BLOG: Behind the scenes of a Telstra Health Training Specialist in remote WA
Paul ‘PJ’ Connolly, Lead Training Specialist, Primary and Community Health
At Telstra Health, many of our digital health solutions support healthcare organisations in remote and rural locations across Australia.
An example of this is Communicare, which is Australia’s leading, digital care solution for community and health services since 1994. The software solution supports multi-disciplinary health services, primary health providers and community services throughout Australia, helping to deliver quality care across every state and territory no matter where they are based
BLOG: Behind the scenes of a Telstra Health Training Specialist in remote WA
Paul ‘PJ’ Connolly, Lead Training Specialist, Primary and Community Health
At Telstra Health, many of our digital health solutions support healthcare organisations in remote and rural locations across Australia.
An example of this is Communicare, which is Australia’s leading, digital care solution for community and health services since 1994. The software solution supports multi-disciplinary health services, primary health providers and community services throughout Australia, helping to deliver quality care across every state and territory no matter where they are based
Flexible working
Ash Bercich, Manager, Advisory Services
“By having the opportunity to work flexibly, it gives me the time and space to work on my ‘side-hustle’, a fruit and veg delivery business called ‘Greens for Good’. Working flexibly for me means working on my side-hustle on Mondays (and just about any other spare time I have) and working at Telstra Health from Tuesdays through to Fridays. Being able to devote time to my passion outside of Telstra Health keeps me energised and gives me purpose. Running my own business has also been a terrific experience, and I’m able to draw on the knowledge and skills I’ve built in my role as a consultant at Telstra Health. If you have a passion you’re looking to devote more time to, or a ‘side-hustle’ you’re looking to build up, working flexibly is certainly a great avenue to do that.”
Flexible working
Ash Bercich, Manager, Advisory Services
“By having the opportunity to work flexibly, it gives me the time and space to work on my ‘side-hustle’, a fruit and veg delivery business called ‘Greens for Good’. Working flexibly for me means working on my side-hustle on Mondays (and just about any other spare time I have) and working at Telstra Health from Tuesdays through to Fridays. Being able to devote time to my passion outside of Telstra Health keeps me energised and gives me purpose. Running my own business has also been a terrific experience, and I’m able to draw on the knowledge and skills I’ve built in my role as a consultant at Telstra Health. If you have a passion you’re looking to devote more time to, or a ‘side-hustle’ you’re looking to build up, working flexibly is certainly a great avenue to do that.”
Paid cultural leave
Hamza Ijaz, Software Engineer, Aged & Disability
“Being a Muslim, we have two religious days of celebration during the year called "Eid". I was happy to know that Telstra Health offers paid cultural leave for a day. So I elected to use that leave this year to celebrate with my family. We wore our traditional Pakistani dresses (called Kurta Shalwar). Unfortunately, we could not invite our friends for lunch because of Victoria’s COVID restrictions but we all met outdoors, finishing the day by watching the sunset from the Melbourne Star. In addition to this experience, I also work flexibly by starting early and finishing early, or in reverse, or by taking a break during the day and making up for it later. Being the father of a 10-month-old, I find this flexibility is very useful.”
Paid cultural leave
Hamza Ijaz, Software Engineer, Aged & Disability
“Being a Muslim, we have two religious days of celebration during the year called "Eid". I was happy to know that Telstra Health offers paid cultural leave for a day. So I elected to use that leave this year to celebrate with my family. We wore our traditional Pakistani dresses (called Kurta Shalwar). Unfortunately, we could not invite our friends for lunch because of Victoria’s COVID restrictions but we all met outdoors, finishing the day by watching the sunset from the Melbourne Star. In addition to this experience, I also work flexibly by starting early and finishing early, or in reverse, or by taking a break during the day and making up for it later. Being the father of a 10-month-old, I find this flexibility is very useful.”
Flexible working
Chris Norton, Head of Strategy, Business Development and Advisory Services
“Since joining Telstra Health I have actively accessed the flexible working options available in a number of ways. Primarily these have been so that I can take an active role in managing my children and ensuring I share care equally with my wife. Some of the ways that I do this include starting later two days a week to manage the morning routine and the kids’ school drop-off, as well starting earlier and finishing earlier another two days a week to do the pickup, afternoon sports and evening routine duties. I have also applied flexibility where I have needed to take time for personal appointments or working to meet urgent deadlines and taking the time back at other times. I am a strong believer that flexible working is a really positive thing and that outcomes are more important than the Monday to Friday 9-5 workday each week.”
