Knowledge Exchange

Archived Featured Practice Articles

Annapolis Valley District Health Authority
There is no single formula for achieving a healthy workplace and fostering worklife balance, and success often depends on implementing approaches that best match an organization’s culture...

Canadian Interprofessional Health Collaborative (CIHC)
At first glance, Canada's Olympic rowing teams and today's healthcare professionals may not have much in common. However, in order to achieve success - be it a gold medal or improving the quality of patient care - both groups need to apply the principles of good team dynamics...

CRISO Psychological Climate Continuous Improvement Program Research & Intervention Centre for Healthy Workplaces (CRISO-MUHC)
There's a saying that if you're really close to an issue, sometimes 'you can't see the forest for the trees.' However, when it comes to promoting quality of the work environment in relation with...

East Central Health
When management at East Central Health in Camrose, Alberta, set out to implement structures and processes that facilitate collaborative working practices, they realized actually collaborating with their staff - and not prescribing to them - was the most logical approach to fostering a genuine sense of hope and teamwork that could have a positive effect on employees and clients alike...

Halton Healthcare
There's an old saying that 'what's good for the goose is also good for the gander', but when it comes to quality worklife issues at Ontario's Halton Healthcare, it seems that what's good for patients is also good for the people who care for them...

Homewood Health Centre
When a Canadian health care organization has been in operation since 1883, you know they must be doing something right! Such is the case for the Homewood Health Centre of Guelph, Ontario. Since the beginning the Homewood name has been synonymous with the effective and innovative treatment of mental health and addictions...

Nova Scotia Association of Health Organizations
The Nova Scotia Association of Health Organizations (NSAHO) has been 'tugging on the flywheel' in their quest to make workplaces across the province healthier for current employees and more attractive for potential ones...

Saskatchewan Association of Health Organizations (SAHO)
The Saskatchewan Association of Health Organizations (SAHO) has always valued 'leadership over luck' when it comes to measuring the impact of quality work life (QWL) initiatives...

Trillium Health Centre
When Trillium Health Centre made developing a comprehensive support system for employee wellness a priority, they shrewdly modeled their program using criteria set by leaders in the business of 'best practices': the National Quality Institute (NQI) and the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).

The Wellness Institute at Seven Oaks General Hospital
When it comes to the importance of quality worklife (QWL), Carol Deckert doesn't mince words: it takes healthy workers in healthy environments to create healthy outcomes for patients...

West Park Healthcare Centre
There's an ancient Chinese proverb that says if you want to quench the thirst of others, you must first ensure your own glass is full, or else you will have nothing to give.

Archived Featured Champion Articles

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.

Dr. Greta Cummings
Most people think of 'follow the leader' as a child's game, but it's all business for Dr. Greta Cummings, who studies the impact of leadership style on nurse morale and, consequently, the care they give their patients.

Mélanie Lavoie-Tremblay
When it comes to making a lasting shift in pan-Canadian workplace culture, there's often strength in numbers.

Dr. Michael Leiter
While research into the concept of 'civility' might conjure up images of white-gloved manners in the Deep South of the 1800s, psychology professor Dr. Michael Leiter is proving there's a very modern link between civility in healthcare settings and improved patient care.

Dr. Graham Lowe
It's virtually impossible to examine the impact of healthy workplaces on Canadians and the economy without coming across contributions from Dr. Graham Lowe, President of the Graham Lowe Group Inc., a workplace consulting and research firm.

Dr. Edgardo Pérez
Ask Dr. Edgardo Pérez where organizations should begin to successfully foster quality worklife (QWL) issues in health care settings and he'll no doubt tell you at the top. "You need to systematically work on the culture of the organization and senior leaders must be the one leading the parade," says Dr. Pérez.

Linda Silas
Move over G.I. Jane, there's a new action hero in town and her name is Linda Silas! Nurses across Canada consider Ms. Silas an action hero because she's known to value action above all.

Marlene Smadu
Marlene Smadu doesn't mince words when it comes to the importance of quality healthcare work environments.

Wayne Strelioff
During his 16 years serving as Auditor General of British Columbia and Provincial Auditor of Saskatchewan, Wayne Strelioff was struck by a recurring pattern as part of his work analyzing what makes an organization perform successfully.

Dr. Joshua Tepper
When Shakespeare wrote "A rose by any other name would smell as sweet", he no doubt never imagined the principle could be applied hundreds of years later to Quality Work Life (QWL) issues in health care settings.

Dr. Peter Vaughan
When comes to fostering quality worklife (QWL) for health professionals at the South Shore District Health Authority (SSDHA) in Nova Scotia, leadership by example is the order of the day. "Culture is King, from the CEO and Board of Directors on down," says Dr. Peter Vaughan, Vice President of Medicine. "The leadership has to walk the talk."

Dr. John Yardley
Most of us have heard the expression 'think globally, act locally' when it comes to greening the environment, but did you know it can also apply to improving quality worklife (QWL) for the healthcare industry?