better health * better care * better value

Graduate Focus 2016WA Health Graduate Development Program

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Foreword

The Graduate Development Program has attracted highly motivated and committed graduates

from a range of academic disciplines over the past 13 years. The long-established program,

which the Department of Health has invested in since 2004, provides outstanding university

graduates an opportunity to commence their careers with the Department of Health WA.

In 2016, there are four work streams: General Corporate; Finance and Business; Information

and Communication Technology; and Workforce and Data Analysis. Throughout the 12-month

program the graduate officers gain hands-on experience and further develop their skills and

knowledge through undertaking different work placements and projects relevant to their work

stream. The 2016 Program draws to a close in late January 2017.

The university graduates selected for this year’s program come from diverse academic

backgrounds and have a range of interests and goals. Our graduates are highly-skilled and

passionate about making a valuable contribution to the WA public health system and community

health outcomes. Every graduate has achieved high academic standing and possess excellent

communication, teamwork, research, problem-solving and critical analysis skills. Such qualities

are invaluable to any role that graduates undertake within WA Health.

In 2016, the graduate officers have participated in:

a comprehensive induction to WA Health and the public sector

a structured training and professional development program including the option to

complete a Diploma of Leadership and Management qualification

networking, mentoring and shadowing opportunities with senior leaders and others

across WA Health.

I commend the graduates for the work they have undertaken and would like to convey my

thanks to the various worksites and WA Health staff that have supported the graduates

throughout the year.

As the 2016 Program draws to a close in late January 2017, managers are encouraged to take

the opportunity to recruit from this rich pool of talented and motivated individuals.

The WA Health Graduate Development Program has proved extremely rewarding for all

involved and we look forward to the ongoing development and success of the program in 2017.

Dr D.J Russell-Weisz

Director General

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A Message from the Graduate

Officers

The 2016 Graduate Development Program (GDP) has provided 15 graduate officers with the opportunity to begin their career at WA Health. The GDP has been a unique, exciting and challenging experience. With the guidance and support of the GDP Coordinator, placement supervisors, mentors and buddies, each of the graduates learned a variety of new skills as they navigated their way through the WA health system.

We believe that the GDP has prepared us to be future leaders in health, not only through our experience in the workplace, but also through additional professional development sessions at Integral Development and with the opportunity to complete a Diploma of Leadership and Management.

On behalf of the 2016 cohort, we would like to thank each and every person who supported us throughout the year. To our placement supervisors and colleagues, thank you for your continuous guidance. The time that you took to teach us the technical skills and provide us with the background knowledge required for our placements was invaluable. To our mentors and buddies, thank you for your time and valuable insight.

Finally, a special thank you to the team at the Institute for Health Leadership, Rosie Alivio, Nathan Halls and Megan Waterhouse. Your willingness to seek out opportunities to make our GDP year unsurpassable has been greatly appreciated. Thank you for your unwavering support, advice and encouragement throughout the year.

Grant Benskin and Tegan Reilly

Co-editors of Graduate Focus

Contents

Foreword 2

A Message from the Graduate Officers 3

The Graduate Development Program 4

About the Graduates 5

ICT Stream 6

Tom Beaman 7

General Corporate Stream 8

Zoë Ashby-Deering 9

Belinda Burns 11

Grant Benskin 13

Gurkiran Flora 15

Emily Foyster 17

Thomas Harper 19

Tegan Reilly 21

Finance and Business Stream 23

Nicholas Ho 24

Yannick Premont 26

Russell Sahingoz 27

Nicholas Webb 29

Charli Xu 31

Workforce and Data Analysis Stream 33

Alana Craig 34

Zoe Robson 35

2016… The year that was! 36

For information about the Graduate Development Program or about the 2016 graduate officers, please contact:

Rosellini Alivio Graduate Development Program Coordinator, Graduate.Development@health.wa.gov.au

Visit the Graduate Development Program website: http://ww2.health.wa.gov.au/Careers/Graduate-Development-Program

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The Graduate Development Program

This year the graduates have been supported by Rosie, Nathan and Megan as the 2016 Graduate Development Program (GDP) Coordinators, a pioneering program that is part of the Institute for Health Leadership’s commitment to leadership and leadership development within WA Health.

As GDP Coordinators, we aim to support, inspire and mentor our graduate officers making their transition to the health workforce a smooth one. In particular, we work to forge a strong team culture where a diverse collective of graduates from different backgrounds, skills and experiences work together for the same overall goal – ensuring the delivery of a safe, high quality, sustainable health system for all Western Australians.

Over 162 graduate officers have completed the GDP since its inception in 2004, many of whom have quickly progressed to senior leadership positions in health. The GDP now has a strong reputation as an avenue for developing proficient university graduates into highly skilled employees with excellent communication, teamwork, leadership, project management and critical analytical skills.

The 2016 GDP cohort includes talented and passionate graduate officers from a variety of academic backgrounds. Each graduate has displayed professionalism, enthusiasm and dedication throughout the year.

In 2016, the General Corporate Stream consisted of seven graduates, from backgrounds including law, population health, health promotion, anthropology, neuroscience, primatology and strategic studies. These graduates participated in three, four-month rotations across the WA health system. They worked on projects in locations such as Grace Vaughan House, Armadale Hospital, Albany Health Campus, the Department of Health (DOH), Health Support Services (HSS), Royal Perth Hospital and Princess Margaret Hospital.

The Finance and Business Stream consisted of five graduates, from backgrounds in economics, finance, commerce and accounting. These graduates completed three, four -month placements in areas such as PathWest, HSS, DOH and Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital. Graduate officers in this stream were also provided with financial support towards completion of their CA or CPA qualification.

The Workforce Data Analysis Stream received two graduates in 2016. These graduates, who had economics and psychology qualifications, were given the opportunity to work across the Workforce Modelling and Data and the Workforce Policy, Strategy and Planning branches.

One Bachelor of Science (Computer Science) graduate completed the ICT Stream of the GDP. The graduate was able to work on a number of projects within the ICT business area at HSS.

It has been a privilege to get to know the 2016 graduates throughout the year and see each of them excelling and thriving in their various projects. Each graduate has grown to become an important member of WA Health, we would like to wish you all the best for your future endeavours and encourage you all to make the most of the opportunities ahead.

Rosellini Alivio, Nathan Halls, Megan Waterhouse

Graduate Development Program Coordinators

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About the Graduates

The GraduatesGraduate Development Program 2016

Strategic StudiesPopulation Health

Human Geography

Urban Planning

Com

pute

r S

cien

ce

Political ScienceInternational Relations

Primatology

Economics

FinanceAccounting

Neurobiology

Ant

hrop

olog

yBiochemistry

Eng

lish

Microbiology

Psychology

Health Promotion

Politics

International Relations

History

Anatomy

Human Biology

Zoology

Nursing

Marketing

Investment Finance

Corporate Finance

Uni Melb

ANU

ECU

Curtin

UWA

Most recent university

15Graduates

7 x General Corporate, 5 x Finance and Business, 1 x ICT, 2 x Workforce Data and Analysis

Community involvement/volunteering

* Public Health Association of Australia Committee Member

* Young Professionals Committee Member

* Fundraiser for Motor Neuron Disease

* Fundraiser for Salvation Army

* Blood Donation.

Disciplines(including past degrees)

Over 40 rotations

* WACHS, DOH, NMHS, CAHS, EMHS

* 1 senior executive mentor per grad

* 1 ex-graduate buddy per grad.

Professional Development (10 sessions @ 8 hours)

* Total 80 hours per grad/10 days per grad

* 15 x Diplomas of Leadership and Management

* 5 x CA/CPA.

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ICT Stream

The ICT Stream returned in 2016 after a brief pause in 2015. This stream sees graduates placed within the ICT directorates of Health Support Services. Consequently, graduates gain exposure to the focal point of all ICT products and services supplied to health care providers across Western Australia. The ICT Stream offers a varied experience – graduates can complete placements in areas like Design and Development, Service Delivery and Operations and Business Engagement and Policy. As a result, they acquire skills in software engineering, business solution development, project management, IT services and support. This broad approach equips graduates with an extensive and well-rounded knowledge base to kick start their career.

