and promotes positive engagement. The memories generated from student’s experiences with volunteers at Williamstown Hospital Opportunity Shop are far reaching, long lasting and intergenerational. Parents and community members also hear about the positive interactions and environment at the Opportunity Shop and this in turn extends to Western Health’s reputation.
The Community Engagement Program at the Williamstown Hospital Opportunity Shop could not happen without these volunteers and their competency and reliability.
Clare Penny, Elizabeth Harrington, Renee Debrincat, Jessica Newton, Tory Head and Stacey Loveridge
The Occupational Therapy (OT) Consumer Engagement Champions have successfully led the implementation of a strategy to embed a point of care, consumer engagement strategy resulting in meaningful feedback being received from patients. This feedback has been utilised to identify and implement several service improvements to enhance the patient experience. Enhanced environments in OT Hand Therapy, Community Based Rehabilitation Treatment Spaces and the Rehabilitation Ward are examples of this. Given competing priorities and high workload demand clinicians are experiencing, the OT Consumer Engagement Champions have successfully mobilised clinicians and highlighted the importance and value of engaging with consumers in meaningful ways.
This has meant continually revisiting the vision and providing education and leadership in the face of changing staff and shifting priorities. Each champion has demonstrated excellence in the way they have led the strategy, continued to champion the initiative and overcome challenges. The Occupational Therapy department model of consumer engagement has received increased interest from other Allied Health disciplines and the team have supported Allied Health Colleagues through the sharing of their knowledge and experience.
The team demonstrate respect for the viewpoints and experiences of their consumers/patients and ensure that they are engaged in their care. They have provided an environment where their consumers are encouraged and feel safe to provide both positive and constructive feedback and ensure that the feedback obtained is appropriately analysed, reported and acted upon. They have utilised this meaningful feedback to improve service delivery and ultimately enhance the patient experience.
Dr Inese Tucker, Mark Murray, Shane Durance, Loretta Kelly, Marie Lynch, Deane Lascelles and Christine Burrowes
The ACLS team provided frequent and invaluable support to an Aged Care facility for a patient who had been a resident there since October 2015.
Prior to their contact with this patient, he had been admitted to Western Health 29 times in the previous 2 years due to his complex medical needs. The team worked in partnership with the facility, the GP and the patient and his family to provide collaborative care, which ensured that this patient was able to be supported in the facility through his deterioration until his death in June this year. They demonstrated excellence by providing consultation and advice to manage the resident’s health condition using evidence based practice in a responsive manner. This resulted in the patient only needing to be admitted to Western Health eight times during this period, saving Western Health and Ambulance Victoria resources.
Because of the efforts of this team, this patient was able to die peacefully at the Aged Care facility (his home) surrounded by friends and family. The team received phone calls and emails from the patients family, GP and the facility where he resided to recognise and thank them for the care and support they provided to him.
They demonstrated compassion and respect by recognising the resident’s wishes to remain at the facility, including through his palliation, and supported family to understand and accept that he should be managed in the facility rather than be transported to hospital. This multi-disciplinary (medical, nurse practitioner and nursing) team worked together to achieve the best outcomes for this resident.
Mathew Wood and team – Community Services, Footscray
The ACAS team has a very high demand for service with over 500 referrals per month over 2017-18. The team prioritise assessment of clients referred according to criteria determined by the Commonwealth. Their response times to urgent and medium priority clients meets the Commonwealth KPIs and minimises wait times for clients, however there has been a long wait time for low priority clients living in the community awaiting assessment. In March this year, the ACAS team commenced a project aimed to reduce the number of people on the low priority waiting list longer than the Commonwealth KPI of 75 days. They introduced a number of strategies and were able to reduce the number of people waiting 75 days or longer from 283 to 34 over a two month period.
The team completed 482 community assessments for low priority clients, removed 232 clients from the waiting list and continued to meet KPIs for high and medium priority clients and hospital based assessments. They maintained a high level of consumer satisfaction throughout this very busy time, and ensured clients with urgent needs were prioritised for assessment to facilitate more timely access to the supports they require. The usual ACAS processes, of case conference and delegation, that ensure high quality assessments and decision making regarding eligibility for Commonwealth funded programs were also maintained during this period.
The ACAS team provided significant support to their colleagues during this time to ensure they were managing their workloads, which included orientating and mentoring a number of new staff that commenced in this period. They ensured that a positive workplace was maintained time by meeting regularly to report on progress, ensuring staff received the supervision and support they required and celebrated their achievement at the conclusion of this project.
