This month, Andrew Richardson, reached out to Alli Pollard, one of our Practising members. Alli has been appointed to an exciting new AHA role in South Australia (SA) Health, an AHA Level 4.

Can you describe your understanding of the AHA4 role and how it differs from lower levels of Allied Health Assistant positions?

Each level has a range of criteria to meet the same as any other job and person specification, therefore at Level 4 the extended knowledge and skills required are assessed through a scope of practice determination. At Level 4 it may include supervision of other staff, including training of less experienced AHAs, exercise-appropriate delegation of tasks, use of develop specific equipment and prosthetics, and contribute to specific data, statistics and reporting specific to your discipline.

Some criteria may differ across states and public/private services. Information is available for most states and territories to help guide appropriate levels of employment.

What specific experiences or qualifications do you have that make you well-suited for this advanced AHA4 role?

I have had several different roles in my working life, including training as a chef after leaving school and in later years transitioning to health administration, followed by health promotion, including in Aboriginal health, and then completing a Graduate Certificate in Human Nutrition. 

I have also previously completed a Certificate IV in Population Health, Business Administration and Training and Education, progressing to work as a TAFE lecturer.

I have gathered a broad range of nutrition and dietetics skills and knowledge over the latest ten years, assisting my dietetics team, and my current specialty is enteral feeding covering the ins and outs of equipment and supplies required to feed clients by nasogastric or PEG (stomach) tube.

I have helped to supervise students studying Allied Health Assistant certificates on placement, or to train new staff members in administration and allied health assistance.

I also help senior dietitians and the organisation monitor statistics relating to client referrals and service provision, and provide research assistance when needing to develop new programs or practices.

How do you stay current with developments and best practices within your allied health team?

Our allied health assistant workforce meets monthly to discuss current work practices, available training opportunities, and networking, as many work in various areas of the organisation. We are well supported by senior AHPs and team leaders to meet best practice through ongoing organisational training.

What strategies do you use to ensure effective communication and collaboration with multidisciplinary teams?

Clear and widely-distributed communications are important. Most often in my workplace we rely on weekly email updates and have larger monthly and quarterly meetings to discuss operational strategies. With patient outcomes at the forefront, multidisciplinary teams arrange smaller meetings specific to client needs—e.g., wound clinics that might involve dietetics, podiatry and nursing, or even child health and development to include all developmental focussed services to ensure care coordination and upskilling for the best possible outcome for the client.

How do you handle competing priorities and manage your time effectively in the busy healthcare environment?

Through many years of experience in the workplace, I have developed strong skills in communication with my colleagues to determine priorities of competing tasks. 

My to-do list is constantly changing, and I best use technology through emails requesting tasks to be completed which I can then flag for followup, and set plenty of reminders. 

This allows colleagues working from other sites to have the same access to support as those sitting in the same workspace as myself. 

Our whole team has ten dietitians, and across the week I could have contact with all of them needing specific AHA support. We are also lucky to have two clinical support officers for additional administrative tasks.

I have weekly time set aside with a senior dietitian to discuss operational matters, as well as dedicated supervision time to develop as an AHA.

Can you provide an example of how you have contributed to quality improvement or service enhancement within your AHA4 role?

I have only recently commenced at this higher level, but have had discussions with senior allied health staff to continue to develop the role of allied health assistants in our organisation and will also encourage some experienced and long-term staff to consider reclassification to the higher level as well.

What advice would you have for other services/ teams considering utilising AHAs?

AHAs are a great asset to the allied health workforce especially as the need for allied health services increases. 

AHAs in a team allow the ability for greater provision of services to individuals, maximising the benefits of engaging with allied health services with both availability of time and cost of AHPs. 

What role do you see the AHA4 position playing in patient education and support? How would you approach this aspect of the role?

At AHA4 level the delegating clinician would be able to determine a greater scope of tasks according to relevant individual skills and knowledge. 

Tasks I cover as an AHA in dietetics include checking inpatients' tolerance to oral nutrition support, review of weight through management of malnutrition, mostly in our older patients. For outpatients I run cooking education sessions, particularly for those on NDIS packages. We also offer 'supermarket safaris', to walk around local supermarkets with clients to find products to suit their individual dietary requirements and budget.

How do you ensure that you adhere to policies and procedures, especially in a role that may involve supervising or mentoring other staff members?

As I work in a government organisation, we regularly review policies and procedures and have formal supervision agreements in place. There are also opportunities for staff in supervising/mentoring roles to complete further training in this area to ensure we provide quality support to staff.

Can you discuss a time when you had to adapt to significant changes or new technologies in your work? How did you manage the transition?

Recently, we've transferred to electronic medical records for Community Allied Health, and we are about to transition to electronic medical records for our hospital system. 

We have also changed to web-based ordering and invoicing systems for any products supplied to the organisation, therefore new skills have been required to use these systems as individual staff, where previously procurement staff performed these functions on our behalf. 

Any change, especially with technology, takes significant effort and planning for things to run smoothly, as all users come with varying levels of prior skills and knowledge, and all require opportunity to learn and apply new skills and knowledge.

Well-planned training sessions and availability of training versions of technology help everyone become familiar with use, without the chance of making errors in the real version.

What are your long-term career goals, and how does this AHA4 role align with them?

For now I plan to continue expanding opportunities to work with inpatients and community clients where suitable as an AHA. 

I have previously taught Business and Medical Administration certificates with TAFE SA, which I thoroughly enjoyed and would welcome the opportunity to be back in an education environment in business or health administration.

I may in the future look to undertake a Bachelor of Nutrition and Dietetics if an opportunity becomes available to be able to travel/live part-time in Adelaide to attend university.

I would also enjoy getting back into health promotion, which I worked at previously before transitioning to an allied health assistant role.

How do you approach professional development and continuous learning in your field?

I do find it a bit difficult for professional development as an AHA, certainly after many years in the same area I find there is currently a lot less opportunities and funding available compared to AHPs. It’s great to see AHANA promote any development opportunities available.

In your view, what are the most critical skills and attributes for someone in the AHA4 role to possess?

A broad understanding of health care in Australia or particularly the state you live in. Understanding a patient journey through the health care system enables you to advocate on their behalf where necessary, identify occasions where additional intervention is required, and work in collaboration with other care providers and your supervising AHP to ensure quality care of each client.