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Vic Management Interns' blog

Blog posts by Victorian Management Interns of the Australasian College of Health Service Management. Views are those of the individual authors and not those of ACHSM or management interns’ host organisations or employers.

Planetary Health and Public Health: The case for collective action (By Leah Agustin)

The inextricable link between planetary health and public health has been spotlighted in the global climate change agenda, as the United Nations COP28 welcomed its first dedicated Health Day in December 2023. I want to take the time to reflect on four key lessons I have learned to date. #1 – The climate crisis is a public health crisis. #2 – Environmental sustainability and financial sustainability are not mutually exclusive. #3 – First Peoples’ voice must be at the centre of climate and health decision-making. #4 – Effective climate action requires intersectoral collaboration on a local, national, and global scale.
December 18, 2023 By Sharnee Trehan challenges, climate, environment, internship, public health 0 0 Comment Read More »

A clinician wearing the corporate hat for the first time (By Ling Tan)

For my second internship placement, I was assigned to Strategy and Planning at Barwon Health, a tertiary-level public hospital in regional Victoria. Stepping into this rotation, I found myself in uncharted waters and was out of my comfort zone on many levels, to say the least. Yet, not an ounce of regret crossed my mind. Instead, this placement offered an excellent learning opportunity for an intern like me, transitioning from clinical practice to health service management.
December 11, 2023 By Sharnee Trehan career, challenges, internship, placement 0 0 Comment Read More »

'Tactics without STRATEGY is the noise before defeat' (By Soumya Shah)

My recent experience in the Health Management Internship Program (HMIP) have raised my appreciation for the significance of strategic decision-making and planning within health organisations. Below are my observations and learnings from my development of a long-term Strategic Plan for a public health service during the HMIP.
December 5, 2023 By Sharnee Trehan challenges, internship, placement, public health, Victoria 0 0 Comment Read More »

My Journey from Clinician to Health Service Manager: Lessons from a 2-Year Internship (By Sally Guo)

As I reflect on my transition from clinician to health service manager, I'm reminded of the wisdom that says the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago, but the second-best time is now. The decision to embark on this journey, whether through the ACSHM internship, further studies, or clinical management roles, was not taken lightly. It required a leap of faith, a seizing of the moment.
November 6, 2023 By Sharnee Trehan career, challenges, Change, fresh starts, internship 0 0 Comment Read More »

The Rise in Medical Indemnity Claims: The Crucial Role of Harm Prevention and Risk Management in Insurance (By Saskia Hartog)

In recent years, the healthcare industry has witnessed a significant uptick in medical indemnity claims. These claims, which involve patients seeking compensation for harm or injury resulting from medical treatment, have put immense pressure on healthcare providers and their insurers.
October 10, 2023 By Sharnee Trehan challenges, internship, placement 0 0 Comment Read More »

Connecting the dots through placements (By Sarah Monaghan)

A key feature of the internship that interested me was the exposure to various healthcare organisations and departments through six-month placements. Having primarily worked in metropolitan hospitals as a clinician I was keen to take the opportunity to explore healthcare outside hospital wards. Over the last two years I have actively worked in a variety of healthcare organisations which has broadened and enhanced my understanding of the healthcare system and the interplay between departments and organisations.
September 27, 2023 By Sharnee Trehan career, challenges, internship, placement, regional, Victoria 0 0 Comment Read More »

The Mirrors of Leadership - Reflections and Learnings from my ongoing Leadership Journey (By Kosta Katsaros)

My leadership journey had commenced during my adolescent years, with idolising my sporting heroes and attempting to model their behaviours and example they led by on the field. My leadership since has developed substantially throughout my academic studies, professional career, and various social interactions, where I looked to take every opportunity to 'be a leader'.
September 25, 2023 By Sharnee Trehan career, challenges, internship 0 0 Comment Read More »

Cultivating Success: The Power of People and Culture in Healthcare Organisations (By Jessica Lawless)

In today's healthcare landscape, organisations are increasingly recognising the significance of people and culture in shaping the success of their workplace. The people within an organisation, their skills, attitudes, and values, along with the culture that permeates the workplace, play a pivotal role in driving productivity, engagement, and overall organisational performance.
September 4, 2023 By Sharnee Trehan career, challenges, internship 0 0 Comment Read More »

Value based health care model and leadership (By Tinto Cherian)

Rising healthcare costs is driving Australia to contain costs while improving the quality of care. Value-based health care (VBHC) model is one such approach that is explored around the world that focus on the ‘value of care provided’ rather than the ‘volume of services’ and prioritise patient outcomes while reducing costs.
May 22, 2023 By Sharnee Trehan challenges, health outcomes, internship, public health 0 0 Comment Read More »

My learning Journey of Project Management (PM) (By Sally Guo)

Before entering the Intern program I thought only information technology departments knew the processes and tools needed to successfully plan and execute a project. Furthermore, I thought most Project Managers would have learned the skills needed to successfully manage a project through formal education. Then I started this internship and was given a PM short lesson before I started my placement. At the time I thought, PM sounds very interesting, I like using excel to make Gantt charts, I like doing PowerPoint and advancing my presentation skills. When I was given a project to run, I was excited to do these cool things, at the same time very nervous knowing that what I learnt was only superficial and there would be a steep learning curve ahead of me.
January 11, 2023 By Sharnee Trehan career, challenges, internship, Victoria 0 0 Comment Read More »

