Women powering the Emergency Department on International Women's Day
Lichelle Hackett, Nurse Unit Manager, ED, Dr Vanessa Clayden, Acting Medical Director Service Four, Dr Colleen Taylor, Acting Head of Department Emergency Medicine
For the mostly female leadership team in the Fiona Stanley Hospital (FSH) Emergency Department (ED), this International Women’s Day (IWD) is all about supporting each another to learn, earn and lead.
Leading a team to treat 115, 000 child and adult patients a year in the state’s busiest ED is no easy feat, but for Vanessa Clayden, Acting Medical Director Service Four, Colleen Taylor, Acting Head of Department Emergency Medicine, and Lichelle Hackett, Nurse Unit Manager, ED, it is the supportive team culture across South Metropolitan Health Service (SMHS) that they say has allowed them to grow and develop as leaders.
Together, and alongside their colleagues, the woman-strong team have achieved incredible outcomes for emergency patients; including improving early emergency care for patients waiting and providing virtual support to ambulance patients in the community prior to ED arrival, streamlining care to the right provider and place depending on patient needs, and a falls stream for older adults with excellent health outcomes. These innovations have become influential new models of care within emergency medicine across Australia.
Along the IWD 2024 theme of Count Her In: Invest in Women, Accelerate Progress, FSH ED is a great example of looking toward gender equality through creating equal access to employment and leadership positions from within, to deliver excellent healthcare every time.
Vanessa, Colleen and Lichelle all concur that their progression into leadership has been thanks to excellent professional development opportunities provided at SMHS, coupled with the encouragement of mentors, management and colleagues, inspiring role models and the support provided by family and friends.
Dr Vanessa said there is an open approach to leadership development at SMHS, supporting staff to step up into covering leadership roles and a collaborative approach to growth and experience with feedback and mentorship.
“I think our supportive team culture encourages people to feel brave to try new positions and responsibilities knowing that the team will be responsive during this time,” Vanessa said. “FSH has a positive team culture that not only embraces female leadership, but openly promotes it.”
Vanessa, now Acting Medical Director, was Head of Emergency from 2016 to 2024, attributes her progression into a leadership role to her seniors who supported her to learn and encouraged her to be brave, after shifting from Fremantle to Fiona Stanley Hospitals as a consultant.
“I did this with trepidation,” she said, “but with excellent support from colleagues who had held similar positions in the past and could offer guidance.
“Being a leader in a very busy 24/7 clinical environment can be challenging due to the nature and intensity of our work, but the supportive culture in the ED made these challenges much easier, especially navigating the various phases of the COVID pandemic.
“We made it a habit to share great feedback within the team at and across all levels. The whole team at FSH ED work with tremendous unity and collaboration to deliver the best patient care possible, all the while continuing to innovate and support excellence in patient care.”
As a mum to three teenagers and dog Luna, Vanessa and her husband managed the juggle of work and life with flexibility.
Vanessa’s message to other girls and women hoping to be a senior medical leader advice is to just go for it.
“Gather the supports you need around you to help you feel confident in a new role and be brave and take the step,” Vanessa said.
Here’s to all the women across SMHS, caring for our patients to provide excellent healthcare, every time!
