Articles tagged under ‘Communication’

Articles 1 - 129 of 129

• ‘How I explain common conditions to my patients’ — messages from a chiropractor

  Rob Beaven, chiropractor, blogger and host of The back pain podcast, tells us how he explains common musculoskeletal conditions and processes to his patients.

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• Speak to recover — the art of messaging in injury care (Part 1)

  Dr Mary Wyatt explores the effects of communication on work-related injuries.

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• ‘You’re speaking my language’ — how to translate research into action and real change

  A case study shows how ‘intermediaries’ — like work injury scheme stakeholders — can take the key messages from high-quality evidence and tailor them to improve outcomes in workplaces.

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• Webinar recording: Speak to recover — the art of messaging in injury care

  Dr Mary Wyatt explores the effects of messaging on managing work-related injuries. She uses 2 case studies — on back pain and supervisor involvement — to analyse the role of communication and offer strategies for approaching this important topic.

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• Evidence-based messages about self-management

  Messages that empower people to self-manage their injuries contribute to better RTW and recovery outcomes.

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• The feel-good factor — why your thoughts and emotions matter to recovery

  Injured workers will benefit from the message that their thoughts and emotions can affect how well they recover from injury or illness.

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• It pays to share (evidence-based messages)

  Ten reasons to share the key messages from It Pays To Care with everyone who works with workers’ compensation claimants.

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• When inactivity hurts and movement heals

  An important message for healthcare providers to give injured workers is that inactivity is more risky than moving.

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• Messages to help people with back pain get their lives back

  Anne’s story compares how positive and negative messages about the body have a huge impact on how they recover from back pain (or not).

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• How do Work Health and Safety psychosocial regulations line up with RTW laws? And how do employers comply with both?

  What should employers do to make sure they're complying with both Work Health and Safety psychosocial regulations and laws about return to work?

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• The power of words in health (Part 3) — 5 tips to shift the way you talk about osteoarthritis

  Five suggestions for how clinicians can shift the conversation from an ‘impairment’ to a ‘participatory-based’ approach to osteoarthritis.

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• The power of words in health (Part 2) — changing the conversation about osteoarthritis

  Clinicians and people with knee osteoarthritis can shift the conversation about osteoarthritis from an ‘impairment-based‘ conversation to a ‘participatory-based’ one.

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• The power of words in health — changing the conversation about osteoarthritis (Part 1)

  How we talk about health profoundly impacts how we think and act when managing our well-being.

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• Threading the needle (Part 2) — tips for managing RTW for injured or ill workers

  Safework Australia has new guide helps supervisors in small and medium businesses tread the tricky path of managing RTW for ill or injured workers.

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• Threading the needle (Part 1) — tips for managing RTW for injured or ill workers

  Safework Australia's new guide helps supervisors in small and medium businesses tread the tricky path of managing RTW for ill or injured workers.

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• Words, language and collaboration matter in returning to ‘good work’

  Four experts discuss the idea of ‘good work’ and how collaboration can achieve better outcomes for injured workers.

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• ‘Be more human, think like a customer’ — the importance of empathy and connection in case management

  When injured workers reflect on their workers' comp claims experience, it's how their claims manager made them feel, not what they told them, that they remember. QBE’s Customer Excellence Program supports case managers to ‘be more human’ in their interactions with injured workers.

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• RTW: from policy to practice — union views from the coalface

  Three union advocates give us their insights into the factors that can help improve RTW outcomes for workers, particularly those with psychological injuries.

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• IRRI-sistable (Part 2) — tipping the scales towards fewer workplace mental health injuries

  In Part 1 we introduced IRRI — WorkCover Queensland’s Injury Risk Reduction Initiatives. In this follow up article we look specifically at some of the projects that target workplace mental health, and what we can learn from them.

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• In the hands of the gods? Spinal injuries from a worker’s perspective

  A ‘recovering interventional spine physiatrist’ makes the case for spine clinicians paying more attention to what patients know and say about their low back pain.

