Knowledge Exchange

Archived Featured Champions

Jeanne Besner

There’s a saying in the construction industry that the value of a contractor is not in how many items are in your toolbox, but your ability to use all of them effectively. From Jeanne Besner’s perspective, the same philosophy can be applied to quality worklife (QWL) issues.

As the Director of the Calgary Heath Region’s Health Systems and Workforce Research Unit, Besner’s research team has achieved positive results by focusing on optimizing the utilization of every member of the health care team.

“We recognize that people find meaning in their work if they are encouraged to fully utilize their knowledge and skills in delivering care, in collaboration with the patient and family and other members of the health care team,” she says.

Based on evidence gathered by her team and other researchers in the field, Besner believes that what will ultimately have the most impact on recruitment and retention is implementing mechanisms to fully utilize the personnel an organization already has, creating an environment that values and respects the unique and shared contributions of all members of the health care team and promotes collaboration among patients, families and providers.

“The majority of people employed in health care delivery are committed to providing the highest possible quality of care to the people they serve,” she explains. “They take pride in making a difference in the well being of patients and families and find meaning in their work when they perceive that they are making a contribution that is valued by their professional colleagues as well as the patients and families receiving care.”

Besner’s years of research explicitly linking the utilization of staff and the context of practice to outcomes at the patient/population, provider and system levels made her the ideal participant in the Quality Worklife Quality Healthcare Collaborative (QWQHC). She was invited to sit on the Collaborative’s Advisory Committee, where she willingly shared her insight and expertise.

“Our research has made it very clear that the conditions under which providers practice have a vast influence on patient and provider outcomes,” she says. “There is simply no question that a strong link exists among the quality of the work environment, the quality of care, job satisfaction and the sustainability of the health care system.”

In addition to putting her research into action to make Calgary Health Region a ‘magnet organization’ recognized for excellence in professional practice and health care, Besner is a keen advocate of the value of the collaborative approach to effecting real change across the health system.

“We need to pool our collective talent and wisdom to find a way to create quality work environments in spite of numerous challenges,” she stresses. “The QWQHC provides a mechanism for those who share the vision of quality health care achieved through quality workplaces to come to work together in creating a better future for health workers and patients alike.”

Besner identifies a number of critical indicators that demand today’s health providers work together differently, including the growing shortage of health care providers, the acuity and complexity of patient conditions, the rapid diffusion of new technologies, changes in regulation related to professional scopes of practice and an increasingly demanding policy environment.

She’s supporting the charge at the Calgary Health Region, which has adopted workforce optimization as a key organizational priority involving many departments and portfolios in trying to improve worklife for providers and health outcomes for patients and families. “We’re working together to make it possible for everyone in the organization to achieve the highest possible level of job satisfaction,” she notes.

Translating research evidence into practice is rarely easy but Besner recognizes the urgency of addressing QWL issues in any health care settings. “Focusing on quality of worklife is key to survival as vibrant health care organizations,” she maintains.

“The current and future shortage of all health care providers makes it absolutely essential that we focus on creating environments that will attract and retain committed, engaged and productive health care workers.”

If you would like to learn more about how Jeanne Besner’s QWL efforts at Calgary Health Region, please visit their Research Unit’s website at www.calgaryhealthregion.ca/hswru or their Workforce Optimization Initiative website at www.calgaryhealthregion.ca/stage/hswru.wo_web/index.htm.