Ms Mia Hemingbrough1
1Rockhampton Hospital, Central Queensland Hospital & Health Service, Rockhampton , Australia
Background: With Queensland Health’s family friendly principles and Dietetics having predominantly a female workforce, job sharing with return to part time parental leave work arrangements has become embedded into workforce management at Rockhampton Hospital to sustain full time positions. So far this has been in Senior positions. Current job shares encompass Dietitians each working 2 – 3 days a week, with combinations varying from Dietitians working at same level, or acting up in Senior roles. Factors to support successful job sharing were investigated.
Methodology: Literature review on job share, and individual and forum semi-structured reviews have been carried out over the last 3 – 4 years with 8 Dietitians from 5 pairs of job share work arrangements to identify challenges, benefits, and strategies to support successful job share work arrangements.
Results: Proposed strategies were identified and implemented for over 2 – 3 years with periodic review. Successful job share arrangement is determined via key performance indicators including service sustainability, quality of work performance, wait lists, occasions of service, job satisfaction, patient service satisfaction, satisfaction of other key stakeholders, succession planning, and time divvy for patent care, clinical service management, quality improvement, training, and time and opportunities for professional development etc.
Conclusion: Key strategies have been identified as integral to successful job sharing.
Pre- commencement these include promoting awareness of possible challenges, benefits, and strategies to manage these, and agreed upon:
- Work divvy document, including patient care services, quality projects, representatives for meetings, professional supervision, professional development, student supervision, etc, with clear team communication
- Communications eg. Shared electronic diary, email cc
- Professional supervision arrangements
Plus, meeting with manager at least pre-commencement, monthly for the first 3 months, and then 6 monthly, with ‘open door’ management availability to discuss challenges, benefits, and job share management strategies, and monitoring of key performance indicators.
Biography:
Mia Hemingbrough is Director of Nutrition & Dietetics at Rockhampton Hospital, and Professional Lead of Nutrition & Dietetics across Central Queensland Hospital and Health Services