One of the major strengths of this stream is that the program of work is tailored to the specific interests and abilities of each graduate. The 2016 graduate noted that everyone he worked with throughout the program was passionate about health ICT, and genuinely invested in all aspects of his professional development. The ICT Stream is best suited to graduates with an interest in software development and information technology.

Tom Beaman

ICT Stream

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Placement One

PSOLIS Team, ICT Service Delivery and Operations (Applications), Health Support Services

During his first placement, Tom joined the software development team within the PSOLIS (Psychiatric Services Online Information System) project. He worked on a variety of functional enhancements to the PSOLIS application in preparation for the release of a major new version in June 2016. He also played a key role in ensuring accurate data migration from the production application to the new version, and delivering PSOLIS database enhancements to support the Mental Health Data Collection Team.

Over the course of the placement, Tom applied a variety of technical skills, including Java, SQL and PowerShell development. He also developed many other skills required to successfully work within an Agile software project team, including effective communication with Developers, Testers and Business Analysts, and the ability to quickly and accurately interpret complicated software specifications and legislation.

Supervisors: Rajaswari Kandiah and Althea D’Souza

Placement Two

ICT Business Engagement, Health Support Services

During his second placement, Tom was tasked with enhancing the ICT Concept Approval Request (CAR) administration process within the ICT Business Engagement Team (BET). In consultation with the BET, Tom restructured the SharePoint database used to track and report on CARs, improving its ability to create summary reports required by various stakeholders within the ICT governance process.

Throughout the placement, Tom prepared papers for and attended ICT Proposal Review Sub-Committee meetings, which provided valuable insight into the ICT governance process within WA Health. He also worked with the BET to assist clients from the Health Services in preparing CARs for governance consideration. This gave Tom the opportunity to build on his ability to communicate ICT concepts to nontechnical stakeholders.

Prior to the conclusion of placement two, Tom left the Graduate Program to take up an Application Developer role within HSS. He is currently working on the PSOLIS project.

Supervisor: Brian Troy

Tom Beaman

Tom completed a Bachelor of Science (Computer Science)

at the University of Western Australia.

Tom chose the Graduate Development Program both for the diversity of experience it offered, and the opportunity to

contribute to IT projects that benefit the community.

ICT

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The graduates recruited for the General Corporate Stream of the Graduate Development Program are a diverse bunch. This year’s corporate graduates come from a broad range of specialty areas, including population health, law, zoology, neuroscience, political science, anthropology, and health promotion. Each graduate comes into the health system with a unique perspective, together producing a dynamic team.

The General Corporate Stream is well structured to support this diverse group of graduates, involving three four-month rotations within the health system. This encourages exposure to different areas of health – including the more corporate divisions at the main Royal St. office, but also Health Service management and hospital environments, including those in regional areas.

During their rotations, General Corporate graduates have the opportunity to engage in a broad range of activities including: project management, communications, research, service improvement, policy development and stakeholder engagement, to name a few! In addition, the structure of the program enables graduates to meet a number of health professionals across all levels of the health system.

The broad experience and networks gained in the different areas of health equip the General Corporate graduates with a multi-disciplinary and team-oriented mindset that will be highly valuable in promoting innovation and excellence in the health system in the years to come.

Belinda Burns

General Corporate Stream

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Placement One

Obesity, Physical Activity and Nutrition, Chronic Disease Prevention Directorate, Department of Health

Zoë worked in the Chronic Disease Prevention Directorate (CDPD) specifically within the Obesity, Physical Activity and Nutrition (OPAN) team. During her placement Zoë immersed herself in a project exploring Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviour of WA Children within the School Setting. She produced a comprehensive discussion paper identifying participation trends, emerging evidence on the benefits of activity as well as the program and policy context and gaps. She also investigated and catalogued interventions school leaders can introduce to address inactivity and made recommendations for future work for The Department. Zoë applied a range of skills including analytical skills for desktop reviews, identifying and consulting with key stakeholders as well as presenting the outcomes of her project to key stakeholders.

Zoë also completed BAU work writing ministerials, organising and chairing team meetings and attending key events such as the Food Policy Seminar and the launch of the new Live Lighter ‘JunkFood’ Phase.

Supervisor: Jillian Abraham

Placement Two

Furniture, Fittings and Equipment (FF&E) Asset Move Coordination Team, Perth Children’s Hospital Project, Child and Adolescent Health Service

The Asset Move Coordination Project focused on planning and coordinating the transfer of critical assets, Furniture, Fixtures and Equipment from Princess Margaret Hospital (PMH) to Perth Children’s Hospital (PCH) to support staged opening, clinical service delivery and safe dual-site operations.

Zoë’s role on the FF&E Team was to engage with a range of Child and Adolescent Health Service (CAHS) and Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAHMS) stakeholders to identify equipment for transfer, review equipment lists and requirements, quantities and types of equipment and their end locations. Zoë was involved in the sequencing of equipment and in identifying when equipment could be released from PMH for transfer to PCH.

In addition to this, Zoë contributed to the development of an Equipment Preparation and Management Strategy within a tight deadline, which was crucial to the logistical, coordination and planning exercises. Zoë’s time on the project has reinforced her project management skills, stakeholder engagement skills, communication skills and change management skills. Zoë had the opportunity visit the PCH site.

Zoë Ashby-Deering

Zoë studied at the University of Western Australia where she completed a major in Population Health (Bachelor of Science) and second major in Human Geography and Urban Planning.

With a strong passion for community health, Zoë chose to join the Graduate Development Program due to the unique opportunity to put her university degrees into practice in a

diverse array of roles across WA health.

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Zoë was also exposed to a range of project management tools including- Microsoft Project, Quickbase RisK Management Database, dRofus Building Management System, Microsoft Visio, FlexSim Simulation Software, CAD models and HP TRIM (RM8) Record Management System.

Supervisors: Suanlee Farrer and Kate Fatovich

Placement Three

Office of the Chief Dental Officer, Department of Health

Zoë joined the Office of the Chief Dental Officer (OCDO) during the final stages of the development of the inaugural State of Oral Health Plan 2016-2020. Zoë’s project involved undertaking research, liaising with stakeholders and analysing data to develop mechanisms to capture the baseline measures of each KPI in the State of Oral Health Plan. While with OCDO, Zoë gained exposure to a range of Dental projects including National Oral Health Plan 2015-2024, Credentialing of Dental Professionals as well as developing Models of Care and Health Pathways. She also attended State Oral Health Advisory Council, Adult Dental National Partnership Agreement as well as the Pregnancy and Early Childhood Oral Health working groups.

Zoë developed vital insight into the process of developing and reporting KPIs, while consolidating her analytical as well as her written and oral communication skills.

Supervisors: Dr Catherine Alford and Dr Soniya Nanda-Paul

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Placement One

Service 4, Royal Perth Hospital, South Metropolitan Health Service

In her time at Royal Perth Hospital (RPH), Belinda worked closely with one of the service streams’ Nursing Directors to plan and obtain approval for a research project describing the distribution of work activities by nurses in RPH’s Emergency Department. This involved defining the scope of the project, reviewing the existing literature, evaluating different methodology options, writing the research protocol and applying for Ethics and Research Governance approval to conduct the study. Belinda was also able to conduct a case review of workplace aggression incidents, investigate the flow of safety and quality performance indicators throughout the hospital, and contribute to a business case for the resumption of a tissue donation activity at RPH. All of these opportunities allowed Belinda to improve her skills in project planning, stakeholder engagement, systems improvement and risk analysis. Belinda developed a keen understanding of hospital organisation and management throughout her time at RPH.

