Mount Barker ED great workplace initiatives
ACEM Wellness Week runs from 8-14 June 2025. Read about what Mt Barker ED did to mark ACEM Wellness Week last year and how it still has an impact today.
It all began in late April 2024 when the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine (ACEM) Wellness Week was approaching. Two emergency department (ED) staff who are involved with the College were brainstorming and realised they had a lot of creative ideas that could be put into action. But they also wanted to ensure that all staff in the ED felt that the initiatives were meaningful to them – and that anyone should have a chance to take part in the planning.
An open invitation to all ED staff went out, along with the establishment of a social media group connecting all ED staff across different shift and work groups. The first meeting was held with participation from medical, nursing and admin staff, as well as the ED volunteers. We named ourselves ‘The MtB ED Great Workplace Initiatives Group’ and I have been lucky to be a member from the start.
Stronger sense of belonging
“Our 2024 Wellness Week was filled with shared breakfasts, lunches, bake-offs as well as dog walks and treasure hunts. ”
We had a busy start since the Group introduced a number of the new initiatives during the Wellness Week last May. The Group wanted to shift the focus from being mainly centred on improving personal resilience in staff to include workplace culture initiatives that would help create a stronger sense of belonging. The slow change of the focus – from the wider health system view of workplace issues as problem-based, to a view of using strengths and positive influence as determinants had begun to accelerate.
Our 2024 Wellness Week was filled with shared breakfasts, lunches, bake-offs as well as dog walks and treasure hunts. It was also the launch of ‘Colleague Kudos’, which invited people to electronically send a Kudos to a colleague who is outstanding in their eyes. There were also days where our handover huddles were initiated by sharing a positive story from the shift, rather than starting (as usual!) with a list of concerns.
Going forward
“Reflecting on our achievements reinforced that our ability to get to know one another as colleagues has greatly improved. ”
All initiatives were extremely well received, and the Group has met every one or two months since April 2024 to evaluate their projects, share new ideas and finesse the initiatives going forward. We have established a ‘terms of reference’ and elected a chair and deputy to ensure future consistency. As a parallel project, a more sustainable model for fundraising has been established – something needed to keep the initiatives alive.
The well-established and ongoing initiatives are:
Colleague Kudos and the selection and celebration of a Colleague of the Month
Regular breakfasts for departing night shift and incoming day shift
Fundraising bake-offs.
Other important projects to mention are the development and decoration of our outdoor courtyard, and the remarkable ‘Blue Tree Project’, focused on suicide prevention.
Sustainable trust and growth
Reflecting on our achievements reinforced that our ability to get to know one another as colleagues has greatly improved. It has also created an appetite to protect the foundation for the positive and sustainable trust and growth of our team. The department is now working with the rest of the hospital towards defining the ‘line’ of choice between what we, as staff, believe is above-the-line, versus below-the-line behaviours towards one another. A line that we are all accountable to.
It has been a remarkable and impressive year for the MtB ED Great Workplace Initiatives Group.
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