Current trends in Australia’s healthcare industry
Career development can be defined as the series of activities as well as the on-going/lifelong process that concerns the development of one’s career. It usually refers to the management of one’s career in an intra-organizational or inter-organizational scenario involving training on new skills. As well as to move onto higher job responsibilities and even making a career change within the same organization. It may also move moving to a different organization or starting of one’s own business. This assignment is mainly composed in the form of career development report which mainly tends to evaluate career opportunities within the present national labor market specifically focusing on the target industry of healthcare. It would mainly comprise of a number of sections with the first one being the analysis of the current trends in the nation both on a national as well state wise levels along with the identification of the employment trends. These sections would then be followed by the venturing the career opportunities in two specific health sectors along with the need to analyze the skills and knowledge that would be required to chose one as the viable option for enhancing career paths. These would then be followed by intercultural barriers one can face in the industry along with the three organizations that can be chosen as the potential ones for applying for career opportunities. A job seeking plan would be also included.
Healthcare is considered to be Australia’s biggest employer and it is found to get bigger thereby accounting for 13.7% of the entire workforce as found in February, 2018. According to the data provided by the Department of Jobs and Small Business ‘Australian Jobs 2018’ report, it can be stated that the Healthcare & Social Assistance industry would be growing a further by 16.15 over the next five years. Since the time of the launch of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) screen in the year 2013, newer jobs are now been observed. Experts are expecting a clear upward trajectory over the past five years as the scheme has been found to roll out across all states and territories (Nsightsresources.seek.com.au, 2018). The top roles that would be contributing to the growth are mainly in the healthcare services in different parts of the nations are Physiotherapy, Occupational Therapy & Rehabilitation, as well as Aged Care Nursing. Researchers are of the opinion that varieties of roles in both the community as well as healthcare services would be experiencing significant growth thanks to the ageing population as well as the rise of chronic disorders that require on-going healthcare management and support (McCracken et al., 2017). An example can be provided where in 2012, about 12% of the healthcare job ads in Victoria were found to be in regional areas, but the current figures in 2018 shows that the figures is now 22% (Sellers et al., 2015). This equates to about 78% increase over the period. The following table will help in showing the employment growth opportunities in healthcare centers over the years. The health and social care industry is seen to span around hospitals, GPs and aged and child care and the employment rate grew by 16 percent. The industry is now accounting for about 12.6 % Australia’s working population, increasing from 11.6 per cent in 2011 and 10.5 per cent in 2006. The industry was found to be largest in six different states with two states having the highest medial ages like the Tasmania and South Australia. This recorded the largest working population that had been employed in the industry at 14.2 per cent and 14.8 per cent respectively
Exploring career opportunities in mental healthcare and disability services
Shortage of healthcare professional in the mental healthcare industry has been one of the most concerning issue to the health department of the nation. The data reported by AIWH provides a clear picture to that scenario. It has been found that about 3200 psychiatrists or about 13 full time equivalent professional are present for every 100000 mental health patients in the year 2016 (Quinlan et al., 2015). To be more specific, when considering time spent as a clinician, about 10.8 clinical FTE were found to be per 100000 populations with rates ranging from 6.8 in northern territory to 12.5 in South Australia. Around 21500 accounting for only 6.8% of the total nurses in the nation work in mental healthcare centre (Shah, 2015). This can be equated to only 85 FTE mental health nurses in 100000 populations. The national rate of clinical FTE mental health nurses was found to be 78.1 per 100000 people that raged from 58.2 in Australian Capital Territory with 90.5 in Western Australia. More than 24500 FTE psychologists were working in Australian in 2015 that equated to 88.1 FTE registered psychologists per 100000 population. This concerning scenario of shortage of mental healthcare professionals shows the need for more and more mental health care students to get the opportunity to satisfy the mental healthcare demands of the nation. 45% of the Australians are believed by AIWH to develop common mental health disorder in their lifetime according to the data published in 2007 by National Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing (NSMHWB) of adults (aged 16–85). This can be equated to about 8.6 million people who would be experiencing a common mental disorder in their lifetime as found as per the data estimated in 2016 (AIHW, 2018). It has been found that 1 in every 5 people in the nation in the said age range accounting for about 20% or 3.8 million people are estimated to experience a mental disorder as found in 2016. This can show that although the mental healthcare demands are increasing at an alarming range, but the shortage of mental healthcare professional is quite high. This can show that a successful career as per the demand of the mental healthcare industry can suffice me to fulfill the dream of a mental healthcare expert. The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists had emphasized the need to retain overseas trained psychiatrists already working in Australia and had advocated the government for considering policies that could impact on the capacity for overseas trained psychiatrists to work in the Australian health care system.
