Health & Occupational Wellness (HOW) Program

Empowering O&G professionals to develop and implement a tailored wellbeing program in their workplace.

About the HOW Program

The core purpose of the HOW Program is to empower and guide O&G professionals to develop and implement a tailored wellbeing program at their workplace. The program teaches participants to identify challenges, create solutions, and drive meaningful improvements in doctors’ health and workplace culture.

Developed in partnership with Dr Madeleine Ward, Dr Rebecca McDonald, and Dr James Aridas, this program is based on the Leading Kindness COVID-19 Toolkit (LKC19T). The initiative was recognised with the 2021 RANZCOG Group Wellbeing Award for its impact on healthcare wellbeing.

With their expertise and the support of the RANZCOG HOW Program Project Group, this program has been designed to be inclusive, evidence-based, and relevant to healthcare professionals today.

Key objectives of the program



Improve occupational wellbeing in O&G departments



Improve wellbeing in regional and rural medical training settings



Improve understanding of and provide support for the wellbeing challenges Indigenous trainees and members face at work

Why health and occupational wellness is crucial in healthcare

In comparison to other professionals, doctors are ten-times more likely to suffer from psychological distress, with doctors under the age of thirty being the most at risk (Chanchlani, 2018; Forbes, 2020)

%

Of doctors in training are at risk of burnout

%

Of doctors are at risk of emotional exhaustion

%

Of nurses and midwives ‘work too much in a day’

2025 pilot phase

To ensure that the HOW Program is informative, useful, and works in providing practical tools and resources to help our trainees and members implement a wellbeing program within their workplaces, RANZCOG has received government funding to pilot the program in selected sites across the country.

The pilot phase of the program will end in December 2026. A new phase offering support for more hospitals to take part will commence from March 2027.

What does the program entail?

The Program is led by “Wellbeing Advocates” from O&G units. Advocates may either self-nominate or be nominated by their unit head. Once accepted into the Program, they receive training and ongoing support from RANZCOG to design and deliver a wellbeing initiative tailored to their workplace.

The program follows a structured Quality Improvement (QI) approach. It includes five self-guided eLearning modules, each supported by a workbook. Together, these resources guide advocates through key concepts, reflective activities and actions that can be applied directly within their workplace.

Throughout the program, advocates will also have opportunities to connect and network with like-minded colleagues from across Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand who are committed to improving doctors’ health and wellbeing.

Advocates are expected to:



Complete all five eLearning modules, whilst building and implementing a wellbeing program within their unit



Work through the accompanying workbook activities



Apply learnings within their workplace or pilot site before progressing to the next module



Track progress using practical checklists and action plans

What will you achieve?

By the end of the HOW Program, advocates will be able to:

Explain the importance of wellbeing in medical training and workplace culture.
Develop a practical wellbeing initiative tailored to their local context, reflecting on the unique needs of their team members.
Build a strong relationship with leadership for sustainable change.
Identify workplace challenges and opportunities using an evidence-based approach.
Develop and implement a practical action plan that contributes to better staff experience and a healthier workplace for everyone.
Respond to wellbeing challenges proactively rather than reactively.
Create tangible change within their unit through improved workplace culture and team morale.
Measure and evaluate the impact of the wellbeing initiatives.

Continuing Professional Development (CPD)

The HOW Program is a structured Quality Improvement initiative, with core activities mapped to CPD requirements.

Participation in the program enables advocates to claim CPD hours across all three domains.

As advocates progress through the program and implement their wellbeing initiative, they will generate activities and evidence that can contribute to CPD requirements.