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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.

'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.

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.

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.

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.

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.
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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.

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.

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.