Supervisors: Katie McKenzie and Damian Jolly

Placement Two

Subacute, Community and Aged Care Directorate, System Policy and Planning Division, Department of Health

Belinda worked with the Subacute Care Team on a discussion paper exploring access to subacute care services in WA. Subacute care services focus on optimisation of functional ability and quality of life, and many of the patients accessing these services are aged 65 or over. Belinda’s work involved determining the drivers of demand for subacute care services, summarising the socio-demographic characteristics of WA’s older population, and analysing the changes in utilisation of subacute care in WA over time. Belinda also liaised with the Epidemiology Branch to create a geospatial representation of the rates of access to subacute care services across WA, allowing an analysis of equity in access to subacute care services across the state. Finally, Belinda presented her findings to the Directorate in a seminar. Belinda’s work provided a valuable platform to assist in planning and providing avenues for further improvement of services for the ageing population in WA.

Supervisors: Lauren Melling and Anne Riordan

Belinda Burns

Belinda studied at the University of Western Australia where she completed a Bachelor of Science (Honours) majoring in Anatomy and Human Biology and Zoology, followed by a Doctorate in

Primatology.

Belinda saw WA Health’s Graduate Development Program as an opportunity to apply her methodical research skills to improving

the health of Western Australia’s population.

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Placement Three

Office of Population Health Genomics, Public Health Division, Department of Health

During her placement with the Office of Population Health Genomics (OPHG), Belinda implemented one of the objectives outlined in the WA Rare Diseases Strategic Framework 2015-2018 – to promote a collective view of rare diseases and the adoption of a standard definition. To achieve this, Belinda developed a literature review that identified the range of definitions used internationally for classifying a rare disease. This work involved identifying, reading and consolidating the existing peer-reviewed and grey literature on rare diseases, as well as liaising with international experts on rare disease policy. Belinda presented the findings of this review to the Genomics teams, and used the findings to develop and implement a stakeholder consultation plan and a communication plan. In addition, Belinda produced a report for consumers summarising an academic paper published by OPHG on the experiences of Australian adults living with a rare disease.

Supervisor: Caron Molster

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Placement One

Statutory Authorities and Board Establishment, Health Reform, Department of Health

In his first placement, Grant supported the legislative reform and board establishment project. As part of this role, Grant conducted inter-jurisdictional research and was involved in the drafting of the Statutory Board Operations Policy for new health service boards. Working closely with Legal and Legislative Services and the State Solicitors Office, Grant was also involved in drafting transfer orders for the transfer of assets, rights and liabilities to new statutory authorities on 1 July 2016. These two projects required extensive stakeholder communication with Health Services, subject matter experts, other government agencies and external consultants.

During his time in Health Reform, Grant gained an in-depth knowledge of the current governance structure of WA Health and the future state design. In a position close to senior executive, Grant also learned to produce high quality material such as briefing notes and research papers to meet required deadlines in a fast-paced office environment.

Supervisors: Vijaya Ramamurthy and Karen Lopez

Placement Two

Allied Health, Albany Health Campus, WA Country Health Service – Great Southern

Grant travelled down to Albany for his second placement to complete and Allied Health Activity Based Funding (ABF) project. Grant’s project evaluated outpatient Allied Health funding. In particular, Grant calculated theoretical ABF funding generated and compared this with actual budgeted funding. Alongside this, Grant assessed levels of clinical risk present in the department. To complete his project Grant became familiar with the ABF methodology at the State and Commonwealth level, the webPAS system including recording and reporting requirements, clinical Allied Health practices at Albany Health Campus and cost centre data information for Allied Health.

At the end of his placement Grant presented his project to the Albany Health Campus Executive including the Medical Director, Nursing Director and Operations Manager. He also presented the project to senior Allied Health clinicians. Grant managed to secure the Allied Health department with an additional $120,000 per year as a result of his work.

Supervisors: Matthew Wells and Lisa Sorensen

Grant Benskin

Grant studied at the University of Western Australia. He completed a Bachelor of Laws (Honours) and a Bachelor of Arts, majoring in Political Science and International Relations.

Grant has always been keen to broaden his skill set and experience. The Graduate Development Program presented as an excellent

opportunity to learn how a large government department functions.

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Placement Three

Office of the Chief Procurement Officer, Health Support Services

For placement three, Grant was based at the recently re-located Office of the Chief Procurement Officer (OCPO) assisting with the development and implementation of the Strategic Procurement Program Phase III (SPP III). Grant used his varied skillset to complete a variety of tasks such as reporting on, and critically analysing, WA Health’s spend on Community Services contracts. This involved consultation with Health Service Providers and the Department of Health to identify potential opportunities for improving the collective efficacy of WA Health’s procurement of community services.

Grant conducted work in the policy branch of the team which included drafting internal memoranda for the approval of requests for contract variations and policy exemptions. Grant was also involved as a secretariat for the Health Supply Contracts Committee and attended the Strategic Procurement Leaders Forum.

Overall Grant’s placement improved his awareness of procurement policy and practices, and developed skills including in the PDMS system, stakeholder engagement, time management and critical analysis.

Supervisor: Megan Jefferson

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Gurkiran Kaur Flora

Gurkiran completed a Bachelor of Science majoring in Neuroscience at UNSW followed by a Bachelor of Medical Science Honours program and a Doctorate at UWA in adult brain tumour neurobiology.

Gurkiran joined the Graduate Development Program to experience diversity in WA Health. Armed with research and analysis skills, she also sought to strengthen her leadership capabilities through the

professional development program.

Placement One

Outpatients, Royal Perth Hospital, South Metropolitan Health Service

Gurkiran was a key lead in developing and implementing a patient experience survey at RPH and FSH. The survey measured patient experiences in the outpatient departments of both hospitals with the aim to incorporate this data into the clinic specialty dashboards as a measure of clinic efficiency. The project involved survey development, developing a sustainable model for automated survey delivery and data collection, consultation with various stakeholders from hospitals, pilot survey delivery, data analysis, project report preparation with recommendations and presentation of key findings to stakeholders and the hospital executive committees. This placement enabled Gurkiran to further develop her skills in project management, report writing, stakeholder engagement and data analysis.

The project was selected as a finalist for the 2016 WA Health Excellence Awards in the category of “Engaging with consumers, carers and the community” and was also awarded “Best Paper and Presentation” at the 2016 FSH Annual IMPROVE conference.

Supervisors: Roslyn Jones and Sarah Ward

Placement Two

Strategic Business Support, Purchasing and System Performance, Department of Health

Gurkiran contributed to two projects in the Strategic Business Support directorate. The first was to develop a change management approach and toolkit to support DoH staff with the transition to the new governance arrangements resulting from the introduction of the Health Services Act 2016. She reviewed literature, liaised with stakeholders and drafted a change management approach along with a draft of selected change management tools with instructions on implementation.

In her second project, Gurkiran worked on developing recommendations for the People and Organisational Development domain aligned to the DoH Transition Plan. She conducted a literature review into contemporary best practice, participated in brainstorming sessions with subject matter experts, contributed to an environmental scan into current practice gaps and contributed to the development of recommendations to address these key capability gaps. These recommendations were endorsed by the Department Executive Committee

Gurkiran gained exposure to shaping strategy within governance and policy guidelines and demonstrated her ability to comprehend unfamiliar content, within time constraints, to meet project deliverables.

Supervisors: Nancy Appleby and Lynda Blum

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Placement Three

Women’s Health Clinical Support Programs, Women and Newborn Health Service

During her time in the Women’s Clinical Support Program team, Gurkiran focused on capturing some of the health care costs for WA Health related to family and domestic violence (FDV). Her project involved the analysis of a cohort of patients presenting at King Edward Memorial Hospital, Osborne Park Hospital and Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital with FDV as an identified risk factor and investigating their utilisation of state-wide healthcare within a three year period. The analysis also captured the cost involved in responding to FDV and an investigation into clinical coding practice for FDV in this patient cohort.