Flexible working
Chris Norton, Head of Strategy, Business Development and Advisory Services
“Since joining Telstra Health I have actively accessed the flexible working options available in a number of ways. Primarily these have been so that I can take an active role in managing my children and ensuring I share care equally with my wife. Some of the ways that I do this include starting later two days a week to manage the morning routine and the kids’ school drop-off, as well starting earlier and finishing earlier another two days a week to do the pickup, afternoon sports and evening routine duties. I have also applied flexibility where I have needed to take time for personal appointments or working to meet urgent deadlines and taking the time back at other times. I am a strong believer that flexible working is a really positive thing and that outcomes are more important than the Monday to Friday 9-5 workday each week.”
Learning
Chantal Tennant, Implementation Consultant, Primary and Community Health
“Participating in Telstra Health’s first internal hackathon during 2021 was such a wonderful, energising experience. By collaborating, co-creating and sharing ideas amongst people from different business areas of Telstra Health, we worked together to solve a particular problem in health and aged care – as well as learn more about each other. We had access to play around with different Telstra Health solutions and applications, leveraging what each application has to offer to create our solution. It was really interesting, engaging, informative, playful and productive. In the end, it didn’t matter what the outcome was in terms of which team won - all the work has contributed to bringing the Telstra Health vision to life, progressing solutions that benefit our organisation and the health and aged care sectors in which we support. I am so grateful for the opportunity to be involved.”
Learning
Chantal Tennant, Implementation Consultant, Primary and Community Health
“Participating in Telstra Health’s first internal hackathon during 2021 was such a wonderful, energising experience. By collaborating, co-creating and sharing ideas amongst people from different business areas of Telstra Health, we worked together to solve a particular problem in health and aged care – as well as learn more about each other. We had access to play around with different Telstra Health solutions and applications, leveraging what each application has to offer to create our solution. It was really interesting, engaging, informative, playful and productive. In the end, it didn’t matter what the outcome was in terms of which team won - all the work has contributed to bringing the Telstra Health vision to life, progressing solutions that benefit our organisation and the health and aged care sectors in which we support. I am so grateful for the opportunity to be involved.”
Professional development
Lucy Platz, Strategy Analyst, Strategy, Business Development and Advisory Services
“Since joining Telstra Health, my role has evolved from working as an Associate across the Strategy and Human Resources teams, to becoming a Strategy Analyst, with multiple opportunities available to enable my professional and personal development. Being in the early stages of my career, I’ve been greatly supported by various role models and leaders across our organisation. Most notably, I’ve taken part in two pilot programs throughout 2021; one centred on peer mentoring, where I was partnered with a Senior Solution Delivery Manager, and the other on group coaching, in which my group has been guided by an Executive Leadership Team member to collaborate on identified business opportunities or challenges. Both programs have been incredibly inspiring, as I’ve met new people with diverse backgrounds and experiences, who have significantly enriched my learnings.”
Professional development
Lucy Platz, Strategy Analyst, Strategy, Business Development and Advisory Services
“Since joining Telstra Health, my role has evolved from working as an Associate across the Strategy and Human Resources teams, to becoming a Strategy Analyst, with multiple opportunities available to enable my professional and personal development. Being in the early stages of my career, I’ve been greatly supported by various role models and leaders across our organisation. Most notably, I’ve taken part in two pilot programs throughout 2021; one centred on peer mentoring, where I was partnered with a Senior Solution Delivery Manager, and the other on group coaching, in which my group has been guided by an Executive Leadership Team member to collaborate on identified business opportunities or challenges. Both programs have been incredibly inspiring, as I’ve met new people with diverse backgrounds and experiences, who have significantly enriched my learnings.”
Indigenous Cultural Immersion program
Anjani Jaswal, Delivery Lead - Pharmacy, Fred IT
“I consider myself lucky to have experienced the life, beliefs and culture of people from the traditional homelands of Cape York through an Indigenous Cultural Immersion trip, offered by Telstra Health, Fred IT and Red Earth. The warm and welcoming locals kindly shared touching stories of their Elders and the past experiences. The struggles that they have gone through to survive has made those we met incredibly passionate about educating young generations about their language and culture. By spending quality time with different Indigenous communities, it’s clear that ensuring the social, emotional and physical wellbeing of these communities is key. While much is being done to address and improve the health care issues, there is still a long way to go before we can be satisfied with the results. I am very grateful for the opportunity to immerse myself in the rich culture of the Indigenous communities of Cape York and I encourage everyone to contribute in their own ways to support First Nations peoples.”