Good Governance: From Board to Ward (By Sarah Monaghan)

Healthcare organisations are often described as complex systems with multiple interconnected components. To achieve the safe and high quality care these organisations strive to achieve, the multiples facets of clinical care should intersect with business principles to ensure the effective operation of the organisation. As a result healthcare organisations must implement and comply with both clinical governance and corporate governance principles.
November 30, 2022 By Sharnee Trehan career, challenges, internship, Victoria 0 0 Comment Read More »

My Brief Walk Down A Country (Health Service) Lane (By Soumya Shah)

My first placement with ACHSM was at a rural Victorian hospital, where I had fortunate experience of learning from leaders across the organisation – from department managers to the board of directors. This gave me a unique insight into high-level strategic and operational decisions required to: (i) run a quality health service; (ii) provide quality care that met the needs of the community and; (iii) address issues that are most prominent to a rural setting. These are my key takeaways from my 6-month rural placement
October 20, 2022 By Sharnee Trehan challenges, internship, placement, regional, Victoria 0 0 Comment Read More »

(Re)location, (re)location, (re)location (By Saskia Hartog)

If you had asked me at the start of my internship this year what the similarities are between the intern program and working in real-estate, I probably would have been lost for words. However, after completing my first placement, one thing that has really struck me is the impact of location on not only the housing market, but also the delivery of healthcare and on a personal level, the ongoing need for a support network.
July 15, 2022 By Sharnee Trehan challenges, Change, rural, Victoria 0 0 Comment Read More »

How not to waste a good healthcare crisis (Tinto Cherian)

COVID, in all its might, crippled the day-to-day functioning of people, organisations, governments, and social structures. It will be constructive to appraise the lessons this crisis invoked on our accustomed conventional systems and the visions that the resilience and experience instilled.
June 3, 2022 By ACHSM Admin challenges, Clinical governance, COVID-19, government, health outcomes, health service delivery, patients, public health, public service, regional, remote, rural, Victoria 0 0 Comment Read More »

Pledging Allegiance: the dual loyalties of the public service (Harrison Thorn)

From the ‘West Wing’, to ‘Parks and Recreation’, and Australia’s own ‘Utopia’; there are many enjoyable and humorous representations of life in the public service. This semester I am excited to join its ranks at the Victorian Department of Health and learn about life as a government employee.
October 6, 2021 By ACHSM Admin career, government, health service delivery, internship, placement, public health, public service, Victoria 0 0 Comment Read More »

Transitioning - A move from the world of supply chain management to health policy administration

The intricacies in governance and change management that precedes implementation of new policies or organisational change was quite fascinating. This has been quite helpful in bridging the gap between my experiences as a healthcare staff working at the coalface and policy administration.
August 14, 2020 By ACHSM Admin Change, Clinical governance, health outcomes, health service delivery, internship, public health, technology 0 0 Comment Read More »
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The role of a health manager during a health crisis – Responding to COVID-19 and leading through uncertainty

When I commenced the health management internship in 2020, I would never have expected to be involved in one of the largest public health crises to affect the Australian health system. COVID-19 has infected over 2 million people and resulted in 161,000 deaths globally.
May 8, 2020 By ACHSM Admin challenges, Change, COVID-19, General, health service delivery, public health 0 0 Comment Read More »

National Safety and Quality Health Service Standards and the new Health Manager

Ensuring the delivery of safe and high-quality patient care is the responsibility of everyone that work within the health service – including the patient themselves. Introduced in 2013, the National Safety and Quality Health Service (NSQHS) Standards stipulate the level of care consumers can expect to receive during their episode of care.
May 1, 2020 By ACHSM Admin Clinical governance, health service delivery, patients, public health, safety 0 0 Comment Read More »

Settling into a new professional environment

A steep learning curve of the internship is settling into new and unfamiliar environments. We start 4 jobs in 2 years, each placement is vastly different and generally involves a role that we have had limited prior experience in. Integrating quickly into new working environments is always challenging and is a skill that needs to be developed like any other. But some simple methods can be utilised to make the transition easier and more effective.
September 26, 2019 By ACHSM Admin career, challenges, fresh starts 0 0 Comment Read More »
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Aviation accidents and patient safety

Aviation is by no doubt a high risk industry, but it is a relatively safe one. The National Safety Council in the US estimated in 2017 that the lifetime odds of death for being a passenger on a plane is 1 in 188,364.2 This shows that it is highly unlikely for someone to die due to a plane accident. On the other hand, healthcare, the high risk industry that is often not perceived as one by the public, has a much lower safety profile.
April 26, 2019 By ACHSM Admin aviation, patients, safety 0 0 Comment Read More »

The role health managers can play in creating culturally safe environments for Aboriginal people

The colonisation and historical events that have occurred in Australia have had and continue to have devastating impacts on Aboriginal people. Accessing healthcare can be particularly difficult for our First Nations people due to a deep mistrust and the institutional racism present in most hospitals.
February 22, 2019 By ACHSM Admin challenges, health service delivery, indigenous, patients, public health, regional, remote, rural 0 0 Comment Read More »
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