Gurkiran undertook research, liaised with stakeholders and analysed data to compile a report on the costs of FDV and develop a set of recommendations to improve documentation to FDV. She gained experience in health economics and developed a deep insight into the challenges that WA Health faces in responding to gender based violence.

Supervisor: Kathy Blitz-Cokis

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Emily Foyster

Emily completed a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Science at The University of Western Australia. Within these degrees she majored in Anthropology, Biochemistry, English and Microbiology.

Emily chose the Graduate Development Program as it aligned with her interest in the public health sector, and she knew it would allow

her to develop a broad set of skills.

Placement One

Health Networks, System Policy and Planning, Department of Health

Emily’s role at Health Networks was to produce a performance indicator framework to assist in measuring progress towards delivering high quality diabetes care across WA. Emily demonstrated excellence across all project elements, including: providing project management leadership and support; researching existing tools and measures of performance; collating data from a variety of complex systems; utilising critical thinking and analytical skills to interpret data; applying national and international performance guidelines and frameworks; liaising with key stakeholders; interpreting complex clinical and governance policies; and, writing an extensive and highly detailed performance framework.

Emily also assisted in supporting the Diabetes and Endocrine Health Network, and participated as a highly active and valued member of the Health Networks team.

This placement furthered developed Emily’s research, stakeholder engagement, policy development, and project management skills.

Supervisors: Hebe Thomas and Lauren Spark

Placement Two

Communicable Disease Control Directorate, Public Health Division, Department of Health

At the Sexual Health and Blood-borne Virus Program (SHBBVP), Emily simultaneously managed three projects related to Needle and Syringe Programs (NSPs). Emily conducted a literature review on factors affecting Aboriginal access to NSPs, which included planning and executing a comprehensive search strategy, analysing and evaluating a diverse mixture of academic and grey literature, and conducting interviews with key WA stakeholders. She also successfully scoped, planned and executed an online survey of WA local governments about community needle and syringe disposal. Additionally, Emily assisted numerous NSP sites to write and update their site policy. At the SHBBVP’s Quarterly Forum, Emily gave a presentation on the key objectives and lessons learnt from these projects.

This placement further strengthened Emily’s skills in project management, stakeholder engagement, policy development, and research and critical analysis. It also provided her with valuable insight into the field of public health.

Supervisor: David Worthington

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Placement Three

Allied Health, Armadale Health Service, East Metropolitan Health Service

Emily’s project was to increase communication and collaboration between chronic disease and complex care service providers in the Armadale Kalamunda Group (AKG) catchment area, to improve care management and continuity of care for this cohort.

Emily established and facilitated a working group of service provider representatives, and supported the group to devise an annual work plan. With the group’s assistance, Emily adapted chronic disease care pathways for the local area.

Additionally, Emily researched health literacy and self-management principles to produce a package of educational resources for staff to use with patients.

Emily gained significant experience in public speaking by presenting her project at a staff workshop and to the AKG Executive Committee. She also delivered several staff education sessions.

This project built upon Emily’s existing skills, and allowed her to gain experience writing grant applications and project documents. It also introduced her to the importance of building connections between hospital and community services.

Supervisors: Karina Bowden and Jodi Collier

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Thomas Harper

Thomas studied a Masters of Strategic Studies at The Australian National University. Prior to this Thomas completed a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) Majoring in Politics and International Relations and

History at the University of Western Australia.

Thomas chose the Graduate Development Program because it offered an invaluable opportunity to experience a number of different environments within health and provide a solid foundation

on which to build his career.

Placement One

Operational Readiness Stream, Perth Children’s Hospital Project, Child and Adolescent Health Service

During his time with the Perth Children’s Hospital (PCH) Project, Thomas worked within the Operational Readiness Stream, as part of the CSSD Commissioning team. Thomas’ principal role in the team involved facilitating the implementation of new enhancements to the Princess Margaret Hospital (PMH) Theatre Management System (TMS). This work involved considerable consultation with stakeholders and the development of change management strategies to ensure clinicians understood the role and significance of the enhancements.

During this placement, Thomas was also responsible for developing the operational plan to move surgical instrumentation from PMH to PCH for sterilisation during the four week dual site operations period prior to hospital move day. As part of this, Thomas organised a series of workshops with key stakeholders from PMH and the PCH Project to develop the appropriate workflows and risk management strategies.

Supervisor: Philippa Young

Placement Two

Statutory Authorities and Board Establishment, Health Reform, Department of Health

For his second placement, Thomas was placed across both the Establishment of Statutory Authorities project and Legislative Reform and Board Establishment project in the Health Reform office. In this role, Thomas supported project management activities and was involved in drafting transfer order schedules for the transfer of physical assets, rights and liabilities to each of the Health Service Providers as part of the implementation of the Health Services Act 2016 (the Act). Thomas was instrumental in the lead up to 1 July in preparing the required formal documents for signature by the Minister for Health, Director General, Board Chairs and Chief Executives.

Working closely with senior executive, Thomas also produced high quality material such as briefing notes and research papers to meet required deadlines in a fast-paced environment. This work required stakeholder communication with local coordinators from the Health Services, subject matter experts, and external consultants. Following the implementation of the Act, Thomas worked with the Board Establishment team to develop functional process maps to be included in the team manual. During his time in Health Reform, Thomas developed a detailed understanding of the WA Health governance structure and current issues facing the system.

Supervisors: Vijaya Ramamurthy and Karen Lopez

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Placement Three

WA Health State Plan, Office of the Director General, Department of Health

In his third placement, Thomas joined the Office of the Director General to work on the project set-up and design of the WA Health State Plan. During this placement, Thomas was responsible for the collection, analysis and synthesis of information for a number of research briefs, focusing on strategy, strategic and systemwide planning, and planning in other jurisdictions and sectors. Thomas also contributed to the drafting of a number of Workstream Briefs to inform a final Project Brief which was presented to the Project Initiation Group. In addition to these core deliverables, Thomas produced regular papers and materials for numerous senior executive forums, including the Department Executive Committee, Health Executive Committee and Project Imitation Group. Thomas also contributed to a number of project management practices for the start-up phase of the project.

Supervisor: Ryan Sengara

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Tegan Reilly

Tegan studied a Graduate Diploma in Health Promotion at Curtin University, graduating in 2015. She had previously completed a Bachelor of Science (Nursing) at Edith Cowan University in 2011.

Tegan joined the Graduate Development Program to make a positive impact on the health of Western Australians, and to acquire skills in management and leadership to complement her

clinical experience in health.

Placement One

Eating Disorders Program, Princess Margaret Hospital, Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service

During her time at the Eating Disorders Program (EDP), Tegan led a project to build community capacity for eating disorder prevention and treatment. The project involved three mechanisms; developing, piloting and evaluating a parent education workshop, piloting and evaluating a multidisciplinary peer supervision group, and developing an Operational Procedure for the consultation between the EDP and community health professionals. The project required a review of relevant literature, stakeholder consultation, the development of educational resources and the analysis of evaluations. Tegan also compiled a comprehensive project report; which will be used to develop business cases in the future.

Throughout her placement at the EDP, Tegan demonstrated her strengths in interpersonal communication and proactivity. She developed skills in project management, stakeholder consultation and a variety of communication techniques. She also gained an understanding about the importance of early intervention and community treatment for eating disorders.

Supervisors: Julie McCormack and Ulrike O’Sullivan

Placement Two

Data Quality and Governance, Purchasing and System Performance, Department of Health

Tegan had two projects at Data Quality and Governance. The first project was to conduct a Jurisdictional Review to inform an update of the WA Health Information Classification Policy. Tegan critically analysed local, interstate and international jurisdiction’s information classification policies, and used this analysis to compile a detailed report which summarised key findings and proposed several recommendations for WA Health. She also presented the review findings and recommendations to key stakeholders and facilitated a discussion with the stakeholders about the classification of sensitive information within the WA Health system. Feedback indicated that Tegan was able to communicate complex concepts, both verbally and in written format, in a manner that was engaging and easy to understand.