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• ‘Workers’ what?’ Information about workers’ compensation falls short

  What do we know about how workers access, understand and engage with information about workers compensation, return to work and health literacy? A recent report commissioned by Safe Work Australia sheds light on this.

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• Did you know? We have principles that help GPs in their role to support work participation

  The ‘Principles on the role of the GP in supporting worker participation’ provide guidance to GPs and other work injury scheme participants on how they can work together to support workers’ recovery and RTW.

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• The role of general practitioners in worker rehabilitation — insights from the research

  General practitioners clearly play a critical role and we ask them to do a lot in a complex environment with multiple stakeholders. What is their experience of the work injury insurance system in Australia?

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• RTW: from policy to practice. How to make change happen

  The 'It Pays to Care' report calls for change in our work injury schemes, but recognises that change is hard, even when we know what we need to do. One model that looks at ‘organisational readiness for change’ may help us.

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• How to really reassure

  Patient / treater rapport, emotional validation and education backed by experiences that demonstrate the truth of what has been learned bring long-term benefits to patients with back pain, according to spine expert Dr Donald Murphy. Can GPs do it?

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• Bad reassurance: "You’re fine! Don’t worry!"

  Doctors and allied health professionals aiming to avoid over-treatment can actually make things worse for patients with back pain by offering reassurance that fails to reassure, according to spine care specialist Dr Donald Murphy.

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• Call to power

  Friendly telephone contact from laypeople with no psychological training alleviates loneliness, depression and anxiety in housebound adults, giving employers more incentive to stay in touch with workers who are off work due to injury or illness.

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• Telehealth in workers’ comp

  Our in-house expert and seasoned Independent Medical Examiner, Dr Mary Wyatt, explains telehealth pros and cons, and shares hacks to get you to the top of the learning curve quickly.

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• Said or unsaid, words matter

  Six powerful phrases that are heard too often, or not often enough, in the field of RTW and workers’ comp.

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• Webinar recording: Return to Work Coordinators, Doctors and Return to Work: an update

  New research on the influence of return to work coordinators and health care providers on return to work

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• Supercharging motivation for the chronically ill

  Motivating messages for RTW coordinators, supervisors and HR, based on research that describes what people with chronic diseases value about work.

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• Grand champions of persuasion...or manipulation?

  Even when it succeeds, manipulation destroys trust and breeds resentment. How can we persuade without manipulating?

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• Trust me, I'm like a smart person

  Authority builds trust, a powerful persuasive tool. In our fifth article on persuasion and Donald Trump we ask what can we learn from boasts about wealth and intelligence.

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• I love the poorly educated: Trump's persuasive compliments

  Being likeable also makes you persuasive. In our sixth article on persuasion, we explore the power of compliments, similarity and cooperation.

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• Now I go on a television show...and everyone thinks I'm such a nice guy

  In this article on Donald Trump and the art of persuasion, we examine the way small commitments become big ones.

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• I have so many fabulous friends who happen to be persuasive

  People want to be like other people, hence the persuasive heft of "social proof". In our third article on persuasion, we see what The Donald has to say about grown up peer pressure...

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• Nobody builds better reciprocity than me, believe me

  Actually, we don't believe you, Mr President! In the second in our series of articles on the persuasive tactics of Donald Trump, we look at one of his weaker points: reciprocity.

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• I'm going to make you persuasive...really, really persuasive

  President Donald Trump is one of the 21st century's great persuaders. This series looks at the tactics he uses well (and not so well). First up, pacing and leading.

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• Webinar recording: Mediation v Litigation - Two part series

  Dispute resolution options in RTW and Industrial cases including a case study

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• Webinar recording: Manage your mindset

  3 key principles of communication you can start using immediately to speed up your RTW outcomes

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• How-to guide: Calling psychological injury claimants

  Delaying contact with workers who’ve claimed for psychological injury can delay return to work. This article outlines why, how and when to make *that* call.

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• Can you ‘teach’ workers to be more emotionally resilient?

  You may know someone like this at work: optimistic and resilient, they appear to bounce through challenges drawing on an internal strength that helps them work through problems they encounter at work.

