GCPH Staff Education Program
Gold Coast Private is investing heavily in the ongoing education and professional development of staff and students, ensuring everyone has access to programs and courses designed to enhance their skills and advance their career.
The hospital's commitment to staff education has seen the creation of an entire 'education team' comprising 10 nurses, educators and facilitators focused on the coordination and delivery of programs across different sectors including diabetes, wound care and intensive care.
Staff also have access to seminars run by experts like Ann Murray on topics such as managing stress and resolving conflicts to help improve overall work satisfaction.
Funding for higher education programs through the University of Tasmania is also available for all staff; while graduate nurse programs have been significantly expanded, giving on-the-job training with financial support from Gold Coast Private enabling staff to complete Graduate Certificates at no cost.
Gold Coast Private director of nursing Debra Billington said up-skilling staff and providing education opportunities was part of the long-term plan to become recognised as a tertiary hospital.
"Gold Coast Private has a reputation for having a great staff culture and providing people with opportunities to grow and develop either in their own role, or transition into a new role through supported career pathways within the organisation," she said.
"Providing these opportunities helps attract and retrain quality staff who value a supportive work environment and understand the importance of continually training in current, best-practice and evidence-based techniques.
"This also attracts the best doctors who want to work with skilled teams, ultimately resulting in better care and outcomes for our patients."
Ms Billington the hospital's education team had grown significantly over the past few years and there were plans to expand it further.
"When we moved to Gold Coast Private from Allamanda, we had one educator who worked part-time and now we have an entire team - many of whose roles are dedicated solely to training and education," she said.
"While we are already covering a vast number of areas we are continuing to grow and have plans to introduce education coordinators into additional areas including cardiac services, as well as continuing in-house training for advanced life support and paediatric advanced life support.
"We have also created a dedicated office for our educators to work from to make it easy to share ideas and improve communication for better outcomes."
Education Team:
- Perioperative Services – Mel Blume, Julie Hoph, Sharon Curtis Flynn
- Recovery and Pain Services - Kelly Johnstone
- Wound Care – Sophie Harper
- Surgical – Kara Anning
- Medical and Emergency - Melissa Yu
- Nursing and Medical Students Facilitator – Cassandra Kowalski
- Graduate Programs – Sally Ryan
- Intensive Care – Kirstie Rushmore
- Diabetics – Ann Walsh