Tegan’s second project was to manage the recruitment of new members for the Department of Health Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC). Tegan was involved throughout the recruitment process, from planning an advertising strategy through to compiling a Cabinet Submission. She also assisted with ad-hoc duties such as compiling briefing notes. Tegan demonstrated her ability to adapt to change and work conscientiously to meet project

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deliverables. Furthermore, working with a specialist HREC presented Tegan with the unique opportunity to gain knowledge about ethical principles in research.

Supervisors: Sarah D’Andrea and Helen Lund

Placement Three

Obesity, Physical Activity and Nutrition, Chronic Disease Prevention Directorate, Department of Health

A third placement in the Obesity, Physical Activity and Nutrition team at the Chronic Disease Prevention Directorate provided an opportunity for Tegan to explore her passion for public health, while utilising the skills and knowledge that she consolidated in previous placements.

Tegan undertook a situational analysis of food security for Aboriginal people in WA. This project involved a comprehensive review of evidence about Aboriginal health status, determinants of food insecurity and existing policies, programs and initiatives. Tegan worked closely with a range of internal and external stakeholders throughout the project, conducting semi-structured interviews to gain an in-depth knowledge about the complexities of food insecurity. Tegan delivered several final outputs including a policy brief, presentation and a report highlighting potential opportunities to improve food security for Aboriginal people in WA.

Tegan was also given the responsibility to update the Healthy Options WA Implementation Manual and to develop a self-assessment tool to assess compliance with the Healthy Options WA Policy. Working closely with the WA School Canteen Association, health service health promotion officers and food and drink outlets on the project, Tegan produced over 60 manuals and organised the promotion of these manuals throughout WA Health.

Supervisor: Krista Coward

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Health leaders today face a major challenge in ensuring WA Health adapts to the changing needs of healthcare. With an aging population, rising cost of healthcare and ever shifting demographics and disease patterns, there is a compelling need to focus on strong leadership, financial sustainability and effective risk management. Enter the Finance and Business graduate.

In 2016, the Finance and Business Stream commenced its fourth year, drawing graduates from a variety of academic backgrounds including accounting, commerce, economics, finance, law, psychology and science. Over the course of the program, graduates completed three placements across different sites such as the Child and Adolescent Health Service, the Department of Health, the East Metropolitan Health Service, the North Metropolitan Health Service and the WA Country Health Service. The major component of each placement was a continuous improvement project, and through this graduates gained exposure to a range of diverse concepts such as activity based management, health economics, performance management, data analytics and financial modelling.

In addition to their placement projects, the graduates were provided with opportunities to enhance their education in the form of a comprehensive and engaging professional development course, as well as a partially funded CA/CPA program. The latter accreditation encourages graduates to gain financial expertise and collaborate with a global network of members, thereby improving WA Health’s probity and accountability.

The combination of wide exposure and developmental opportunities will assist the Finance and Business graduates to transform financial operations and become the next generation of leaders in WA Health. Armed with the skills and knowledge they’ve acquired through completion of the program, they will be critical to ensuring safety and quality care is preserved in a challenging financial environment.

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Finance and Business Stream

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Nicholas Ho Nick studied at Curtin University and completed a Bachelor of

Commerce majoring in Economics and Finance.

Nick chose the Graduate Development Program because of the unique mixture of professional experience and technical development. The enormity of the health department’s business services allowed for a great deal of variety in roles and

responsibilities.

Placement One

Budget, Strategy and Risk, Central Office, WA Country Health Service

Nick worked in Rob Beever’s Budget Strategy Team in reviewing and developing opportunities for improving the funding of small rural hospitals across WA Country Health Service (WACHS). This process involved creating a service and cost profile for each hospital and discussing issues and recommendations with each regional manager. Among other underlying issues, an outdated budget allocation process was identified; the unique locations costs and variety in service provisions make a general budget methodology difficult. Whilst a new and efficient budget delivery system will still take time, Nick has helped consolidate the adequacy of the current budget and to get an insight as to the needs of each site to run efficiently. During his placement Nick was exposed to managerial accounting and technical analyses, quickly developing skills in financial reporting and stakeholder engagement. As a result, WACHS now have a useful and relevant Small Hospitals Review Report and financial analysis tool.

Supervisor: Rob Beevers

Placement Two

Business and Finance, Princess Margaret Hospital, Child and Adolescent Health Service

During Nick’s placement at CAHS he was involved in completing the End of Financial Year Statutory Reporting and transitioning the iProcurement system to the Perth Children’s Hospital structure. When completing the End of Financial Year Statutory Reporting, Nick used his effective communication and time management skills to consolidate all necessary information from Oracle Financial database and numerous stakeholders across the Health Service. Nick was able to complete the report and receive approval from the Director of Finance before submitting to the Health Support Services.

When working on transitioning the Princess Margaret Hospital iProcurement system to the Perth Children Hospitals Organisational Structure, Nick used system reports to perform maintenance on the PMH iProc hierarchy. He also contributed to the creation of the PCH hierarchy by mapping the PMH Hierarchy to the PCH structure and using workforce provisioning tools identify equivalent positions.

Nick developed many key skills during his second placement, including: project management and stakeholder engagement, retrieving system reports and transaction data from Oracle, and communicating and performing legislative requirements.

Supervisor: Jim Barton

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Placement Three

Purchasing and System Performance, Department of Health

Nick’s third placement was with the System Performance team working on whole of health reporting. In this placement Nick’s work involved consolidating financial forecasts and contributing towards the preparation of each budget holder’s dash board report and revenue plans. His main project involved creating a system manager forecast for each budget holder. This forecast will provide a reference point for reviewing forecasted positions and performance.

Nick developed many skills in his time with the System Performance team. To obtain his raw data and perform analysis Nick learnt to utilise the OBIE (Oracle Business Intelligence Enterprise Edition) financial system. In completing his project Nick was required to understand various forecasting methodologies and apply the appropriate method to meet his requirements. Assisting with the production of reports used by executive directors Nick learnt valuable lessons in analysis presentation and interpreting financial reports.

Supervisor: Esther Halim

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Placement One

Finance, Princess Margaret Hospital, Child and Adolescent Health Service

During his first placement at CAHS, Yannick was involved in a number of projects including the transitioning of Special Purpose Accounts (SPAs) into the new cost centre framework, improving the rate of payroll certification in line with audit recommendations and a review of processes and internal controls around penalty rates and allowances.

Through the diverse nature of his placement, Yannick significantly improved his business analysis and management accounting skills while familiarising himself with various business systems and databases including Oracle, Tableau, Alesco and RoStar. Ongoing communication with diverse stakeholders across all levels and disciplines such as Business Managers, HR professionals, Clinical and Nursing staff as well as external contributors allowed Yannick to build a network as he enhanced his communication skills and overall understanding of WA Health.

Supervisor: Shilen Haria

Placement Two

Finance and Performance, Health Support Services

Part of the HSS Transition Readiness Projects, aimed at ensuring HSS’s operational capability and legislative compliance as a newly formed statutory authority, Yannick was responsible for progressing the corporate Business Continuity Management (BCM) Project: a whole-of-business program providing a basis for timely resumption of critical business activities in the event of a disruption.

Yannick led the review of Business Impact Analyses (BIA) across all HSS directorates by conducting workshops, educating managers on the requirements and complexities of the BCM review. During his placement, Yannick also established the new HSS BCM committee, a cross-functional group comprising senior members of each HSS branch, with a responsibility to progress and monitor BCM activities within their area. Yannick’s contribution resulted in the successful establishment of the project governance structure and progression of the project schedule on time. Exposure to a project of this scale allowed Yannick to gain experience in project management as a discipline while enhancing his communication skills.

While on his third placement at PathWest, where he worked on reviewing financial delegations in the iProcurement purchasing system, Yannick secured a position as a Finance Officer within the Financial Reform and Policy team.