ED ACE Clinician/ Social Worker – ACE Team, Emergency Department and Community Services
Jade has long been recognised within his immediate team ACE, and the wider emergency department as a clinical expert regarding vulnerable patients. Frequently described as a team player, he has been a champion for a positive work environment, often asking two simple questions of his colleagues “Are you okay? and what can I do to help you?” I do not think a week goes by without receiving some form of positive feedback about Jade. The sources are endless too, patients, family members, fellow team members, other colleagues, and external service providers.
For example, a patient’s daughter had the following to say: “…thank you for the care you showed my mother a few Saturday nights ago at Footscray Hospital. Your concern and your humour were just what the doctor ordered.” Jade demonstrates enormous empathy and understanding in his interactions with his patients, particularly those who are very stressed for which he demonstrates a special talent.
He is always very professional and respectful in all of his interactions with both colleagues and patients. Jade is also very compassionate and supportive of his team. A great example to illustrate this is when one of his colleagues was dealing with a verbally abusive patient. Jade ensured that he stood in close proximity to his colleague to make sure that they were safe and that the situation could be monitored and controlled.
Jade demonstrated excellence when he co-presented at the Emergency Department (ED) Registrar Teaching about Drug Culture and how to engage with patients about substance abuse. The presentation was so well received, an invitation has been extended to present as part of the ED Registrar Regional Teaching. He has assisted to train other staff members about Family Violence, and supported the “Safe Spaces” project auditing over 20,000 ED presentations. In addition, he has also commenced a Quality Improvement Project, focusing on the Role of ACE in bereavement support in Emergency and how clinicians are up-skilled in the trans-disciplinary model to provide this assistance. Jade is a true credit to his profession.
Nurse Unit Manager – 3F
A valued member of nursing staff from 3F at Sunshine Hospital was involved in a horrific car accident in which tragically she lost both of her children. She was treated in the Intensive Care Unit for four weeks and recovered in the Trauma Ward. Joyce had to break the tragic news about the accident to her staff on the ward and she did this in a respectful and sensitive nature.
The staff on 3F went through some very upsetting and challenging times as they came to terms with the tragedy of a close work colleague losing her children and also the thought that she may not survive. Under Joyce’s exceptional leadership I am pleased to say that the staff on 3F were supported and comforted by each other, and in the midst of grieving they were able to offer each other the strength to move forward from this traumatic incident.
Joyce led her team to participate in a ‘sharing the love’ lunch. The staff all cooked delicious dishes and hosted staff from across Western Health in their lounge. The attendance was fantastic, with staff giving generously to support this Western Health nurse and her husband raising $3230. Throughout this whole turbulent time Joyce showed compassion to her staff on the ward, visited the nurse in hospital on several occasions whilst she was an inpatient in the ICU and sat with her during her darkest hours when she found out that both her children had died in the accident. She also supported her husband and close friends until their immediate family arrived from India.
Joyce was highly accountable throughout this difficult and traumatic time, ensuring that her staff were supported through EAP debriefing and additional staff meetings as necessary. Joyce ensured that her ward ran safely even if staff were taking time out to grieve or if they needed extra time off from work. This was carried out with extreme professionalism and with no risk to patient safety.
Everything Joyce has carried out has demonstrated ‘excellence’ with high standards of work and working well with others. The sharing lunch initiative, together with the amazing ongoing support given by her team towards their colleague really shows what the Western Health culture is all about.
PA to DON/M Williamstown
Leesa is the “heartbeat and pulse” of Williamstown and Hazeldean. Everyone visits Leesa for help or advice on various matters as she is the conduit for connections and discussion. She welcomes all and makes sure they leave with what they came for ….information, cheering up or time for therapeutic discussion. I have watched as Leesa treats people with such respect. So many people, patients and their families included, walk in or by her office and the greeting and actions to assist them all are always the same….gold class service with a smile.
Leesa often hears stories and complaints about the workplace issues people are having and she lends an impartial ear. If she thinks the behaviour needs to be addressed she very discreetly advises the person who needs to know. Leesa is very much an ambassador for “Don’t Walk Past” as she offers people the opportunity to use EMPOWIR or gives them a better understanding of the process. Leesa works on so many levels to improve the workplace at Western Health.
Leesa has been asked on numerous occasions to work at other sites to help units in need and she never says no! This often leaves a hole at Williamstown but she will juggle the two roles to make sure nothing goes through without her noticing. Leesa has assisted in many events at WH such as Breastwest, WalkWest and race days, all in her own time, demonstrating her commitment way beyond the line of duty. Public Affairs and Foundation would have been lost without her additional assistance at these events.