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• Speaking Up 4: When injured workers need to speak up

  Effective communication is particularly important when an injured worker is returning to work after injury.

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• Speaking Up 3: Staff speaking up

  As an employee, it's often seen as easier to keep quiet, but the reality is that you need to speak up.

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• Speaking Up 2: Employers enabling open communication

  Many employees tend to be wary of communicating openly in the workplace, so what can employers do to help them to open up?

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• Speaking Up 1: The Benefits of Open Communication

  Open communication in the workplace is sign of a positive workplace culture.

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• Disputes: The harm they can cause

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• Management tips: Resolving conflict in the workplace

  Unresolved conflict can cause many problems in the workplace. Don't let it!

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• Grief in the workplace: the death of a loved one

  Employees who have lost a loved one need support in the workplace. Grief is not a fast or easy process. Support from the workplace can make a major difference to those affected.

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• Webinar Recording: Workplace conflict - Early action at the coal face

  Conflict is best dealt with early, and by those involved.

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• Role Summary: Families

  Families and friends play a vital part in the recovery of injured workers. They provide emotional support as well as physical assistance.

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• Influence: Creating an environment of success

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• Influence: Language - a goldmine of potential

  What do you think of when you think of the words: injured worker, claimant, client, worker? Are your thoughts different? How does that impact return to work?

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• Influence: Six tips to reduce resistance and overcome objections

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• Influence: The gentle art of disagreeing

  Real influence is when you build from agreement, not from conflict; to align and lead rather than to try and overcome resistance.

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• Want better answers? Ask better questions

  Well-chosen questions can give injured workers - and frustrated RTW professionals - renewed positivity and momentum.

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• Influence: Stop talking! Four keys to listening

  To be heard is a powerful experience, and for your claimant it will make them feel safer, more secure and begin to trust.

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• Can we change workplace culture by the way we talk?

  What if we change the language in the workplace?

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• Influence: Steps to instantly connect with the claimant

  Building immediate rapport in return to work can turn adversary into ally.

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• The art of influence in return to work

  Are the latest sales and marketing techniques an untapped resource in return to work?

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• Examining supervisor competencies and return to work

  Competencies supervisors need to affect positive RTW outcomes for workers suffering musculoskeletal and mental health conditions.

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• Webinar recording: Telephonic support to facilitate return to work: what works, how, and when?

  A research review of telephone use for case management was released in the UK this year. Learn about the skills and resources required to be effective with telephonic case management.

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• Using telephonic case management for health interventions

  Evidence shows that picking up the phone improves RTW outcomes

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• Use of telephonic case management as a cost effective approach to improve RTW outcomes

  The features of telephonic case management that can improve RTW

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• What is telephonic case management?

  The evidence and benefits

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• Reducing disputes is child's play

  Remember when you were a child? A sibling or playmate did some harm to you. What did you do? A parent or teacher most likely gave you exactly what you needed.

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• Broken people from broken systems

  For many injured workers, the greatest challenge is not the extent of their injuries but the depth of their despair.

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• The case of the "lying" handyman

  How can Return to Work professionals prevent suspicion and mistrust from derailing a claim?

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• Apologies go a long way in work injury

  Offering injured workers an apology is likely to decrease long-term claims and improve outcomes for all parties.

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• Recorded Webinar: Communicating with Doctors - GPs and Specialists

  This webinar explores how RTW Coordinators and Claims Managers can communicate effectively with treating practitioners to establish a cooperative relationship.

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• Doctor, patient, insurer: The impossible triangle

  An interview with psychiatrist Dr Joe Dunn on improving relationships with doctors, and some of the other complexities of the patient, doctor, insurer interaction.

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• The Value of Questions and Early Answers

  Gather round, I've got a story to tell - and it starts with a question...

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• SuperDoc: Serve up a good attitude

  Want positive results from your clients? Check your 'tude.

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• Case study: Tact and trust

  Are your innovative ideas constantly met with suspicion? This case study from cotton-milling industrial revolution Scotland looks at how tact builds trust - and what squanders it.