Supervisor: Joanna Lawton

Yannick Premont

Yannick completed a Bachelor of Commerce (Major in Accounting) at Edith Cowan University. Yannick is currently enrolled in the CPA program.

Yannick felt that through the Graduate Development Program, WA Health would allow him to develop his finance and business skills while contributing to an organisation that is dedicated to improving

people’s health.

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Placement One

Financial Policy and Reform Directorate, Department of Health

Russell’s first placement was at the Department of Health. He was placed in the Financial Policy and Reform unit. The first of various projects in this rotation involved a review of the Budget FTE model. As labour comprises a large portion of Health’s budget, his work involved assisting in the research and reform of the different measures, assumptions and parameters of FTE.

The second project of Russell’s placement gave him the opportunity to put his financial modelling experience into good use. As part the Department of Treasury’s new reporting requirement, WA Health is required to report estimated financial statements. In his role, Russell was tasked with providing a recommended financial model.

Using a three way forecast model he designed, Russell successfully tested his recommendations on actual results. The results demonstrated that his methods were within reason, and his estimation of cash flow accurately identified how the accrual amounts were linked to the financial statement and balance sheet. His model produced an accurate estimates and clear explanations of the logical link between the three financial statements.

Supervisors: Anne Woo and Tana Hunt

Placement Two

Finance, WA Country Health Service

Russell was given the responsibility of re-engineering the bank reconciliation process for WACHS. As cash is arguably the most important account in the financial statements, the reconciliation process is an extremely crucial control measure.

After producing a gap analysis report and a stakeholder survey to understand the various risks and gaps found in the current reconciliation process, Russell's findings led him to overhaul the current practice. He proposed a highly efficient and practical process that would save time and energy through automation and mitigate the risks of information distortion.

His key deliverables included an end-to-end process that was automated through VBA excel macros which he had programmed and embedded in the reconciliation. Furthermore, he had produced a report and a manual with annotated videos to demonstrate his proposal. Russell was able to hone his conceptual and analytical skills when designing the business process. This placement has given him valuable exposure to various financial functions of the WA Country Health Service.

Supervisors: Demelza Lee and Wenghong Lam

Russell Sahingoz

Russell studied at the University of Melbourne with the Bachelor of Commerce majoring in finance and accounting as

well as a Diploma in Science.

Russell sees the Graduate Development Program as an important aspect of his career development. The programs’ proven commitmentto his development has allowed him to contribute to society in a meaningful and positive way.

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Placement Three

Women and New Born Health Service, North Metropolitan Health Service

The breadth of Russell’s final placement has allowed him to experience a holistic reform program using the Prince 2 principles across key project areas. The opportunity to work collaboratively in a diverse team environment honed his leadership and management skills.

He was given the opportunity to consult with clinical directors throughout the organisation to improve their business structure and help them gain greater visibility of budgeting and financial performance across the various directorates by utilising Tableau, a business intelligence and analytic tool. This process has led to increased transparency and allocation of resources in areas of need.

Russell was also particularly interested in how activity based management can ensure resources are allocated to maximise the quality and delivery of healthcare. He was a strong proponent of prioritising an effective, safe and sustainable healthcare over the financial bottom line, leading him to investigate and map certain activities delivered in WNHS. Russell was able to provide clarity over these services in order to ensure more funding is allocated and matched to their actual level of activity.

Supervisor: Lisa Byrne

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Placement One

Finance and Performance, Health Support Services

Nick’s first placement was with the Finance and Performance directorate at Health Support Services (HSS). He was tasked with planning and developing a Business Continuity Management (BCM) Program for HSS to ensure the timely resumption and delivery of essential business activities in the event of a major disruption.

To commence, Nick developed an end-to-end twelve month project plan for the anticipated development process of the Program. Following approval of the plan, he proceeded to undertake and complete Stage 1 of the project during his 4 month placement, producing an HSS BCM Framework. Development of the Framework was assisted by consultation from the BCM Framework working group, which Nick formed with representatives from key HSS areas to assist and provide input on the Framework. The BCM Framework was successfully completed on schedule and approved for implementation by HSS Executive.

Through this project Nick developed policy writing skills and project management skills.

Supervisor: Joanna Lawton

Placement Two

Finance, East Metropolitan Health Service

Nick’s second placement began with the SMHS Finance team and continued on with the EMHS Finance team following the SMHS/EMHS disaggregation. He had a couple of major projects over the course of his placement – namely the EMHS cost centre reconfiguration and the submission of the 15/16 SMHS Mental Health Establishments NMDS Survey to the Mental Health Commission.

Following the disaggregation, EMHS took the opportunity to complete a revision of their cost centre hierarchy in order to better align it with business activities. Nick engaged with EMHS Service representatives to re-map cost centre reporting structures, before coordinating the processing of the changes with HSS.

With regard to the NMDS survey, Nick adapted SMHS financial and activity Mental Health datasets and, using the NMDS submission model, successfully completed the survey.

During this placement, Nick developed his knowledge of reporting structures, financial and management accounting, and complex financial and FTE datasets.

Supervisor: Shilen Hari

Nicholas Webb

Nick studied at UWA and the University of Manchester, studying a Bachelor of Laws and a Bachelor of Commerce majoring in Investment Finance (Derivatives) and Corporate Finance.

Nick chose the Graduate Development Program as it presented an opportunity to use his skills and education to have a positive

impact on the health of Western Australians.

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Placement Three

Budget Strategy Division, Purchasing and System Performance, Department of Health

Nick’s third and final placement was with the Budget Strategy Directorate (BSD) at the Department of Health. Nick’s project was to formalise the procedure for the annual capital carryovers process, by which unutilised capital budget is transferred from the prior year to the current year.

The project involved liaising with various stakeholders within WA Health regarding their feedback on how the process had operated previously, and subsequently consolidating this feedback to produce a process map, manual and Treasury query response template. Nick subsequently developed a presentation to explain the overall capital carryovers process to stakeholders and presented this to senior BSD staff.

Nick assisted with the finalisation of Mid-year Review budget submissions, creation of SIMS budget journals for consideration by the Department of Treasury and preparing senior executives for budget estimates hearings.

This project allowed Nick to develop his stakeholder communication skills and knowledge of whole-of-health budget processes and considerations.

Supervisor: Michael Hutchings

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Placement One

Finance, Revenue and Clinical Coding, North Metropolitan Health Service

Charli’s first project was to develop analytical tools that could identify trends and variances between Own Source Revenue (i.e. privately generated funding, OSR) and Patient activity. Using these tools, Charli was able to forecast revenue outcomes, identify areas of improvement and unusual transaction behaviours. Charli was also engaged to develop better information dissemination methods to heads of clinical areas. Presenting information to a range of stakeholders about the progress of each division and specialty, as well as highlighting the challenges that are faced by operation and finance, is important to enable collaboration. He created interactive motion charts to display changes in revenue, activity and private patient conversion rates over time based on available data.

Charli compiled a report for the Director outlining the methodology, findings and evidence based recommendations for OSR. Through this placement, Charli was better able to understand financial operations and constraints at a health service level.

Supervisors: Michelle Noble and Gillian Sanderson

Placement Two

Finance and Account Services, PathWest, North Metropolitan Health Service

With the succession of the Financial Management Policy Framework, Charli’s second project was to review the new finance manuals and identify discrepancies with the PathWest’s current operational processes. Charli’s main area of focus was reviewing the Asset Management in compliance to the Financial Management Manual (FMM). He delivered a set of recommendations to improve the current management of Fixed Assets and Portable and Attractive Items. In conjunction, Charli facilitated the completion of Asset Stocktakes across PathWest’s QEII Network and Branches. He coordinated with heads of departments to ensure accurate and timely completion of this process.

Charli also reviewed Governance Controls under the FMM. He created a directory of Registers ready for direct implementation. This placement gave Charli valuable insight of PathWest operations and finance, and how this differs from other health entities. Charli also gained an in-depth understanding of the Financial Management Policy Framework that governs all health service providers.