Indigenous Cultural Immersion program
Anjani Jaswal, Delivery Lead - Pharmacy, Fred IT
“I consider myself lucky to have experienced the life, beliefs and culture of people from the traditional homelands of Cape York through an Indigenous Cultural Immersion trip, offered by Telstra Health, Fred IT and Red Earth. The warm and welcoming locals kindly shared touching stories of their Elders and the past experiences. The struggles that they have gone through to survive has made those we met incredibly passionate about educating young generations about their language and culture. By spending quality time with different Indigenous communities, it’s clear that ensuring the social, emotional and physical wellbeing of these communities is key. While much is being done to address and improve the health care issues, there is still a long way to go before we can be satisfied with the results. I am very grateful for the opportunity to immerse myself in the rich culture of the Indigenous communities of Cape York and I encourage everyone to contribute in their own ways to support First Nations peoples.”
Paid Volunteer Day
Rod Taylor, Talent Partner, People & Talent
“At Telstra Health, we are able to use volunteer leave to take time out from work and support our communities. In February 2022, members of my People and Talent team and I used our annual volunteer day to spend several hours working at the Sacred Heart Mission in Melbourne. The Sacred Heart is a St Kilda institution as they aid hundreds of people who are experiencing homelessness or disadvantage by serving breakfast and lunch 365 days a year. Not only do they operate the dining hall, but they also have op shops, safe spaces for women experiencing homelessness such as the Womens’ House, home care for the elderly and in-home support and provide other wellbeing services to many. The Sacred Heart receives minimal government funding, so they rely on corporates including Telstra and Telstra Health volunteers to help bring to life the dining hall that supports so many clients every day of the year. It was so rewarding spending our volunteer day at this very deserving organisation and I’d highly recommend the experience to any of other Telstra Health people looking to use their volunteer leave.”
Paid Volunteer Day
Rod Taylor, Talent Partner, People & Talent
“At Telstra Health, we are able to use volunteer leave to take time out from work and support our communities. In February 2022, members of my People and Talent team and I used our annual volunteer day to spend several hours working at the Sacred Heart Mission in Melbourne. The Sacred Heart is a St Kilda institution as they aid hundreds of people who are experiencing homelessness or disadvantage by serving breakfast and lunch 365 days a year. Not only do they operate the dining hall, but they also have op shops, safe spaces for women experiencing homelessness such as the Womens’ House, home care for the elderly and in-home support and provide other wellbeing services to many. The Sacred Heart receives minimal government funding, so they rely on corporates including Telstra and Telstra Health volunteers to help bring to life the dining hall that supports so many clients every day of the year. It was so rewarding spending our volunteer day at this very deserving organisation and I’d highly recommend the experience to any of other Telstra Health people looking to use their volunteer leave.”
Indigenous Cultural Immersion program
William Grant, Senior Product Manager, Virtual Care Solutions
“I was one of the few that was fortunate enough to be selected as part of Telstra Health’s first Indigenous Cultural Immersion program in 2019. After arriving in Cairns, QLD, we set out and travelled across a dirt road for the majority of the trip, crossing the many crocodile inhabited creek crossings through the World Heritage Daintree Forest. The primary objective of the trip was to ‘immerse’ ourselves with the locals, and we did this by staying on the homelands of the Bintha-Warra people near Hope Vale and the Jajikal homelands near Wujal Wujal. We spent some time visiting the various health services too, including the health centres in Hope Vale and Wujal and the local hospital in Cooktown. The difference between staying in these remote locations generally and actually staying on a remote Indigenous homeland is that it gives you an understanding of what Traditional Indigenous Country and lands mean to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities – it’s a spiritual and cultural experience like nothing else.”
Indigenous Cultural Immersion program
William Grant, Senior Product Manager, Virtual Care Solutions
“I was one of the few that was fortunate enough to be selected as part of Telstra Health’s first Indigenous Cultural Immersion program in 2019. After arriving in Cairns, QLD, we set out and travelled across a dirt road for the majority of the trip, crossing the many crocodile inhabited creek crossings through the World Heritage Daintree Forest. The primary objective of the trip was to ‘immerse’ ourselves with the locals, and we did this by staying on the homelands of the Bintha-Warra people near Hope Vale and the Jajikal homelands near Wujal Wujal. We spent some time visiting the various health services too, including the health centres in Hope Vale and Wujal and the local hospital in Cooktown. The difference between staying in these remote locations generally and actually staying on a remote Indigenous homeland is that it gives you an understanding of what Traditional Indigenous Country and lands mean to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities – it’s a spiritual and cultural experience like nothing else.”
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