Skip to main content

Table 3 Potential policy options and strategies

From: Policy options to improve leadership of middle managers in the Australian residential aged care setting: a narrative synthesis

Key issues

Policy options and strategies arising from the review and consultations

Education & training

Development of an Aged Care Specific Leadership and Management Qualities Framework, encompassing sets of competencies (addressing the key elements of leadership such as hands-on accessibility and professional expertise in nurturing respect, recognition and team building, along with effective communication and flexibility) and key performance indicators for systematic evaluation. The framework should be congruent with Person Centred Care--the most widely recognised and recommended care philosophy for aged care.

 

Development of a leadership and management programme based on the qualities framework mentioned above. It should be RAC specific, affordable and accessible, allowing for flexibility based on organisational uniqueness and context, and leadership's time constraints.

 

Establishment of a partnership approach in the leadership and management framework and program in collaboration with policy/decision makers, aged care industry representatives, an accreditation body, consumers/carers, education and training organisations.

 

Establishment of an aged care leadership and management centre focused on developing, identifying and disseminating effective educational and training programs and best practices for improving leadership and supervisory skills among people in managerial positions and providing a hub for peer networking and mentoring, and building leadership transmission.

Regulation, legislation & accreditation

The relevance of clinical qualifications in aged care needs to be carefully considered, and required only when essential to the role to be performed. Increasingly, middle management in RAC has no requirements for nursing qualifications. It is therefore important for an experienced clinical nurse with the relevant qualifications to be always available in the RACF.

Incentives, remuneration and reward

Career paths in administration and senior management to be made available for nurses and other care staff to ensure senior management understand the floor environment.

 

Development of relevant policies guiding the notion of attractive career paths and succession planning with increased incentives, remuneration and reward; further promotion of career pathways, integration of leader/manager succession planning into organisational culture, and movement between the different leadership/management levels.

 

Recognition of tertiary leadership and management development qualifications

 

The image of the RAC industry to be modernised and made more appealing through for example wage parity between acute and non-acute care.

National minimum dataset (MDS)

A MDS to be set up for ongoing data collection detailing types of managers, their diversity and the qualifications they hold, pay and remuneration, and turnover and retention. In order to be able to conduct complex and systematic workforce planning and ongoing comprehensive monitoring of the workforce, the establishment of a MDS is necessary.

Aged care leadership & management strategy

A national strategy that promotes a common approach to aged care leadership and management development at both government and aged care industry levels. Under this strategy the importance of and access to education and training for leadership and management development can be clearly articulated in relevant policy listed earlier.