Identification of skills and knowledge required for careers in the healthcare industry
The introduction of the National Disability Insurance scheme also called the NDIS had been stated by experts to involve substantial expansion of the disability services sector. This would eventually lead to an increased demand for more and more disability support workers. The Productivity commission had been found to propose during the introduction of NDIS that the capacity for providing expanded services would depend mainly on the attracting of new employees as well as enabling of the workers in the system to work longer as well as for more flexible hours (Barr et al., 2018). One of the studies have found the State of the Disability service providers that had been developed by the NDIS had found that significant workforce shortages is present in the allied health with most of the providers stating that it has become moderately difficult for them to recruit psychologists, physiotherapists, occupational therapists and speech therapists. Therefore, to make the job more lucrative the NDIS transition is capping the ability of the disability service providers in offering competitive employment benefits and secure positions.
It has been already found that national disability sector workforce will eventually need to increase from about 110000 – 120000 now to that of 220000 – 250000 people over the next five to six years under disability care Australia. It has been found that more and more aged people are living longer but they are not being able to live better quality lives due to the huge epidemic of chronic ailments found in the nation (Halpelm et al., 2015). Different types of ailments like stroke, cardiac accidents, falls and similar other health concerns often leave people disabled and hence demands for disability services are also increasing with more older people seeking such services in the later ages. Hence, this also provides an excellent opportunity for me to venture career opportunities in this field and thereby develop skills and knowledge by which I can become an expert professional in this industry.
I am from Nepal which is a country in Asia. Asian cultures are quite different from that of the western culture and I might face various intercultural barriers while trying to work in the healthcare industry. One of the most common issues that I have already started facing is the communication issues. Communication is an integral part of effective healthcare services and my communication my act as barriers in developing therapeutic relationship with patients. Therapeutic relationship is extremely important for professionals to for bonds with patients in order to make patients feel empowered and helping them to adhere with treatment procedures (McCracken et al., 2017). My communication style does not align with the communication style followed by westerners. For example, Nepalese do not follow eye contacts especially with elders as well as strangers although eye contacts with friends and people of similar ages are common. The westerners follow the communication style where they consider direct eye contact to be a medium of expressing honesty, respect and confidence (Engessor et al., 2017). Again, Nepalese tradition follows periods of silence in between conversations as a normal pace of interaction but western culture of communication does not prefer silence and immediately tried to fulfill them. In this way, non-verbal communication styles that differ between the two culture might act as the barriers in me providing care to patients. Another barrier can also be the customs and traditions that are followed by the two nations. Nepalese are not very comfortable with touches between two different genders and mainly try to reduce touches as less as possible between males and females (Inglehart, 2015). However, in the western culture, touches, hug and kisses are normal mediums of greeting and bidding goodbyes. It might happen that I would need to follow such customs while caring in the western culture (Mossialos et al., 2016). However, such clashes can result in huge negative outcomes resulting in patient dissatisfaction. On the other hand, I might also feel morally low being affected by such cultural issues that might make me feel low. Language would create the highest barrier as I am not as much fluent in English language as I am in my mother tongue. This might create language barriers where the westerners might not be able to understand me and my advices properly and this might result in medication errors, misunderstandings, misconceptions, and other forms of conflict as well (Kalin et al., 2017). As I am from the Asian country, I have also witnessed racism against me as many of the people here hold prejudices that result them in discriminating Asians and looking low on them. I might be treated in appropriately by certain patients who might not feel comfortable working with me or getting my support. Therefore, I need to make sure that I develop cultural knowledge as well as cultural intelligence and sensitivity so that I can adapt to the culture efficiently and work according to the preferences of the patients to please them. I will join workshops by which I can develop cultural competency as well as cultural sensitivity. I would also develop reflection based practices so that i can reflect on incidences and learn from them.
Intercultural barriers faced by workers in the industry
I want to work with Wellways Australia. It is mainly a leading not-for profit organization which provide support for both mental healthcare services as well as disability support services in Queensland, New South Wales, the Australian Capital Territory, Victoria and Tasmania. The services provided by them spans around different sectors like that of community care; disability services as well as mental health services and reaches out to thousands of patients (Lopes et al., 2015). As per my research, I have found that the values and beliefs of this organization align with the principles that I harbor myself as a healthcare professional. Their services are based on honesty, acceptance, equity, flexibility, commitment and participation which is very similar to the core values that forms of the foundation of my healthcare practices. Moreover, while working here, I would get the scope to travel all over the nation and also provide both mental care and disability acre services. Therefore, I believe that joining this organization would be one of the best options for me to enhance my career in healthcare industry.
Another important organization where I can also seek for job opportunity is Mind Australia Limited. It is one of the country’s leading community managed specialist healthcare service providers who have been supporting people with different day-to-day impacts of their mental health disorders as well as supporting to their family members, friends as well as careers for around 40 years. Another interesting thing that makes me feel like being a part of this service is that it helps in providing holistic care to patients (Enticott et al., 2016). They focus on making patients psychologically feel strong as well as healthy and also become resilient. Another additional aspect that makes me feel in working with this organization is that it also works with people to address poverty, housing, education and employment that ensure complete wellbeing. This organization is also an NDIS provider providing disability services to people. As I would be able to provide not form of services, I would also try to seek for job opportunities ere for their unique approach to mental treatment and also for incorporating disability services.