Supervisors: Lorenzo Colalillo and Thuy Le

Charli Xu

Charli completed his postgraduate Masters of Commerce (Finance) and his undergraduate degrees, Bachelor of Science (Psychology) and Bachelor of Commerce (Marketing and Management), at The

University of Western Australia.

Charli chose the WA Health Graduate Development Program for the diverse opportunities to apply his knowledge in a challenging public sector and facilitate meaningful change.

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Placement Three

Audit and Risk, Health Support Services

The Business Continuity Management Program overarches the entirety of HSS and establishes continuity structures in the event of business disruption. Charli succeeded the role from previous graduates and was tasked to coordinate the completion of Stage 2: Business Impact Analysis (BIA) Profile from various areas of HSS, and commencement of Stage 3: Business Continuity Plan. This task challenged Charli’s communication, organisation and negotiation skills to encourage completion in the face of competing priorities. The majority of BIAs was completed prior to the end of my rotation, despite being due by 30 April 2017.

Through this placement Charli was introduced to a business process, which can be utilised in any area of WA Health, to encourage risk management for the good of health service delivery.

Supervisor: Joanna Lawton

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The Workforce Stream allows graduates to continue to develop their analytical skills and strategic thinking during a single placement in the Workforce Modelling and Data (WMD) branch. Work within WMD consists of workforce planning and reporting, and general project work requiring the manipulation and management of workforce data. The 12month placement gives graduates the opportunity to develop their understanding of workforce analysis, and contribute towards building a sustainable workforce for WA Health.

Due to the complexity of workforce data, it can be interpreted in a variety of ways. Through involvement in a diverse range of projects, graduates gain essential skills in assessing data quality, and clearly communicating both the benefits and limitations of different methods of analysis. This development ensures they are able to provide meaningful explanations for data movements and inconsistencies.

The Workforce Stream is a perfect fit for graduates interested in workforce modelling and data analysis. Graduates develop a solid understanding of the organisational structure, and have highly sought after skills in analysis and interpretation which puts them in good stead for their career in WA Health.

Zoe Robson

Workforce Data and Analysis Stream

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Program Placement

Workforce Modelling and Data Branch, System Policy and Planning, Department of Health

One of Alana’s projects involved an urgent data management issue. Some important data would no longer be maintained within the HR Data Warehouse (HRDW), despite the need for this information to provide valid workforce planning. The project, therefore, was looking for a new solution to house this information somewhere else within the HRDW, so that Workforce Modelling and Data’s reporting capabilities would not be jeopardised.

It involved cleaning and standardising the Major Location values list and investigating options to create aggregate duplicate values, without losing the ability to break the location values back into its functional units. These investigations consisted of quantification of issues within the HRDW, in order to prepare a discussion paper and gave her a greater understanding of the systems behind the data that she uses.

Another project was given to Alana to manage, and involved analysis of the aging workforce within WA Health and the retirement risks that this would present Health Service Providers in the future. The report, which was produced, analysed current workforce demographics and trends in retirements and other exits. It discussed the implications for WA Health with regards to potential future.

During the second half of her placement in Workforce Modelling and Data, Alana was brought onto two politically sensitive projects to provide data management expertise. One of these projects involved a highly contentious issue involving large professional organisations and the Director General (DG) of WA Health. The DG was considering renegotiating agreements with a specific workforce and required more information about this workforce. Alana entered the data into a database, which she designed, and liaised with other project members to analyse the data and create graphs which would provide useful information for the DG during his negotiations. The evidence that Alana and her team were able to provide to the DG will help WA Health to save approximately $15 million annually.

The other project involved standardising Nursing and Midwifery (nursing) position titles. Nursing occupations are very hierarchal, which means that position titles hold a lot of value to an individual. The project, therefore, involved liaising with stakeholders to ensure that their feedback was being utilised and that their expectations were being managed. A lot of Alana’s work involved consulting with stakeholders to explain issues and recommend solutions. Whilst the standardisation process will not be completed during Alana’s placement at Workforce Modelling and Data, it is on track to reduce the number of Nursing and Midwifery titles by 60% and will provide the Nursing and Midwifery workforce with the ability to plan for Nursing and Midwifery specialities; A first for WA Health.

Alana left the Graduate Development Program to gain experience within the primary health care

sector. Supervisor: Colin D’Cunha

Alana Craig

Alana Craig holds a Bachelor of Commerce from Curtin University with a major in Economics.

Alana has a passion for statistical analysis and modelling and has always wanted to apply her studies to work in the public sector. The WA Health Graduate Development Program gave her this

experience.

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Program Placement

Workforce Modelling and Data Branch, System Policy and Planning, Department of Health

During her time in the Workforce Modelling and Data Branch (WMD), Zoe had the opportunity to work on a variety of projects related to WA Health workforce planning and workforce reporting.

Zoe’s first project was to rebase the 2014/2015 Workforce Supply Model. The Supply Model uses HR information to project levels of medical and nursing staff over the next ten years to inform the Departments workforce planning. Completing this project involved the use of Oracle to extract data from the WA Health Data Warehouse, analysis of data using both Excel and the statistical software package SPSS, and an understanding of methods used to model WA Health workforce data. Zoe used these tools to produce a final report that outlined current trends within the Nursing and Medical workforce.

Zoe was also tasked with investigating data from the WA Recruitment Advertising Management System (RAMS) to determine if it could be used for workforce reporting and planning purposes. This involved the use of the online data manipulation program Kyubit to assess the reliability and validity of RAMs data. After conducting research and attending a training session on RAMS, Zoe produced a report summarising her findings alongside a briefing note that provided the Director of Workforce with future recommendations. This project allowed Zoe to develop her skills in assessing data quality, public sector writing, and the use of Visio and Excel to clearly summarise information.

In the second half of her placement, Zoe was given the opportunity to collaborate with the workforce Policy Strategy and Planning branch to prepare a 2016 report on the WA Health Gender Pay Gap (GPG). Following a GPG report completed in 2014, an additional report was recommended by the A/Director General in order to monitor the closing of the gender pay gap, and identify any changes in trends. To complete this project, Zoe used Oracle and Excel to extract and investigate workforce data, and prepare a report on her findings. The report also involved sourcing information on gender policy and strategy within WA Health to explain any large GPG’s or changes since the 2014 report. In undertaking this project Zoe was able to develop her project management, analytical, and report writing skills.

Finally, Zoe was involved in a number of smaller tasks within her branch, including the Allied Health Health Sciences (AHHS) titles audit, the Nursing titles audit, and the development of the monthly Mental Health Report. She has also participated in a number of day to day tasks such as completing data requests, month end reporting, freedom of information requests, and responding to parliamentary questions. These tasks have developed Zoe’s skills in data manipulation using Access, Excel, and SPSS, writing style, and stakeholder communication.

Supervisor: Colin D’Cunha

Zoe Robson

Zoe completed a Bachelor of Applied Science (Psychology) at RMIT in Melbourne, followed by an honours year in Psychology at Curtin

University.

Zoe chose the Graduate Development Program due to her combined interest in both health and data analysis. She believed joining the workforce data analysis stream would be an interesting and challenging experience.

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2016… The year that was!

Throughout the year, the graduates participated in a range of events. These included professional development events, conferences, volunteering events and even a regional placement!

Financial Policy and Reform Forum

The Financial Policy and Reform Forum was a unique opportunity to hear different perspectives from the directors of all the health service providers and better understand the financial policy cycle. As the Health Services Bill 2016 was assented in May of this year, the forum served

as a useful platform for financial directors across the different service providers to examine, evaluate and make amendments to the Financial Management Manual. This previous Hospitals and Health Services Act

had remained largely unchanged since 1927.

