PHC Med Staff

Based on PHC’s desire to be at the forefront of exceptional care, providing exceptional care and outcomes is defined by the following attributes:

• A clear vision for quality.
• Being highly responsive to patients’ and residents’ needs and preferences.
• Supporting staff to deliver the best and most compassionate care.
• Measuring outcomes that matter most to patients and residents.
• An open and just environment.
• Adopting right leadership styles and modelling them for emerging leaders.
• Using data effectively to drive quality, safety and experience.
• Thinking and acting long-term.

This theme emphasizes the translation of new knowledge into care, punctuated by a desire to see Providence “take risks” and “quickly bring research into the front lines.”

A current example of work being done in this area is Providence’s involvement in the BC-led digital technology supercluster initiative.

• A supercluster is defined as an innovation hotbed that turns ideas into solutions, including innovative products, platforms, and technologies that can be brought to market.
• This initiative will benefit health care researchers, providers, patients, and industry partners by working together to accomplish the following:
  • Develop genomics-based solutions that enable personalized, precise and targeted cancer treatment.
  • Build tailored-to-patients therapies.
  • Provide Canadians with their health data and insights to assist patients and caregivers in managing health and wellness.

Read more about the supercluster initiative and our involvement in it(External link).

Focused on workplace culture, this theme delves into the people who work at PHC and how we interact with one another.

More specifically, we want to explore the following:

• Recruitment – attracting and retaining world-class medical staff. In short, to be the best you need the best.
• Wellness – empowering medical staff to manage their physical and psychological well-being. How do we best support people who support people?

The Ask

Given this context, help us answer the following:

• In 7 years, what are the goals you want to see accomplished in our pursuit of making PHC the best place where the best people in the world want to work, learn and stay?
• What are some quick wins that we should be pursuing in this area?

This theme is aligned with the Ministry of Health’s vision for an integrated system of care to meet the needs of patients and providers.

It also supports the vision for the new St. Paul’s, where integration of programs and services will enable smoother transitions for patients at home, in the community, in the new hospital or elsewhere on the new campus, allowing them to receive the right care at the right time and in the right place. This integrated model will help healthy people stay healthy, while providing high-quality critical care when they are very sick.

Examples/features of seamless care:

• Care that used to be provided in hospitals is provided in the community (e.g., low intensity, high volume surgical procedures).
• Primary Care Networks operating 24/7 and providing most of the care needed by the entire population in their catchment area, including urgent care, lab and diagnostic imaging.
  • These networks also provide rapid access to specialists (and vice versa) because of shared Electronic Health Records (EHR), virtual care, and other digital platforms.
• Hospital clinical programs will redesign their inpatient care models, shifting to inter-disciplinary team-based care for the “whole person” (especially managing mental and physical health together).

Focused on how we approach patients as an organization, this theme influences all of the other themes, as well as underlies Providence’s unique culture.

Background / Context to reflect on for this theme:

• Many talk about the unique culture at PHC in general terms: we have a history of caring for vulnerable and specialized patient groups; there is a cooperation and willingness to help one another across all disciplines.
• Culture is “the way things are done around here”: encompasses values and behaviors that contribute to the unique environment of our organization.
• An organization’s culture is reflected by what is valued, the dominant managerial and leadership styles, the language and symbols, the procedures and routines, and the definitions of success that make an organization unique.
• In the health care, medical and clinical staff are generally familiar with the concept of culture and its importance in the provision of individualized patient care; therefore, organizational culture has been considered as a variable that:
  • influences performance
  • contributes to quality of care
  • is a tool that can be used for better nursing, medical, patient and system outcomes, including improved workplace environments, and patient and staff safety.
• Moreover, it has been suggested that regardless of individual’s motivation, capabilities and resources, a supportive work culture may have significant impact on the feelings towards one’s quality of work-life, as well as on health consequences.
• A supportive organizational culture is often cited as a key component of successful quality improvement initiatives in a wide variety of organizations; a strong culture drives positive organizational outcomes.
• Included in this is the culture of care: the right patient, right place, the right provider.