Elise Pound has been an Occupational Therapist at Ramsay Health Care's Donvale Rehabilitation Hospital in Melbourne for 13 years, having started there as a fourth-year student.
She has been qualified as a Lymphoedema Therapist since 2019.
What’s the best part about your job?
When the patient you have been working with no longer requires your services because they have achieved their goals and returned to doing what is meaningful and important to them. When they take all you have worked on, educated them on, and they implement those skills and knowledge into their day-to-day life. When you see patients' confidence improve and abilities grow. It is the most satisfying and best part of my job.
An equally best part is the people I work with, they are some of the most professional, passionate, innovative, and hardworking health professionals I have met.
What is something about your job that not many people know about, and what would surprise other people about working in a private hospital?
I think there is a misperception by those who have not had the opportunity to work in private healthcare that professional development, career progression and growth is limited. I think I am one example of the opportunities that are available within private healthcare to those who work hard and actively seek out opportunities both in clinical and non-clinical areas of the organisation.
There is opportunity to diversify, broaden and expand your skills, knowledge, and qualifications. Working in private healthcare there is opportunity to work across the different sectors of healthcare where allied health services are integrated, including acute, sub-acute, community and private practice.
I have been fortunate enough to work within a private healthcare organisation that supported a secondment to an interstate hospital for nine months to grow, develop and upskill in lymphoedema and then bring my learnings back to my primary hospital to establish, grow and develop lymphoedema services for our patients. The faith and belief shown in me from my workplace and investment made has been humbling, validating, and motivating.
What do you love about working in a private hospital?
I love that I have the support and encouragement to be innovative, creative and to pursue passions to expand and improve services. There is a culture that encourages all staff to look for opportunities to improve the experiences for our patients.
I feel like hard work and commitment is recognised and rewarded and relationships with colleagues and executives feel personal, caring, and genuine. You feel like a valued and heard member of the healthcare workforce whose opinions are sought out and listened to and where you have the ability to influence meaningful change and improvements at an operational and also a strategic level. “Big enough to matter, small enough to care.”
- If you are looking for a role in a private hospital, check out APHA's latest job opportunities here.
Read more: Caitlin Stubenrauch - Donvale Rehabilitation Hospital
