Epping local, Yasmin Shah, is one of our many excited medical interns starting at Northern Health this year.

Yasmin feels privileged to have been a medical student with us for the past three years, saying the workplace culture has a strong sense of community at every level, which creates an invaluable environment for interns to thrive in as individuals and as a team of health professionals.

“This allows for positive relationships and mentorships that leads to better patient care and also professional development,” she said.

“During my clinical placements, I witnessed how this health service has been rapidly developing and enhancing its services. This is what made Northern Health one of my top choices for internship,” she added.

Through her placements, Yasmin noticed that Northern Health has patients from such diverse backgrounds, who may sometimes feel vulnerable in an environment unfamiliar to them.

“I am most looking forward to being a compassionate healthcare professional and striving to make all patients’ health journeys as comfortable and seamless as possible for them and their families,” she said.

The future is exciting for Yasmin, as she finds many areas of health fascinating and has been fortunate to meet many inspirational health professionals who have fostered these interests. She is particularly passionate about surgery and aspires to be a plastic surgeon, eventually focussing on paediatric trauma and burns.

“Along the way, I am determined to learn many different skill sets, especially the art of being a holistic doctor,” she said.

“I also aspire to have a meaningful role in health service development, research and teaching, to really give back to my community.”

For Yasmin, Northern Health represents a sense of belonging and a culture of contribution, and we are sure that all new interns starting their journey this year will have a significant impact on growing and sharing that culture.

Do you have an interesting story for iNews? Please send it to our team at iNews@nh.org.au.

Last week, Northern Health welcomed 40 new Interns and 10 new Hospital Medical Officers to our health service.

Our newest members took part in a one week hospital orientation program which involved a series of introductions, presentations and workshops.

The workshops involved a refresher in resuscitation, intravenous cannulation, catheterisation and safe patient handling. Other tutorials included diabetes, pain management and fluid management.

Northern Health Medical Education Officer, Susie Sangas, and Geriatrician and Supervisor of Intern Training Northern Health, Dr Carol Chong, were pleased to see such passionate and energetic young doctors.

“They are an enthusiastic and engaging group of young doctors who are ready to contribute to the community.”

Director Medical Services, Dr Michael Kirk, said, “this is an exciting time of the year in which 40 of the best and brightest become Northern Doctors.”

“We are blessed to welcome our new interns and hope they have a long career serving our community in Melbourne’s north,” he added.

The Northern Hospital intern recruitment program provides interns with a wide range of rotations including anaesthetics, orthopaedics, psychiatry and urology.

Intern positions are full-time and recruited directly by Northern Health via the Postgraduate Medical Council of Victoria (PMCV) match. Full time interns rotate through 5 terms (4 terms at 10 weeks and 1 term at 12 weeks). A minimum of 10 weeks is spent in Surgery and Medicine and a minimum of 8 weeks in Emergency Medicine.

Internships at Northern Health include rotations in Aged Care, Anaesthetics/Pre-Admission Clinic, Orthopaedics, Urology, Vascular/Thoracics, Psychiatry, Stroke/Neurology, General Medicine and medical specialties, Emergency Medicine, and General Surgery and surgical sub-specialties.

Next week, we also welcome a new group of Nursing and Allied Health graduates.

Below are photos from orientation week.

Do you have an interesting story for iNews? Please send it to our team at iNews@nh.org.au.

Northern Health Graduate Midwife, Jess Permezel, received the award for ‘Patient Experience’ at our inaugural Quarterly Staff Recognition Awards.

Unaware that she was nominated, and on leave in Canada at the time, Jess was wondering why she was receiving calls from work.

It wasn’t until she received a text message asking her to answer her phone that she found out about the award.

Midwifery Unit Manager, Nicole Carlon, nominated Jess and says, “her approach is always patient-centred, and this was highlighted during her care of an Aboriginal patient with a complex social situation.”

“Jess’ calm, compassionate care of this whole family was outstanding, and the family particularly appreciated her understanding and sensitivity towards Aboriginal culture and practices,” Nicole continues.

Jess has a background in community development and social work, making her equipped to deal with complex cultural cases such as this.

“I looked after an Indigenous woman and her family while she was in labour. There were social issues surrounding her and she also had a big family with some pretty intense family dynamics,” Jess says.

“It was a demanding but wonderful day, and a lovely birth. The family sent me a glowing thank you email and I felt so proud of myself.”

On winning the award, Jess says, “when you’re a graduate, you can feel like you’re getting a lot of things wrong and that’s fine, it’s all about learning, but it was really nice to have some acknowledgement that I’m getting things right!”

When asked what she enjoys most about working at Northern Health, Jess says, “I love the community, the people who visit this hospital and the demographic – it’s so culturally rich.”