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• Learning from the Vet

  Getting in touch with connectedness

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• Down the rabbit hole...

  In which SuperDoc describes perplexing cases of ordinary and extraordinary patients falling down the rabbit hole of workers' comp

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• Don't keep doctors dancing in the dark

  Assisting difficult RTW is even harder when the treating practitioner doesn't have all the facts.

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• Superdoc (8) - Back pain and the 'fear avoidance model'

  Our Superhero Superdoc is back on back pain and the importance of not being afraid of it.

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• SuperDoc (5) - On partnerships with doctors

  Partnerships between doctors and the workplace are worth working on.

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• Surviving and thriving with difficult co-workers: The sniper

  Hiding in plain sight, the officer sniper takes you down in public. How can you confront the sniper safely?

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• Surviving and thriving with difficult co-workers: An introduction

  The first of a series of articles on how to effectively deal with difficult co-workers.

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• Surviving and thriving with difficult co-workers: The know-it-all

  Not all know-it-alls are created equal, some actually do know what they're talking about! We look at the different approaches you need to take to each.

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• Survivng and thriving with difficult co-workers: The bully

  In this instalment of 'surviving and thriving' we look at the office bully, and how victims can best manage the situation while more decisive action is sought.

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• Surviving and thriving with difficult co-workers: The yes person

  In this edition of 'surviving and thriving' we look at the problem worker who hides in plain sight, the Yes Person.

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• Surviving and thriving with difficult co-workers: The complainer

  In this edition of 'surviving and thriving' we look at 'the complainer'.

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• Litigation in workers' compensation disputes: how we can avoid it

  In the second part of our two-part series on the limitations of litigation in workers' compensation disuputes, we look at what employers can do to avoid it.

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• Communicating with doctors: the finer points

  Dr Robyn Horsley explains the issues when communicating with a treating doctor.

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• 'Me' not 'we': dealing with narcissism in the workplace

  We look at the impact of narcissism at work, methods of identification and effective ways to deal with it.

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• Who is going to tell them, you or me?

  Better ways of delivering bad news

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• You say it best when you say nothing at all: Effective listening

  Have you ever been told you are a poor listener? Maybe you have, but you weren't paying attention?!

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• Active listening eTool

  Don't just hear the words, listen to them. These five steps to becoming an active listener will help you build a better workplace.

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• Maintaining a mentally healthy workplace - 2

  Ingrid Ozols - founder and Director of the Mental Health at Work initiative - explains the importance of reading the signs of mental illness.

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• Troubled employees

  Some Dos and Don'ts for dealing with troubled employees.

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• Maintaining a mentally healthy workplace - 1

  Ingrid Ozols - founder and Director of the Mental Health at Work initiative - explains the importance of reading the signs of mental illness.

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• Managing up

  Influencing people above you in the organisational hierarchy is good for your career and can help you achieve more in your role. What are the secrets?

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• White collar, blue collar

  Are you a RTW professional daunted by the prospect of working with a predominantly blue collar workforce? You're not alone. Here are ten tried and tested tips for building rapport.

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• Vintage empathy

  Paul Amos uses his personal experience of injury to great effect when dealing with injured workers at the Barossa Community Store.

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• Teaching WorkCover claimants to sell themselves

  In pain, low in confidence, and down at heart: it can be a hard slog to get back into the workforce. Here's the juice on helping people find a job.

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• Asking assertively

  Know what you want from people at work, but not how to get it? Learn how to talk the talk, and frame your requests assertively.

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• Styles of communication

  Passive. Aggressive. Assertive. How does your professional communication style affect your working life?

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• The patient's mouth

  Getting the information you need to facilitate RTW shouldn't be as painful as pulling teeth - you just need to ask the right questions...

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• Adventures in leadership

  Read Mary's guide to fearless RTW Coordination leadership, then take up our Choose Your Own Adventure Leadership Challenge!

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• Tongue-tied?

  Ten tips to loosen your tongue and ease your mind when that big presentation looms.

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• Let's get loud

  Taking ages to recover and return to regular duties after a workers' compensation claim? Make some noise!

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• Q&A CONFIDENTIALITY

  Shh! The low-down on confidentiality, return to work and workers' comp.

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• 8 tips for a great relationship - working with the claims manager

  We respond to a Return to Work Coordinator's query about resolving problems between employers and insurers.

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• Train for success

  Workers expect more from supervisors than supervisors are prepared to give - but training can build a RTW bridge!

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• Suspicious Minds

  Tips for supervisors who have their doubts about a worker's injury or compensation claim.

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• Communicating with "The System"

  Workers struggle to listen and be heard. How does this affect them?

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• Trouble communicating? Stop talking: Listen!

  A quick guide to the advantages and basic techniques of active listening.

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• Dealing with downsizing

  A quick guide to minimising negative impacts of downsizing on workers' comp claims and return to work.

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• RTW relationship hurdles 2: Doctors and employers

  Hurdling with a briefcase is tough, so why not dismantle RTW relationship barriers before they trip you up?

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• RTW relationship hurdles 1: Doctors and employers

  Part One - What are the barriers to good doctor / employer relationships?

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• How to recognise if you're "in the zone" at work

  Missing the zing in your step? Here's some help to refresh at work and steps to getting in the work groove.

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• I'm a RTW Coordinator and my work won't listen to me!

  What approaches can you take in the all-too-common situation of needing to convince others that good RTW is worth the effort?

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• Seeking: a doctor who talks and listens

  How to recognise doctors who are good communicators - and why it's in your interest to seek them out.

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• Conflict Cookie #3: Managing conflict

  It's a waste to sweep cookie crumbs under the carpet, and the same goes for conflict. Don't ignore workplace conflict: manage it.

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• CONFLICT COOKIE #2 Recognising conflict

  Recognising conflict BEFORE you trip over it is essential for managing successful return to work.

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• Conflict Cookie #1: What kinds of conflict happen in the workplace?

  Remember how your mum taught you to turn lemons into lemonade? In this series of bite-sized articles, we make cookies out of conflict!

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• Top ten tips for dealing with the Doc

  Is "bad medicine" delaying RTW at your organisation? This top ten will help sweeten your relationship with medical practitioners in a way that supports worker recovery and timely RTW...

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• Case Study: When return to work fails

  This case study looks at a young man with a long career ahead of him and the reasons he will probably never return to his job.

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• No need for negative nellies

  Words may not break bones like sticks and stones, but they can still do a lot of damage.

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• Too much talking? No such thing!

  Communication between GPs and occupational health professionals.

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• Motivation - Part Seven (b)

  The final article in the motivation series looks at the strategies and techniques of motivational interviewing.

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• Motivation - Part Seven (a)

  The penultimate article in the 'Motivation Series' looks at Motivational Interviewing and the positive effects it produces in the Return To Work process.

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• Dr Hari Dhir on doctor-patient communication (part 2)

  The second half of Dr Dhir's doctor-patient communication insights.

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• Doctor-patient communication: when it's good, everyone benefits (Part 1)

  The first half of RTW Matter's interview with Dr Hari Dhir.

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• The communication situation

  In an interview with communication consultant Sharon McGann we learn why communication is so important and how to do it better.

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• When return to work works best

  RTW Matters interviewed 57-year-old 'Sally', who went straight back to work after sustaining a shoulder injury. We learn what helped - and what didn't.

Archived Articles 1 - 4 of 4

• Lessons from Canada

  How the Ontario workers' compensation board is reducing its unfunded liabilities.

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• Silence speaks louder...

  A sad and sometimes sordid tale of how politics, depression and all too familiar organisational silence contributed to failed RTW.

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• DON'T follow the leader: Cranky pants Rudd illustrates the importance of a healthy work / life balance

  A little disrespect goes a long way. Our work-obsessed PM takes time out mid flight to illustrate why we all need to work, rest and play.

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• Towards a better WorkCover scheme in Victoria

  WorkCover improvements would benefit patients, practitioners, employers and the community.

Research 1 - 23 of 23

• The enduring impact of what clinicians say to people with low back pain

  Healthcare professionals have more influence than they may realise on the attitudes and beliefs of people grappling with low back pain. They have a powerful opportunity to use this power for good.

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• Professional challenges in private physiotherapy practice

  A study suggests that competition overrides communication and collaboration in private physio practice and compromises patient care.

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• How useful are scripted messages? — the link between evidence and practice

  What does the evidence say about using scripted messages to communicate with people?

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• What sustains RTW success for workers with mental and musculoskeletal conditions?

  Supervisors, senior managers and workplace culture play an important role in how well workers do when they return to work after being on sick leave.

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• The social network — how others’ fears about pain affect RTW

  The fears that the people around injured workers — their employers, family members and GPs — have about pain and (re)injury can influence RTW. Everyone involved in the RTW process must get the message that the benefits of returning to work outweigh any potential risks.

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• Do you see what I see? — there’s safety in unity

  A study suggests that when employers and workers agree on what workplace risks are and how to deal with them — especially psychosocial risks — it can lead to a safer and healthier work environment.

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• Shouldering the load — what education patients with rotator cuff pain want

  A study shows what people who have rotator cuff-related shoulder pain want when it comes to education about their condition.

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• When there’s a fraction too much friction — communication and collaboration between stakeholders promotes RTW

  What impact does friction between workers’ comp stakeholder have on the effective rehabilitation and timely return-to-work of injured workers? And what’s the reason for this friction?

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• Getting the message right: strategies to improve return to work communication

  A study from the Institute for Work and Health provides 5 strategies you can use to effectively communicate with workers about RTW.

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• Scans rule, don’t they? Patient misbeliefs and misconceptions about spine conditions

  Misunderstandings and mistaken beliefs about the diagnosis and management of degenerative conditions in the cervical spine are common and can influence clinical outcomes. This makes effective communication even more important.

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• Talking about episodic disability at work

  Canadian researchers explore organisational perspectives on talking about episodic disability at work.

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• You didn't tell me that: Unfair communication and mental health

  More Australian research supports the link between mental health struggles amongst workers' compensation claimants and perceptions that the system is unfair - and suggests that unfairness around the provision of information is reasonably common.

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• Should workers disclose mental illness at work?

  Disclosing a mental illness has potential benefits (increased understanding, improved support) but it also brings real risk in the form of stigma and discrimination. Dutch research tackles the who, what, when and why of this common minefield.

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• Relaxation saves sleep from rude supervisors and co-workers

  Workplace incivility and poorer sleep go hand in hand - unless you know how to switch off from work and relax. Good to know - and to share with injured workers...

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• Is supervisor confidence key to mental health contact?

  Training makes managers more confident in their communication skills and more likely to get in touch with workers who have a psychological injury, but no more knowledgeable about mental ill-health.

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• An intervention for low back pain that works

  Evidence-based! Cost-effective! Proactive! Popular! You will love this new workplace intervention for high-risk workers with low back pain.

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• Fair winners, fair losers in dispute resolution

  What makes dispute resolution outcomes seem fair to workers?

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• An elegant way to assess recovery

  A single question - "How do you feel you are recovering from your injury?” - may be as useful in assessing progress as numerous more complex questionnaires.

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• Research short: Understanding who wants what

  Different RTW players have different objectives. Research suggests that this knowledge can help you reduce paperwork. Whaaat? Read on!

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• Powerful partnerships

  The evidence is in: when employers join workers on the RTW journey, the sky's the limit!

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• Learn to return

  A number of simple initiatives can have a positive impact on timely return to work and decrease costs.

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• Left behind in the RTW journey - Part 1

  A look at barriers to return to work for those out of work for two years. Return to work after being off work for long periods is challenging and uncommon, understanding the barriers is vital.

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• Left behind in the RTW journey - Part 2

  Long term claimants commonly describe a system that is frustrating, does not consider their needs, and misses out on treating them as an individual.