If you want something done, Leesa is one of the first people you think about asking because she has such a positive response and outlook, let alone commitment. She has an unerring ability to manage multiple priorities and demands all the while demonstrating the values. I can best describe Leesa in four WH values. Compassion to everyone who walks through her door to seek her time. Accountability because she always gets the job done every time. Respect for all people at WH in everything she does, says and the manner in which she conducts herself professionally at all times. Excellence in everything she does for WH which results always in a quality outcome.
Clinical Nurse Consultants Manager – Peri Op and Critical Care
Sara demonstrates unique humility and care for those who work with her, and for her. Sara’s middle name is team. In success or even in trying times, Sara will always give her team due credit; “It was a great effort team, well done” is a known catch phrase of Sara’s. Sara will always give away ‘the wins’ for the team but will own the ‘losses’. She never makes unrealistic promises and will always be upfront, creating a relationship of trust and leadership. It takes courage to put ideas forward and navigate difficult situations, something Sara continually negotiates for the greater good of her team.
Sometimes priorities change quickly within the health environment, whether in response to a new project or an unforeseen problem. Sara can adapt quickly to change and respond gracefully, making all the difference in the success of her working team. This has been consistently demonstrated this year since commencing her newly created role as the manager of the CNC group. With unforeseen streamlining of the breast care nurse team to minimum capacity for the first half of this year, Sara has provided leadership which has not only produced success for the team but also a positive workplace to work within. Sara has many great ideas for her team and the wider Western Health community but before she shares her opinion she will think through the value that it may bring.
Sara is incredibly self-aware and not self-absorbed; always taking steps to care for others whilst ensuring that she meets her management budget. It is this self-awareness that makes Sara a standout in the workplace. Staff like Sara can have a profound effect on the workplace as genuine care for others both emotionally and professionally encourage others like myself to lead and promote excellence. The old saying “When the going gets tough, the tough get going” is completely reflective of Sara’s approach to creating a positive and supportive workplace for all. This is what makes Sara a standout candidate for the Chief Executive Positive Workplace Award.
Karin Haufe- Stellini, Kerry Shanahan, Michelle Dellios, Fiona Halse
This team provide the benchmark of the behaviour model to the large volunteer team across Western Health that is expected and supported between staff, visitors, patients and volunteers. They actively address poor behaviour within the volunteer team and mentor volunteers on the behaviour that is expected. When poor behaviour is reported either through a formal pathway or through informal briefing sessions the coordinators address this behaviour within 48 hours in a direct way with the employee, volunteer or, at times, with patients to ensure that the behaviour isn’t repeated.
The team also ensure that relevant and up to date training and support is offered to the team in various medians – written, on line or verbally so that all avenues are addressed in getting the message across to all volunteers, utilising different learning needs and languages to establish a clear understanding of the “don’t walk past” strategy. The team have actioned several opportunities for volunteers to access the positive workplace email support and have actively followed through with staff and volunteers where inappropriate and disrespectful attitudes and behaviours have occurred.
The volunteer management team ensure at recruitment stage that all new volunteers are aware of the Positive Workplace Strategy and our expectations of the volunteers to uphold the Western Health Values.
Director of Education and Learning
Until earlier this year, the Centre of Education team has had a number of acting leaders that have supported the unit over a four-five year period. Sandy has come to the organisation and to this leadership role with determination, drive and a positive attitude. She has been an effective and active listener and has made a considerable effort to speak and listen to all members of her team in her short tenure at Western Health. Sandy has demonstrated an affirmative and committed stance on incongruous behaviours.
Sandy has been an encouraging and exceptional leader which has had a flow on effect with the various groups within the team overall. Each day there is a new and positive example of her leadership and positive can do attitude. Every interaction, every day – Sandy is positive, polite and supportive. She exemplifies enthusiasm and vision and this is noted in each meeting, hall way discussion and happy interaction with all members of her unit. Sandy is genuine and supportive and has gone out her way to make me feel part of the team, noted my strengths and has approached all my ideas with constructive interest. No idea has been turned away – each has been given due process and acknowledgement, which is now noted with her vision for the team and the targeted approach to where she is leading us (as a team).
Sandy is a role model and someone that I can visualise progressive leadership and learn from. She is a transactional manager – but perceives and drives positive growth from each of her team members.
Finally, Sandy is outcome driven but for the greater good of the patient and client population of the health service. Her vision and drive is about supporting and ensuring a healthy, active workforce which is learning and seeking out evidenced based clinical practice in turn ensuring positive outcomes for our patients/clients.