“I’m learning things every single day about migrant and refugee populations, and that’s where my heart and my passions lie – that’s what I love most,” she continues.

In the future, Jess would like to work in a case load program focussing on one-to-one midwifery within communities of need.

Sponsored by Maxxia and BankVic, our Quarterly Staff Recognition Awards have been designed to formally recognise outstanding contributions by our employees and celebrate staff excellence. Nominations for the next Quarterly Staff Recognition Awards are now open. To nominate a staff member or team, please click here.

February and March will be important months for Northern Health.

During this period, we will be working together on our vision, strategic priorities and values for Northern Health’s future, which will be reflected in the new Strategic Plan 2019-2024.

The Strategic Plan belongs to all of us, and that is why I feel strongly about ensuring everyone has a say in how Northern Health should look in the future, as we continue to provide trusted care to the residents of Melbourne’s northern suburbs.

The Strategic Plan builds on the tremendous work that has already been undertaken for our Clinical Services Plan. It will also reflect and encompass the work underway through our Trusted Care – High Reliability Organisation Initiatives.

Northern Health staff will be engaged in strategy planning in a number of ways.

An online staff survey will open in the first week of February, giving everyone the opportunity to contribute towards building a culture and environment we would all love to work in. We will also establish a dedicated Intranet page with relevant resources and information.

In addition to the online survey, the Strategic Planning Project team will be visiting all campuses during these two months, and arranging face to face meetings to talk about how Northern Health should look like for the next five years.

Besides engaging with our staff, we are also looking forward to speaking with our stakeholders, community, volunteers, and patients, to make sure our vision, values and priorities resonate with everyone.

This week, we’ve welcomed Richard Nasra to the role of Strategic Planning Project Officer, who will be working closely with Stephanie Allan, Acting Director Planning, and myself on the plan.

The Strategic Planning Project team and I are looking forward to the exciting period ahead.

 

Simon Keating

Chief Strategy, Business and Development Officer

Northern Health

#WEARENORTHERN

Victoria is one of the most fire-prone areas in the world and the Country Fire Authority (CFA) has declared the Fire Danger Period in our Municipality well and truly upon us.

Northern Health has been advised that Tuesday, 15 January has been declared a Severe fire danger day in the North Central District.

These conditions may have a serious impact on Northern Health and our community, and have the potential to place patients, staff, volunteers and other workplace participants at risk.

On this day, hospital services at Northern Hospital Epping, Broadmeadows Hospital, Bundoora and Craigieburn will continue as normal. Home visiting services will not be provided outside of the major urban areas affected by the rating after 10am, and there will be restrictions on staff attending the Kilmore and Seymour Hospitals.

It is anticipated that emergency department attendances will increase with the high temperatures, and there is the risk that in the event of severe bushfires, Northern Hospital Epping may need to treat bushfire casualties.

Northern Health has a clear policy outlining operations on fire danger days, highlighting fire danger ratings and potential changes to Northern Health services. It also includes where to find information, radio stations that car radios should be tuned to on days of high fire danger, and how to act on those days.

According to the CFA, radiant heat is the biggest killer in a fire. It is the heat you feel from a fire and the CFA strongly advise the best protection is distance.

Michael Vermeulen from the Yarrambat CFA (and also a member of our Northern Pathology Victoria team) says fires are unpredictable and it’s important to always be prepared for Victoria’s hot, dry summers.

VicEmergency and CFA websites display Incidents and Warnings. You can download the VicEmergency App to receive notifications of fire incidents and warnings in their area. Alternatively, you can ring the VicEmergency Hotline on 1800 226 226 (Ring 000 if it’s a life-threatening emergency).

For staff and patients who live in fire prone areas, the CFA website has some great tips for preparing for a fire.

Some final points to remember:

• Understand your risk (bush or grassland)
• Have a survival plan, know your triggers, review it, practice it, do it
• Plan for pets and livestock
• Stay informed and understand the levels of emergency warnings
• Connect with your neighbours and help them plan if needed
• Prepare your property for fire

Northern Health recently hosted the ‘Choosing Wisely’ workshop inviting Better Care Victoria, NPS MedicineWise and 11 other hospitals, including metropolitan and rural hospitals.

Choosing Wisely is a global initiative aimed to encourage health professionals and consumers to consider rationally which tests, treatments and procedures are evidence-based and necessary and which are not.

Led by Australian colleges, societies and associations, Choosing Wisely Australia challenges the way we think about healthcare, questioning the notion, ‘more is always better’.

The workshop included a showcase of all projects underway at all health services, where there was a sharing of valuable resources. This provided an opportunity for health services to come together and discuss their achievements and lessons learnt.

Sandy Ayoub, Project Lead, said these workshops are always interesting and reinvigorate everyone.

