Mr Scott Gibbings1, Dr Pam Harvey2, Dr Cassie McDonald1,3
1Alfred Health, Melbourne, Australia, 2Monash University, Bendigo, Australia, 3University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia
Biography:
As Manager of the Allied Health Workforce Unit at Alfred Health, many of Scott’s days involve muesli, riding bikes, writing effectively, piano, behavioural science, American literature, and optimising the wellbeing and growth of people who have chosen to dedicate their lives to the challenges of working as Allied Health clinicians in public healthcare.
Abstract:
Allied health rural clinical rotations offer allied health professionals opportunities to build their clinical capabilities and may assist with the challenges faced by metropolitan and large regional healthcare organisations in the retention and development of staff. This presentation will share the findings of an evaluation of the rural clinical rotation program that Alfred Health conducts in partnership with Alice Springs Hospital.
Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 11 Allied Health Professionals from Alfred Health who had participated in a 4–8-month clinical rotation to Alice Springs Hospital since 2020. Participants were asked about their expectations and experiences, from professional, personal, and organisational perspectives.
Preliminary findings suggest that both participants and the two organisations involved in the program reap significant benefits, primarily related to work-based satisfaction of staff and the quality of patient care. For participants, and in-turn their employing (metropolitan) healthcare organisation, these include improved clinical skillsets, clinical confidence, and clinical courage, improved work-life balance, reduced risk of professional burn-out, acceptance of professional limitations and health system challenges, improved cultural competence and patient-centredness of care. For the rural (receiving) healthcare organisation, benefits include surety of high-quality Allied Health workforce with specialised clinical experience, improved clinical workflows and quality improvement inputs, and expansion of professional support networks.
These findings are posited to be transferrable to any similar arrangement that facilitates metropolitan or tertiary hospital-based Allied Health Professionals to be immersed in the variety of unique experiences that come from living and working in rural Australia.