Workplace conflict is something every employer will face and how it’s handled can greatly affect productivity, employee satisfaction and the overall work environment. 

Conflict arises from differing attitudes, opinions, approaches or perspectives on a situation, issue or person. 

Helping others manage pain, recover from injuries and improve their physical function can mean physiotherapists are putting their patients’ needs ahead of their own, says Ellen Lake APAM (pictured above), national chair of the APA Mental Health group.

It would be fair to say that most health professionals choose to work in healthcare because they want to help others and contribute positively to their community and that the journey to qualification and beyond requires dedication and commitment. 

As Kieran Bell tells it, treating workers on an oil rig in the Timor Sea off Western Australia is an opportunity of a lifetime to build on his occupational health skills and expand his horizons.

Due to their inherently hazardous environments, safety is paramount when working on an oil rig. 

The LGBTQIA+ community makes up over 10 per cent of the Australian population. 

Among 16–24-year-olds, it could be up to 20 per cent. 

This means that a large proportion of our clients, students, colleagues and employees may be LGBTQIA+.

Physiotherapists working in occupational health offer a range of workplace prevention and rehabilitation services, both onsite and within clinics. 

One of the key roles is providing injury prevention training to individuals and groups. 

APTA have been, and will continue to be, a very close ally and friend to the APA. 

It was an honour to engage with them at a strategic and political level as a guest.

It can be incredibly overwhelming for new employees to begin employment in a completely new workplace, whether it’s their first job after graduation or their tenth. 

It is in the employer’s best interest to facilitate the employee’s transition into the workplace as smoothly as possible and this is best done through an induction process. 

MICHAEL RYAN

Sometimes it has been out of self-described ‘sheer bloody-minded aspiration and determination’. 

At other times it has been through the insistence or encouragement of peers and colleagues.