“There is a sharing of information and resources between the health services, and project teams leave the workshop feeling motivated and keen to apply our new learnings,” she said.

The Choosing Wisely Project Team at Northern Health presented an update on our projects (visit our intranet page to learn more) and invited Consumer Participation Coordinators, Sherrilyn Ballard and Kate Serong, to explain their work in consumer engagement and how important it is for projects such as Choosing Wisely.

The Choosing Wisely Executive Sponsor, Dr Alison Dwyer, also attended the presentation, along with Dr Kristen Pearson, Clinical Lead and Sandy Ayoub, Project Lead.

Nominated for being a “true rising star”, Northern Health Intern, Dr Lauren Rogers, was recently awarded for her hard work and dedication at our Inaugural Quarterly Staff Recognition Awards.

Lauren began her internship at Northern Hospital Epping just a year ago, having put the hospital down as her first preference.

“I had a really good vibe from the Northern. I talked to a few people from here, everyone loved it and said the culture was great,” she says.

Nominated by Orthopaedic Registrar, Jaye Yick, who says, “Lauren is an exceptional intern. She is a dedicated Junior Medical Officer who pursues excellence in all she does. She never hesitates to ask questions from her seniors whenever she’s unsure and treats everyone with respect.”

“In speaking with associate nurse managers, they compliment her friendliness, being approachable and last but not least – her thoroughness in her work,” she added.

When asked what winning the award meant to her, Lauren says she was initially embarrassed as she doesn’t believe she is an exceptional intern, but tells us that she tries really hard so was very thankful.

“I think that’s the thing with your internship, you don’t have to be the most knowledgeable or most confident, you just have to try really hard and put in the time,” she says.

In the future, Lauren hopes to work in obstetrics and gynaecology, as she’s particularly interested in women’s health.

She tells us her favourite part about working at Northern Health is her team – “definitely the people, without a doubt, I wouldn’t even hesitate to say that.”

“I’ve worked at a lot of different hospitals and the big stand out at the Northern is the people – the communication is fantastic and patient care is so much better impacted because of that,” she says.

“I don’t want to leave this hospital for that very reason – I think that’s a great quality in a hospital and something they should be really proud of,” she adds.

This week, we welcomed 40 new interns to Northern Health, beginning their journey in the same position Lauren was only a year ago.

Lauren tells us, “for the upcoming interns, I’d just like to say, try your absolute best.”

“You may feel like you’re struggling at times and feel overwhelmed, but there’s always people around you that can help and support you, so just keep trying and you’ll be surprised at how much you learn along the way!”

Sponsored by Maxxia and BankVic, our Quarterly Staff Recognition Awards have been designed to formally recognise outstanding contributions by our employees and celebrate staff excellence. Nominations for the next Quarterly Staff Recognition Awards are now open. To nominate a staff member or team, please click here.

In our pursuit of our ‘High Reliability – Trusted Care’ transformation, Northern Health has established a series of programs, meetings and groups, focussing on patient safety, improvements and moving towards zero preventable harm.

The Comprehensive Unit-Based Safety Program (CUSP) aims to improve the culture of safety, while providing frontline caregivers with the tools and support they need to identify and tackle the hazards that threaten their patients at a unit or clinic level. The CUSP is a cornerstone in High Reliability Organisations (HRO) in healthcare.

Developed by Johns Hopkins University safety and quality researchers, the five-step program has been used to target a wide range of hazards, including patient falls, hospital-acquired infections, medication administration errors, specimen labelling errors and teamwork and communication breakdowns.

Northern Health currently has two CUSPs – Unit B/Med 3 chaired by Dr Yana Sunderland, which is six months old and Respiratory CUSP.

The first Respiratory CUSP took place 14 months ago, and since then, the team has held monthly meetings.

The CUSP, chaired by Dr Katharine See, Head of Respiratory Medicine, is an opportunity for all staff to be briefed, be part of the team and actively participate in initiatives to improve patient care.

“In the previous year, we’ve completed more than twelve projects and they can be things as simple as developing a form, or completely redesigning a procedure room,” Dr See said.

“It’s inclusive of all staff – from allied health to nursing, medical and cleaning, and it’s a good opportunity for everyone to speak up about safety concerns on the unit,” said Maureen Goodwin, Respiratory Clinical Nurse Consultant.

Amy Wilson, T2 Ward Clerk, feels it’s important for everyone to participate.

“I just find it interesting, as I am not part of the clinical staff, but from an administration point of view it’s interesting as we are learning new things,” she said.

Clare McCarthy, Project Manager, said this is an amazing collective of our staff coming together each month to focus on safety.

“This is where you experience our HRO transformation first-hand. The principles of HRO are played out here, like being alert to risk and avoiding simplistic interpretations,” she said.

To hear more about Respiratory CUSP achievements and goals, check out the video below: