Articles tagged under ‘RTW approaches’

Articles 1 - 115 of 115

• The role of physiotherapy in certification of capacity for work — the Victorian experience

  We summarise a presentation by Paul Coburn at the Research to Real World for Compensable Injury Symposium in June 2024 on the emerging role of physiotherapists in certifying work capacity.

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• A successful RTW pilot takes flight

  After a highly successful pilot program to help people get back to work, Comcare is offering the Return to Work Brokerage service for eligible workers with a current Comcare claim.

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• Speak to recover — the art of messaging in injury care (Part 3)

  Dr Mary Wyatt explores the effects of communication on work-related injuries. In the final part of this summary of her webinar, Dr Wyatt looks at examples of where messaging has been done well, asks ‘where to from here?’ and suggests how you can be involved.

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• Workers’ compensation re-imagined from a lived experience perspective — Part 1

  What would a workers’ compensation scheme designed by people with lived experience of such claims look like? An innovative research study aims to find out.

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• A WISE adaptation of a success story — Australia Post’s Early Matched Care Program (Part 2)

  Melanie Ianssen, Head of Rehabilitation at Australia Post, describes how that organisation adapted the WISE study to improve RTW outcomes for their injured workers. What were the results?

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• A WISE adaptation of a success story — Australia Post’s Early Matched Care Program (Part 1)

  Melanie Ianssen, Head of Rehabilitation at Australia Post, describes how that organisation adapted the WISE study to improve RTW outcomes for their injured workers.

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• Webinar recording — Every recovery needs a plan

  John McMahon, Director of Science at Navigator Group, discusses their Navigator Support Program which reduces cost and duration of claims by addressing psychosocial barriers to recovery.

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• Webinar recording — Thrive at Work: Prevent harm through SMART work design

  Evidence-based strategies for organisations to support employees across the full spectrum of mental health in the workplace

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• Why some injured workers struggle and how to help

  Rehabilitation counselling guru Dr Boris Fedoric explains why some workers struggle to get back to work, identifying biopsychosocial barriers, explaining what employers and systems often get wrong and identifying supports that promote recovery and RTW.

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• Rehabilitation Counsellor: Role Profile

  In this Q&A with Dr Boris Fedoric, we learn that rehabilitation counsellors put injured workers at the centre of their practice and, from there, aim to negotiate the best possible rehabilitation and return to work outcomes for all parties.

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• Emergency doctor who became a patient says symptoms should guide RTW

  A symptoms-based approach is a smart and humane way to make return to work decisions, underpinned by trust, good communication and empathy.

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• Our brains aren't computers, which matters for RTW

  An individual's response to pain is unique to them and changes over time, so giving people the benefit of the doubt is a scientifically savvy move.

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• Webinar recording: Translating Sport Science Research into Practical Injury Management Programs

  How an injured nurse, an elite athlete and wearable technology can help you reduce musculoskeletal injuries in your workplace.

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• Working with cancer treatment

  Remaining at work while receiving cancer treatment is increasingly common. Healthy work / cancer fit requires enlightened management from employers and treating practitioners.

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• A new, national approach to RTW

  Safe Work Australia's National Return to Work Strategy shows promise. Will they deliver on the implementation?

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• Hungry to improve RTW?

  The researchers at the Insurance Work and Health Group at Monash University are offering a fantastic professional development opportunity: a two-day course on Return to Work: Evidence and Innovation

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• Webinar recording: A work-design focused Return to Work process

  Meredith Carr discusses how to effectively implement a work-design focused RTW process and the benefits that are gained by adopting evidence-based work design principles.

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• (Home) working it!

  Accentuate the positives and eliminate the negatives of remote work, with this strategic guide to making the most of working from home.

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• Ten benefits of working from home

  Whether you're a full time remote worker, recovering from injury or illness, or practising social distancing during a pandemic, understanding the benefits of working from home can help you accentuate the positives of a stint in the home office.

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• And now what?

  For ten years, national RTW rates have remained stagnant. Why? And what hope does Dr Wyatt see on the horizon for injury management and RTW?

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• Supportive supervisors see more RTW

  Australian data shows that supervisors who are seen to promote physical and psychological safety, and acknowledge injury when it does occur, see more RTW.

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• Webinar recording: Rebuilding life after brain injury

  Approaches to supporting people to rebuild meaningful life role participation.

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• Lifestyle Factors and RTW: Drugs

  According to NDSHS data, workers are more likely to have used illicit drugs in the past 12 months (17%) compared to people not in the paid workforce (12%).

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• Lifestyle Factors and RTW: Alcohol

  Alcohol and smoking are the most common legal drugs in use in Australia today.

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• Webinar recording: What works - Lessons from overseas

  The most successful workers' compensation system in the world is one you haven't heard of.

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• Claims Process: the stress of making a claim

  When a worker is injured, there might be fears for their job stability, financial burdens, or concern that they will never be able to regain their previous lifestyle.

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• What employers are doing to develop a flexible workplace in 2016

  Diversity and Work-Life Specialist, SeventeenHundred

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• Medical treatment: the importance of early access

  Delayed access to medical treatment means delayed recovery.

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• RTW cooperation is more effective than control

  Cooperation is vital in return to work. Whose buy-in is essential? How can you get it? And why should RTW Coordinators prioritise a team approach?

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• Better Workplace Systems: how to implement them

  This article takes you through some effective ways of making sure that your workplace systems are in order.

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• Template Injury Management Policy

  Are injury management policies a mystery to you? This template should help.

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• Injury Management: how to create your policy

  An injury management policy provides broad guidelines on the company’s approach to injury management. It provides clear procedures, and lays out the foundation for dealing with injuries in the workplace.

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• RTW Systems - How does your workplace stack-up?

  Developing effective workplace systems can be challenging. It can also be difficult to know if they are working.

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• Case Study: Time to heal

  Mr L, a tall, solid-framed, right-handed 58 year old man, reported pain in his right elbow. While improvement was reported over six months, he began to notice similar symptoms at his left elbow.

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• Case Study: It pays to do the right thing, even when dubious about a claim

  Michael was a 48-year-old machine operator. He had been at the workplace for nine months. During his probation period he worked well, but once permanent he missed considerable time from work with unplanned absences.

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• 2015 RTW Matters Reader Survey: Feedback

  This survey article looks at how you use the RTW Matters website. What's useful? How do you use the information? How can we improve the service?

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• Case Study: Injured, but not at work. What to do?

  Workers with injuries sustained away from work may be tempted to protect their financial interests by lodging a compensation claim anyway. Dr Wyatt describes how support and boundaries can help.

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• 2015 RTW Matters Reader Survey: what barriers are you facing?

  A huge thank you to everyone who responded to our reader survey. It helps us to understand some of the issues around RTW, as well as helping us to provide the information you want and need.

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• Case Study: Exploring other job options

  This case study explores the importance of providing options for the injured worker's return to work.

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• When you suspect an employee

  Joe Unreliable and Jane Dodge have lodged claims for workers' compensation. How should you respond?

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• Role Summary: Return to Work Coordinator

  Effective RTW coordinators play a vital role in injury management and prevention. It's neither a small role nor an easy one, and RTW co-ordinators shouldn't attempt to do it all.

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• Fanol Isai: RTW in Aged Care

  Fanol Isai from Catholic Homes won the “Return to Work Coordinator Excellence” WorkSafe Victoria award in 2014.

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• Jane Braddy: RTW in Home and Aged Care

  According to WorkSafe Victoria, workers in residential care, including aged care, have a higher than average chance of being injured at work.

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• Webinar Recording: The role of the medical certificate in identifying and managing RTW barriers

  Physiotherapist Harry Papagoras discusses how medical certificates can be used to identify return to work barriers and implement effective management strategies.

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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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• Most Victorian GPs not recommending RTW: study

  A study shows that Victorian GPs are unlikely to recommend alternate duties for injured workers.

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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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• Turning a dead-end into a new start

  An individualised, flexible re-training program aimed at giving people confidence may be key to returning workers to employment.

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• When disaster strikes

  The support offered to a worker with catastrophic injuries can be vital to the person's recovery.

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• Work and shoulder problems

  The connection between work and shoulder problems

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• Are you a Manager, a Leader or both?

  We should no longer manage, we should lead...how many times have you heard that?

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• Putting a price on trust

  Building social capital costs little but the potential benefits are priceless.

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• Katherine Lippel: talks workers' compensation systems

  Professor Katherine Lippel presents: Workers' compensation design: how rules and practices may promote or undermine successful return to work

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• Developing a successful rehabilitation program: case study

  Interview with Garry Pearce, Director of Rehabilitation for the Tasmanian Department of Health.

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• The Balancing Act

  We speak to rehab provider Donna Valiant about managing everybody's needs, expectations and obligations during the RTW process.

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• Returning to hard work

  Genius, they say, is 1% inspiration, and 99% perspiration. This case study looks at how four people's creativity and perseverance allows for a return to heavy physical work.

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• Impatient with patients on modified duties

  After foot surgery, rehab professional Mary Harris gains first hand insight into how co-workers can quickly become impatient when a colleague returns to work on modified duties.

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• The OT way

  What do gardening, work and dancing have in common? According to Occupational Therapist Sven Roehrs, each is an "occupation" and each has the potential to improve health and promote rehabilitation.

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• Who's the boss?

  The health and wellbeing of people with chronic illness improves when they become 'self-managers'. Are there lessons here for RTW?

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• SPICE up your injury management

  The SPICE treatment method is simple and proven since WWI.

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• SuperDoc (6) - Issues around causation

  A look at the issues surrounding work causation ... and the funny questions people ask superheros.

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• SuperDoc (3) - On the importance of listening - and saying no.

  Super Doc gives a super-spiel about the importance of listening - and saying no

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• SuperDoc (2) - On medical certificates & common sense

  On medical certificates, flexibility and common sense

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• Social capital: is it what we're missing?

  The Return to Work Monitor paints a worrying picture: despite increased funding, resources and policy changes, less workers are returning to employment. The lack of social capital in return to work systems could be the reason why.

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• Kicking goals

  Goal setting is a vital tool in the return to work process, but using it effectively can pose a challenge.

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• Building your RTW toolkit

  Joanne Taranto explains how a RTW toolkit will expand your resources and get better results.

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• Getting RTW buy-in

  Seasoned return to work professional Joanne Taranto explains the basis of a great RTW program.

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• Workplace policies and return to work

  We look at how organisational policies and practices can have a big impact on RTW outcomes.

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• Are you having a laugh?

  The benefits of humour in the workplace.

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• Surgery support

  Make a big difference by assisting employees who've decided on surgery

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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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• Attitudes can be the biggest disabilities

  When it comes to returning people back to work, it's not just important to discuss the RTW process or procedures.

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• "How do I find meaningful alternate duties?"

  We respond to a common RTW Coordinator question.

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• Worksite wonders

  Visiting injured workers at home and at work is an integral part of the Scenic Rim Regional Council's award winning injury management program. What makes this approach so effective?

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• Ten RRTWC pearlers

  Q-Comp was so impressed by the collective wisdom of QLD RRTWCs, they compiled a list of tips to share with the whole RTW community. Plenty of gems here...

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• Profession profile: Occupational Therapists

  If your injury management program isn't bridging the gap between the workplace and the doctor's office, an Occupational Therapist could help...

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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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• Want a RTW rate of 92%?

  How honesty, realism, a community-ethic and targeted splurging set one health and rehab consultant apart from the rest.

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• Trust: Dos and Don'ts

  You know organisational trust has tangible benefits. Now for the hard yards: how can you foster trust in your workplace and in your injury management system?

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• "W_T_F is workers' comp?!" Part 4

  Part 4 - Return to work, return to normal

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• Case study: Changing gears

  Motorcycle mechanic Craig can't wait to get back to work after breaking his femur and heel. Is his old job still suitable?

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• "W_T_F is workers' comp?!" Part 3

  Small Business series - Attitudes and People handling.

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• "W_T_F is workers' comp?!" Part 2

  Small Business series Part 2: The nuts and bolts.

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• "W_T_F is workers' comp? Part 1"

  Small Business series

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• Do occ docs do it better?

  If patients who see an occupational doctor get better results, why isn't it common practice?

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• Doctor, doctor give 'em the news

  We consider why doctors fail to communicate well about return to work, and offer strategies for helping them tell their patients what they need to hear.

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• Eight RTW mantras to get you through

  Hand-selected return to work mantras to help your RTW experience run more smoothly.

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• Suspicious about a claim at your small business?

  There are three golden rules for small business owners who doubt the work-relatedness of an injury...

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• Juggling RTW and performance issues?

  These practical industry insights will save you from having to grow an extra pair of arms...

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• Why base rehab in the workplace?

  If you're having trouble convincing injured or ill workers that early return to work is the best option, there are 5 things they need to know...

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• Let's get ethical, ethical

  A code of ethics would have helped former return to work coordinator 'Layla' to educate injured workers and combat an investigate-happy manager.

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• Backing up case management with software

  Intuition Software's Paul Eastman gets technical, explaining the ins and outs of an underused resource - workers comp software.

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• Top ten tips for super smooth supervising of RTW

  Supervising return to work ain't easy...unless you've read our latest top ten!

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• How to be a trauma-ready employer

  We talk trauma, recovery in the workplace and PTSD with Professor Mark Creamer from the Australian Centre for Posttraumatic Mental Health.

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• Finding the middle ground

  Occupational therapist Kate Roylance was very surprised that many of you responded that "Workplaces are too generous" in the our RTW Matters poll; we interviewed her to find out why.

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• Is work good for you? Professor Kim Burton explains the UK's changing answer

  In this interview with UK expert we learn that modern vocational rehabilitation is not about delivering an expensive service.

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• Our top ten tips to improve RTW outcomes

  A back to the basics look at getting it right from the beginning

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• How one company turned 13 workers' compensation claims into two

  Seventy work-sites to manage, different styles of management, a tough work culture, misconceptions about what's involved. Annette Photios had her work cut out when she stepped into her role.

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• What is vocational rehabilitation?

  Let's go back a few steps now, and take a look at how we can define the concept.

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• A flag is a flag is a flag

  Everyday words can take on different meanings when used by medical practitioners, but to what effect?

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• Good RTW calls for a unified and holistic approach

  Hear from two return to work and rehabilitation experts with tips to help the rehab and RTW process.

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• Returning to work after depression

  RTW Matters speak with Clare Shann from beyondblue, the national depression initiative, about returning to work after depression.

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• Motivation - Part Four

  Improving motivation is up to the employee and employer.

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• Catastrophic injuries

  What are 'catastrophic injuries'? Why it is important to manage them well in the workplace, and how this can be done.

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• Working with quadriplegia ONE: what motivates return to employment

  What helped Mario return to work after a car accident left him with quadriplegia?

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• An act of kindness (and a thorough understanding of comp costs) can facilitate a successful rtw process

  For surgically treated employees

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• RTW Matters follows the journey of a young secretary forced out of her job by a common health condition.

  In this and subsequent articles on Deanne's case, we learn about her WorkCover journey and hear why both she and her employer is so distressed by the process.

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• The importance of early return to productive and full time duties

  A worker has several months off work after experiencing acute back pain. Her eventual return to work was not successful, with frequent aggravation of symptoms resulting in inconsistent working hours and no return to her pre-injury duties after two years.

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• Complacency in return to work programs does not produce good outcomes

  An injured worker, with knee injuries and heart condition, is made redundant and has to deal with the concern that no other employer will take him on.

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• Rehabilitation of cancer patients - addressing a lack

  Why is it then that cancer survivors have less access to help with rehabilitation post-treatment?

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• Robert Hughes

  Yes... but let's have a bit of fun while we're doing it.

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• Getting back to work: an interview with John Stubbs.

  Interview with Cancer Voices Australia executive director and cancer survivor John Stubbs.

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• Employers can sort out liability issues simply by seeking sensible medical advice

  An admin officer developed acute back pain after several weeks of 'niggling' soreness. Questioning the work relatedness of the back pain doubled the costs.

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• Positive (pirate) working culture

  Workers' compensation and return to work plans have a longer history than you might think.

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• Towards a better workplace

  Opening up lines of communication is essential in the return to work process.

Archived Articles 1 - 21 of 21

• Deirdre Francis: RTW in the police force

  Deirdre Francis discusses some of the challenges of RTW in the Victorian police force.

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• Job opportunity: Institute for Safety, Compensation and Recovery Research

  Care to take a step up into research in the role of self-management on vocational rehabilitation outcomes?

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• Return to work initiatives

  We chat with Q-Comp Return to Work unit manager Sonia Minniecon about return to work initiatives in Queensland.

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• News drop: Australia Post

  Who said what to the Senate inquiry into Australia Post's injury management practices? And what can be learnt from these grievances aired in public?

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• Inquiry goes postal

  The Senate inquiry into Australia Post should provide important lessons in OHS, HR, RTW and LTIFR

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• Victoria not victorious in RTW

  RTWMatters looks at the declining Victorian results in the RTW Monitor and finds the principles of RTW missing.

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• RTW Monitor Summary Pt 3: why are RTW rates low?

  Only 30% of injured employees reported developing a RTW Plan AND being given assistance to follow the plan.

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• The human face of WorkCover SA: burns victim returns to work

  A former truck driver returns to work after suffering horrific acid burns to 20% of his body. He's one of the 34,000 workers injured on the job in South Australia each year.

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• 60 Summits Project hits Oz

  60 Summits promotes a new model for RTW with 16 specific recommendations; in the lead-up to an Australian visit Jennifer Christian, the project's leader, gives insight into how it works.

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• Retail recession + squatting scandals = GrannyGate for Myer

  A case study in RTW and bad PR

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• RTW Matters summer reading package

  We bring you a collection of our best tips for even better RTW in 2012.

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• Harnessing the power of information

  Sharing RTW information with workers creates connections and ensures consistency across diverse workplaces. This case study, from Scenic Rim Regional Council in QLD, shows you how to engage workers from induction onwards.

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• Back on Course

  Horse-racing may be the sport of kings, but the humble jockey often pays the cost. What are the RTW processes and options for injured jockeys?

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• Nursing a healthy return to work journey

  Take 10 factors for RTW success and 10 for failure. Click on the ones you want to achieve - or remedy - and uncover the clues!

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• Shaw sheds light on factors promoting good RTW

  Unsure about best practices in RTW? Shaw isn't. The US expert lends his voice of authority to a discussion of fast, effective RTW.

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• Fit notes innovative yet blindingly obvious

  It's a shame that something so clearly beneficial to injured workers is being done by so few.

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• DIY injury management brings home the bacon for Heinz

  HJ Heinz Australia takes injury management in-house with remarkable results

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• Positive steps towards a culture of collaboration in the UK

  Returning to work is good for your health, and in the UK there is a collective voice that agrees.

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• From the sporting arena to the workplace.

  Introducing an elite sports model of injury prevention and management into the workplace is the key to reducing the frequency and severity of workplace injuries.

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• AMWU Return to Work project needs your help.

  Resources available to workers whose 2nd language is English are limited. Here's an opportunity to assist in improving this situation.

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• Towards a better WorkCover scheme in Victoria

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

Research 1 - 27 of 27

• There’s more to RTW than just getting back to work

  Successful RTW isn't just about what happens back at work. It’s a complex dance that involves personal issues and social and organisational support.

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• What levers can rehab professionals pull to promote staying at work after injury?

  Occupational rehab professionals can help workers adopt preventive behaviours when returning to work by educating, engaging, coaching and collaborating with them.

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• There’s an app for that — getting back to work after a brain injury

  An app called ‘RTW after TBI’ could help people return to work and deal with the challenges they face in their daily lives after a traumatic brain injury.

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• The OT perspective on RTW and cancer

  Occupational Therapists (OTs) say people returning to work after cancer are likely to face physical, emotional and cognitive challenges. Optimism, combined with a realistic view of the probable difficulties and employer support, helps ease the RTW process

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• How to get bang for buck from vocational rehabilitation

  Multi-component vocational rehabilitation programs that intervene early and improve coordination between workers, family members, employers and health care service providers yield better outcomes for all stakeholders.

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• Less LBP pain and more function with early RTW

  Health practitioners and employers take note: with appropriate support and appropriate duties, workers with LBP have less pain and better function when there’s a quick – even immediate – return to work.

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• Hospital, union collaborate on good RTW medicine

  Employer, union collaboration on disability management policy and RTW planning leads to 50% drop in time lost to injury at a large Canadian healthcare organisation.

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• Women, children and RTW

  Injury has a big impact on home life. Does home life (especially caring for dependent children) impact RTW in turn?

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• Relationships impact RTW and RTW effort sufficiency

  Researchers in the Netherlands claim that a positive employer / employee relationship has more impact than functional capacity on RTW and RTW effort sufficiency, a measure of employer and employee effort.

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• Measuring employer and employee efforts toward RTW

  Researchers suggest shifting from a straightforward evaluation of capacity and duties to more personal factors such as the relationship between the employee and the employer.

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• Research short: Improving RTW outcomes with pain coping skills

  Injured workers may have a better RTW outcome if they undergo pain coping skills training before surgery.

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• Research short: What med certs tell us about sickness absence

  A Swedish study has shown that what doctors and employers will permit on medical certificates has changed over recent decades.

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• Research short: First contact

  Early contact with injured workers is good for RTW, right? Well, that depends! It's not so much what you do as how you do it.

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• Empowering workers to stay in their original employment.

  Based on the rationale that it is easier to keep a job than to find a new one, the new focus of vocational rehabilitation for workers with chronic conditions is empowering the worker to stay in their original position.

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• What helps RTW for people with chronic pain?

  Surveys can help identify factors that will improve RTW.

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• Arm pain and RTW - work modifications that work

  Lessons learnt from an integrated case management approach for arm problems

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• Disability management interventions provide economic and health outcome benefits

  There is solid research evidence that return to work management programs improve the 'bottom line'.

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• Teamwork: what works?

  Teamwork is an art and a science. Learn to nurture it with style!

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• A tool to measure motivation

  The Model of Creative Ability may be a useful tool in return-to-work programs to assess and measure motivation.

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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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• The super-view of super-RTW

  What do supervisors think about multidisciplinary vocational rehabilitation programs?

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• Success with systems at work for shoulders

  Shoulder problems are common. Having a standard management system in place can streamline return to work.

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• Meeting the needs of injured workers

  Peer support helps put the pieces back together after workplace injury

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• RTW interventions assessed

  A mixed bag of workplace interventions have been trialled over the last 20 years. What works?

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• Approaches to managing chronic pain in the workplace - the evidence

  How do we diagnose and treat chronic pain?

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• Employer flexibility helps cancer survivors return to work

  Returning to work after cancer treatment is difficult, but employers can make a difference.

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• Is there a place for therapeutic RTW?

  A comparison of train-before-placing and place-before-training models demonstrates that on the job rehabilitation can improve outcomes for people with psychiatric disabilities.