Volunteer – Sunshine Auxiliary Shop and Opportunity Shop
Georgina has been a volunteer in various roles for over 15 years. She is currently volunteering in both the Auxiliary Shop and the Opportunity Shop. On many occasions in meetings and gatherings of volunteers she will draw attention to the way people speak to each other and encourage them to be more compassionate and respectful of each other. She does not engage in gossip, and will call out those who try to involve her in it. Georgina consistently models the Western Health values, and encourages others to do the same.
Georgina is very supportive of team members from our diverse community. In her role in the Auxiliary shop, Georgina has challenged other volunteers when they have commented on specific volunteers’ ethnicity, culture, or the language they may be speaking. She does this in a very respectful way and the volunteer management team engage with Georgina personally at times to seek out strategies on how to deal with volunteer behaviour.
As a patient, Georgina often will encourage volunteers and community members to have a better understanding of some of the pressures that staff come under and always has a positive outlook on her experiences as a patient within the Hospital.
Volunteer – Visitor Guide, Health Information Centre, and various other roles as required
Lyn is a perfect role model for the WH values. She is compassionate and respectful to everyone she comes into contact with. As a visitor guide Lyn is known for her extremely positive and happy approach toward visitors to Footscray Hospital at all times. She also volunteers in the Health Information Centre where she promotes a warm and welcoming environment and goes above and beyond in helping patients and visitors access relevant health information.
Lyn also assists the Maribyrnong College student groups who come to the hospital 7 or 8 times per year to gain experience in volunteering in a hospital setting. She mentors the students in positive workplace behaviours such as showing respect to everyone from all backgrounds and cultures. She also assists with conducting tours of the hospital for new staff, and assists People and Culture with the preparation of the Inspire Awards and other events.
Lyn is truly committed to following procedures and “doesn’t walk past” situations that need to be attended to, such as safety hazards or bad behaviour. We continue to receive many compliments from staff and the public about Lyn as her enthusiasm, commitment and affection for the hospital and everyone in it is obvious to everyone.
Acting Manager – ICT Operations Information Services
I have worked with Bill for several months and find his boundless energy to be uplifting. Even after a brief interaction my own attitude experiences a lift. He is very positive about overcoming obstacles where possible, or if not will immediately move to mitigation options for the best workaround solution. Bill is a very kind and compassionate person who always has time to listen and assist others whether they have a problem or question, and if it isn’t something within the scope of his job, he will help anyway he can to find the right person.
Bill has a very professional manner, is always polite and respectful and puts time and effort into learning about his employee’s goals and interests. He genuinely cares about his employees and their wellbeing. Bill is also a great communicator. He never talks down to people and is effective at putting information into a format that will be most accessible and useful for their purpose. If Bill is under pressure as a result of what I would call inconsiderate assumption, I am always impressed by his tolerance and by his ability to encourage people to do better. He treats everyone around him with an enormous amount of dignity and respect at all times. When you have a good rapport with someone, you want to please them and support them and this is what he is able to bring out in his team.
Bill shows accountability and a determined commitment to get the job done regardless of mere obstacles such as lack of time and resources. No matter how much he has on his plate he doesn’t let that be an excuse to let people down. Also, (and I can’t say this isn’t a factor in his positive impact) anytime I visit his desk he always has a caffeine themed lolly to share. Bill’s positivity is encouraging and inspirational to everyone in the workplace.
Physiotherapist – rotating Grade 1 – Rehabilitation Sunshine
Pat is an enthusiastic Grade 1 Physiotherapist who has a positive attitude to work and life. He often organises team social events – such as regular lunches on his current unit and encourages attendance at allied health social events such as the upcoming ball, which he is assisting to organise. Pat has also lead interactive activities that involve members of the broader Physiotherapy department such as the yearly Bachelor sweep, with entertaining updates throughout and visual displays in the office.
Pat positively encourages team members to take their breaks to maximise staff wellbeing and efficiency, and he is a valued member of the Allied Health Profile and Culture Committee, promoting a positive workplace environment.
Pat also displays many of the cares values within his clinical care. He takes time to get to know his patients and go’s above and beyond in attempt to engage them in their care. He is often seen singing and dancing in the gym to encourage participation and movement.
Pat has also recently learnt many useful words in the language Karen, as he was having difficulty accessing interpreters for daily sessions, allowing him to achieve optimal outcomes for this patient. Pat is a pleasure to work with and his happy demeanour is valued amongst the team.