Russell Sahingoz

Placement One Reflection Session

At the conclusion of their first placements, the graduates took part in a workshop to reflect on their experiences so far. To begin the workshop, the graduates broke into smaller groups to discuss some of the small wins, challenges and lessons learned from each of their placements, presenting on one of the topics to the wider forum at the end. These presentations informed a broader group discussion on the collective experiences of the graduates during their time in Health so far and the lessons they could take forward to their next placements. During the second half of the workshop, two registered medical officers provided an interactive presentation on the role of junior doctors in WA

Health.

Tom Harper

Women in Leadership Panel

Women with leadership expertise in the Defence Sector provided a panel presentation, which focused on the leadership challenges and opportunities they experienced throughout their careers. The session highlighted the importance of having confidence in your own strengths and abilities, and to not be afraid to ask for

leadership opportunities.

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2016 State Leadership Conference

What is leadership? How do you see leadership changing? What is your leadership story? These were some of the questions answered on Tuesday 28 June at the Australasian College of Health Service Management’s 2016 State Leadership Conference.

The conference included a range of addresses from world renowned leaders, including 2016 Australian of the Year General David Morrison. General Morrison’s address emphasised the importance of a culture of inclusivity, diversity and equality and particularly, the role that leaders have to promote this culture. He concluded his address by asking the

audience to consider the question, “what is the legacy that you will leave?”

Tegan Reilly

Service Improvement Excellence Awards

The WA Health Excellence Awards are held every year to recognise the achievements of teams and individuals in the provision of quality health care to Western Australians. This year’s awards were held at Crown Perth on 3 November 2016. It was an amazing evening and I was blown away by the incredible achievements of all the finalists in all areas of healthcare. Having our project selected as a finalist was a privilege and the winners of the awards exemplified excellence and hard work through their amazing projects. The night ended with a dance party to the Chief Medical Officer, Gary Geelhoed’s, Powerhouse

Rock Band!

Gurkiran Flora

Ozgene

The Ozgene site visit was a great opportunity to observe the implementation of ‘Lean’ in an actual business environment. Expanding on the subject, the presentation drew a parallel with the healthcare industry, emphasising the drastic improvements in patient care and cost effectiveness experienced by several U.S. hospitals through the

application of ‘Lean’ principles

Yannick Premont

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Professional Development

The Institute of Health Leadership (IHL) embodies WA Health’s commitment to leadership and leadership development. The IHL Graduate Development Program has exposed graduates to a comprehensive set of professional development opportunities. Our cohort was invited to such events as a Leadership Conference, hosted by the Australasian College of Health Service Management, an Influence/Negotiation Workshop with Harvard Law School associate Stevenson Carlebach and a site visit to genetically-modified mice producer, Ozgene, to learn about process efficiency (sadly no mice).

Core to our professional development was a five-module training series developed by Integral Development. We were exposed to relevant theories, skills and tools grounded by empirical research, and solidified this understanding through group activities. The key topics include project management, communication, leadership of self and others, continuous improvement, and personal wellbeing. These learnings and tools were applied to our personal and professional lives in order to complete the nationally accredited Diploma of Leadership and Management. In addition to the course and Diploma, we were also given opportunities to engage in individual coaching sessions; a first for many graduates. Experienced facilitators helped clarify our personal and professional goals and as well as preparation for job seeking. This IHL program has shaped our leadership capabilities and invigorated us to be future leaders in WA Health.

Charli Xu

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Regional Placement

Each year, GDP graduates are given the opportunity to live and work regionally by taking up a placement with the WA Country Health Service. Having only explored a few pockets of WA, I chose to pack up my life for four months and take up a regional placement at Albany Health Campus (AHC). I was involved in an Allied Health funding project using the ABF methodology. As Albany is the Regional Resource Centre for the Great Southern, I had the opportunity to travel to hospital sites at Gnowangerup, Narrogin and Katanning. This travel allowed me to see the challenges faced by regional and remote areas, such as, difficulty attracting and retaining a skilled workforce, a lack of specialised resources and distance from larger population centres.

Living regionally also permitted me to experience life in different area; I house-shared with Allied Health professionals including a Speech Pathologist and Physiotherapy students. We were able to learn about different areas of health from each other and share our experience.

Aside from this, I was able to explore many areas around Albany visiting sites such as the Gap and Bridge, Two Peoples Bay, Elephant Rocks, Green’s Pool, Bluff Knoll, the Porongorups, Denmark, Walpole, the Wind Farm and Whaleworld. I also found time to explore Albany itself including the local pubs and cafes.

Overall, my time in Albany was an invaluable experience. I was able to see how a hospital functions, learn about various Allied Health professions, better understand the ABF methodology and meet some great people!

Grant Benskin

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Community Involvement and Volunteering

Motor Neuron Fundraiser

Gurkiran marked the end of her second placement in magical style by hosting a Harry Potter-themed fundraiser for the Muscular Dystrophy Association of Western Australia (MDAWA). Gurkiran had helped organise the event to

support the MDAWA and said it was a huge success.

The money raised went to provide individualised support services for people affected by muscular dystrophy and fund research into muscular dystrophy and

neuromuscular disorders.

RKCC Young Professionals

During his graduate year, Grant continued his involvement as a committee member of the Rockingham Kwinana Chamber of Commerce (RKCC) Young Professionals. In his role on the committee, Grant volunteered his time to organise and host inspirational speaking events and a sundowner for local young people to attend. The aim of the group is to inspire and educate young

people to succeed in their chosen career path.

Blood Donation

As graduates had gained a greater appreciation for the challenges faced by organisations across the WA health system, they resolved to complete a group blood donation. So, on 14 November those graduates who were able to give blood were supported by their fellow graduates at the Red Cross blood donor centre in Perth. Graduates donated blood and plasma to help those battling cancer, recovering from surgery and those who had recently

given birth.

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The Public Health Association of Australia

Throughout 2016, Tegan volunteered as a member of the Public Health Association of Australia (PHAA) WA Branch Committee. Tegan also served as

the branch Treasurer.

PHAA is the principal non-government organisation for public health in Australia and works to promote the health and well-being of all Australians. The WA Branch Committee support national office and represent Western Australian PHAA members through targeted advocacy strategies, hosting regular professional development events and communicating to its members through quarterly newsletters and a Twitter account.

The Escape Hunt Challenge

Inspired by an afternoon of learning at their professional development day, a few of the graduates decided to put their management skills to the test at the Escape Hunt Challenge in Fremantle. The graduates (and Rosie) spilt into two groups and raced the clock to try to escape the locked room by solving clues to complex tasks.

Both teams accomplished the feat of escaping the room before the hour

was up!

Workplace Fundraiser

Alana and Zoe R coordinated Casual Friday fundraising for a month within the Workforce Directorate. They managed to raise $135.80 for the Salvation Army, which was directed towards the support of people suffering from homelessness.

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Mentors and Buddies

This year’s graduates want to thank their mentors and buddies for sharing their experience and providing advice about placement choices, career progression and working for WA Health; as well as answering any questions that the graduates had.

Graduate Buddy Mentor(s)

Zoë Ashby-Deering Tessa Jones Ann Barblett

Tom Beaman Georgina Cunningham Liz Sinclair and Paul

Perdichizzi

Grant Benskin Madeleine Hofmeester Michael Moltoni

Belinda Burns Courtney Koenig Denise Sullivan

Alana Craig Andrea Powell Maureen Hutchinson

Gurkiran Flora Ashlin McKenna Dr. Sonia Nanda-Paul

Emily Foyster Adela Tang Lisa Bastian and Roslyn

Elms

Tom Harper Sarah Dunstan Ryan Sengara

Nicholas Ho Amy Jackson Amanda Jalleh

Yannick Premont Savani Dissanayake Lamison Tan

Tegan Reilly Sarah Connor Marie Baxter

Zoe Robson Hooi Yee Yong Mario Severa

Russell Sahingoz Tahlia Murdoch Nii Odamtten

Nicholas Webb Jonathon Patroni Lesley Shi

Charli Xu Ali Khandoker Byron Savage

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© Department of Health 2016

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