Overview
Initiative type
Service Improvement
Status
Deliver
Published
June 2026
Summary
Self-development opportunities with a focus on non-clinical skills; these will enhance personal capabilities that complement clinical skills. This creates opportunity to add a community and support for the workforce.
Dates: September 2023 - February 2025
Implementation sites: Mater Hospital Brisbane
This project was presented as a Poster at CEQ Showcase 2026 (PDF, 597KB).
Aim
This project grew from a concerned response to a human and workforce risk. It's a cultural opportunity, and a chance to build capability early before talent is lost to uncertainty, overwhelm or burnout.
Outcomes
- Increased regular Professional Development opportunities (2-3 attendances per PHO)
- Consistent feedback practices across surgical PHOs
- Improved workforce experience and future workforce planning with stronger insight in non-training workforce pipeline.
Background
Principal Health Officers (PHO) positions have exponentially grown in public hospital facilities in the past 10 years and are critical to safely delivering surgical health care volumes. Unlike their junior Resident (RMO) colleagues and senior Registrar (Reg) colleagues, there are no dedicated support programs for PHOs in Queensland. While many Directors have informally provided self-development opportunities on an ad hoc basis, Mater's workforce will greatly benefit from providing regular feedback and self-driven personal development opportunities, integrated within Mater's PHO medical cohort.
Methods
- Survey: A survey was completed by PHOs in 2023 to seek input into areas of interest and when these offerings would be best provided.
- Mentoring program: While separate to this specific initiative, Mater Education led a MentorMe@Mater trial in late 2023, which included some junior medical officers and input from the senior medical leadership.
- Co-design: In February 2024, new surgical starters (Reg, PHO and Fellow levels) were invited to complete a co-design session during the orientation day to commence early steps of what support programs could look like.
- Four program components were implemented for trial in 2024, based on PHO feedback and identified development areas.
- Cross department engagement
- Feedback
- Training application preparation
- Professional development for self-development
- Surgical burnout
- Pivoting medical skills
- Financial wellbeing
- Giving and Receiving feedback
Engagement with peers in low stress environments and away from work are critical to fostering improved cross department engagement and increasing access to diverse support networks.
PHOs were asking for help with feedback – giving and receiving. They want help identifying strategies to do better. The project arranged for 360 feedback to obtained from nursing, allied health and admin team members across inpatient, theatre and outpatient settings. This activity proposed to formalise this approach across all surgical specialties, targeting the relevant staff members who engage with the PHOs most frequently. All surgical specialties would use a standard set of questions, that supports the themes of the Situational Judgement Test and consideration of the feedback forms already used by Colleges for accredited trainees.
Directors of Specialty were responsible for sharing this feedback, provided in aggregate, back to the candidate for their reflection and identifying the support required to improve, where applicable. A follow up 360 was offered to enable feedback and identify any noted improvement seen. Directors had access to a cheat sheet of resources to provide individuals based on their identified opportunity areas.
PHOs are in three phases of their career-preparing to submit a specialist training program, waiting to hear if they were successful in obtaining a specialist training spot, or deciding next career steps after an unsuccessful training application.
Critical areas being sought out for help
Interview practice in preparation of selection for interview
CV enhancement and feedback, specific to training requirements
Knowing what is available to access - Professional Development
Activity 1: Active promotion as part of surgical orientations of access to professional development leave as well as a professional development allowance via the Enterprise Agreement.
Activity 2: Coordinated opt in interview practice sessions with volunteer panels. Current proposal is to arrange an external provider with expertise in this area to give a brief education session and subsequent ‘speed interviewing' activity. Attendance at this event will then enable registration to a dedicated interview panel setting with other PHOs to answer questions in an interview scenario and receive feedback from peers.
A number of identified PHO priority areas related to self-development. Panel discussion approximately once a quarter is proposed. Current topics of high priority include but are not limited to:
Discussion
The success of From Lost to Leading: Developing the Surgical PHO Workforce was strongly influenced by the organisational environment and timing in which the project was delivered. The rapid growth of PHO numbers without equivalent expansion of surgical training positions created a clear need for targeted support, and this context generated both interest and openness to change. Surgical leaders and PHOs alike recognised the gap in structured development and welcomed a program that centred identity, capability and belonging. Early engagement through surveys and co design ensured that the project was grounded in lived experience, enabling the initiatives to reflect genuine workforce needs rather than assumptions. The cultural readiness for a more connected and supported PHO workforce was an important enabler, alongside support from Medical Education, Directors of Specialty and cross department collaborators.
Key lessons emerged throughout implementation. First, belonging and visibility matter just as much as skill development. The strongest feedback related not only to the content of sessions, but to the opportunity to connect with peers and feel recognised as an integral part of the surgical workforce. This reinforces that capability development cannot occur in isolation from community building. Second, the absence of an overarching framework for PHO governance remains a limitation. Without protected time or formal frameworks to support role professional development, attendance was constrained, particularly when offerings occurred outside business hours. Third, repurposing and tailoring existing Medical Education resources was efficient, but highlighted the need for specialised content for PHOs, who sit in a unique space between RMOs and Registrars. Finally, the 360 degree feedback initiative underscored the value of structured, multisource input, though its sustainability will depend on continued leadership engagement and clear processes.
Despite these limitations, the project demonstrated strong potential for scalability. The challenges experienced by surgical PHOs are not unique to one hospital or even to surgery. Many specialties have growing cohorts of non-training medical officers navigating prolonged career uncertainty with limited structured support. This model's combining peer connection, multisource feedback, tailored interview preparation and self development - could be readily applied across medical, critical care and procedural specialties. Further, the emphasis on community building and belonging aligns with broader organisational goals around workforce wellbeing, psychological safety and retention, making it adaptable across contexts where clinicians experience transient, rotational or unsupported roles.
The next steps involve embedding the most effective program components into routine workforce development processes. Formalising a PHO support framework - including protected time, governance oversight and defined responsibilities - would enhance participation and ensure sustainability. Co design should continue annually to maintain relevance as workforce needs evolve. Strengthening partnerships with Medical Education, Directors of Specialty and external providers will also support ongoing quality and innovation. There is an opportunity to expand the 360 feedback model, incorporate structured mentoring pathways, and develop a clear sequence of development activities that support PHOs at each phase of their career progression. With continued organisational support, this project can evolve from a trial into a foundational component of the PHO experience.
References
N/A
Key contact
Amy Brennan
Business Practice Improvement Officer
Mater Health Service
Email: Amy.Brennan@mater.org.au