Another important organization where I can also seek for services is called the open minds. One of the most interesting reasons that had made me excited to work with them is that they are working for over 100 years and I would be getting to work with healthcare services that are already a century old. They are committed to supporting people who are not only living with mental ailments but are also living with disability and acquired brain injury. They are spread around 23 locations across Queensland as well as into New South Wales and other regions. By working with them, I would get the scope of travelling a lot and also provide disability care beside mental care as they are also aligned with NDIS.
Potential organizations for career opportunities
One of the most interesting features required by employers is a complete portfolio of healthcare students along with their resume. Portfolio comprises of additional details about experiences, reflective accounts, certificates and degrees and many others. My portfolio would also comprise of details of knowledge and skills gained from class discussion, attending the workshops, resources available at the Moodle site. This should be provided along with an interesting resume. The resume should be prepared in ways that grabs the attention of the employers and also reveal my genuine details in an elaborative manner so that the employers understand my skills and knowledge successfully. I will also use innovative job seeking and job applying methods like looking for vacant positions on linked in jobs, indeed, Seeks as well as many others. I would also try to develop rapport with many friends and seniors along with different mentors and placement facilitators so that they can refer me to any vacant positions in any healthcare organization that suits my aim and objectives. I will also drop forced application letters in case where they might like my resume. Moreover, I will also engage in a feedback session with my mentor and discuss with my friends who have already started working on the strategies to get myself placed in a good organization and see myself successful in the future.
Conclusion:
From the above discussion, it can be clearly seen that the healthcare industry is booming and hence, more and more professionals would get the scope of working in this sectors and reaching the zenith of success in their lives. Mental healthcare and disability services require more and more professionals to meet the demand of the patients. Following the demands, an individual needs to select organizations where they would get the scope of further career growths the same time being able to follow their passion. They would also need to develop job-seeking plans so that they can follow systematic path and grab good jobs in best organizations.
References:
Abs.gov.au (2018) Healthcare and Social Assistance our largest industry, Retrieved from: www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/[email protected]/mediareleasesbyCatalogue/B611DFF5E8590F8ACA2581BF001F743B?OpenDocument
Aihw.gov.au , 2018, Mental health services In brief 2018, Australian institute of health and welfare services retrieved, from: https://www.aihw.gov.au/getmedia/0e102c2f-694b-4949-84fb-e5db1c941a58/aihw-hse-211.pdf.aspx?inline=true
Barr, B., Taylor-Robinson, D., Stuckler, D., Loopstra, R., Reeves, A., & Whitehead, M. (2016). ‘First, do no harm’: are disability assessments associated with adverse trends in mental health? A longitudinal ecological study. J Epidemiol Community Health, 70(4), 339-345.
Engesser, S., Fawzi, N., & Larsson, A. O. (2017). Populist online communication: introduction to the special issue.
Enticott, J. C., Meadows, G. N., Shawyer, F., Inder, B., & Patten, S. (2016). Mental disorders and distress: associations with demographics, remoteness and socioeconomic deprivation of area of residence across Australia. Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 50(12), 1169-1179.
Halpern, B. S., Longo, C., Lowndes, J. S. S., Best, B. D., Frazier, M., Katona, S. K., … & Selig, E. R. (2015). Patterns and emerging trends in global ocean health. PloS one, 10(3), e0117863.
Inglehart, R. (2015). The silent revolution: Changing values and political styles among Western publics. Princeton University Press.
Kälin, W. (2017). Troubled communication: Cross-cultural misunderstandings in the asylum-hearing. In International Refugee Law (pp. 175-186). Routledge.
Lopes, M. A., Almeida, Á. S., & Almada-Lobo, B. (2015). Handling healthcare workforce planning with care: where do we stand?. Human resources for health, 13(1), 38.
McCracken, K., & Phillips, D. R. (2017). Global health: An introduction to current and future trends. Routledge.
McCracken, K., & Phillips, D. R. (2017). Global health: An introduction to current and future trends. Routledge.
Mossialos, E., Wenzl, M., Osborn, R., & Sarnak, D. (2016). 2015 international profiles of health care systems. Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health.
Nsightsresources.seek.com.au, 2018, Why the healthcare industry is Australia’s biggest employer, retrieved from: https://insightsresources.seek.com.au/why-healthcare-is-australias-biggest-employer
Quinlan, M. (2015). The effects of non-standard forms of employment on worker health and safety. Geneva, Switzerland: ILO.
Sellers, K., Leider, J. P., Harper, E., Castrucci, B. C., Bharthapudi, K., Liss-Levinson, R., … & Hunter, E. L. (2015). The Public Health Workforce Interests and Needs Survey: the first national survey of state health agency employees. Journal of Public Health Management and Practice, 21(Suppl 6), S13.
Shah, G. H., & Madamala, K. (2015). Knowing where public health is going: levels and determinants of workforce awareness of national public health trends. Journal of Public Health Management and Practice, 21, S102-S110.
Order an Essay Now & Get These Features For Free:
Turnitin Report
Formatting
Title Page
Citation
Outline
