Saif Matar

6.00 AM

My day starts around 6am on the days I commute to the office as I reside in Melbourne. The great thing at GMHBA is the hybrid working model - I commute to the office every other Tuesday and Thursday, but even with that, there is always flexibility. Today happens to be a day that I commute to the office due to scheduled meetings in the afternoon. At this time of year, I get to experience sunrise early in the morning and that kick starts my energy for the day!

8.30 AM

Made it to the office! Here at GMHBA office, the flexibility of choosing my office area is something that I really enjoy. Depending on my mood for the day and how I’m feeling, I like to switch around my desk area, given that you get exposed to other team members and their departments. Once I’m set up at my desk, I like to start off by writing down a checklist for the day. This helps keep me on track with my tasks for the day.

9.00 AM

Commencing my tasks- I tend to find that I am most productive around this time of day. The current rotation I’m allocated to is the Clinical and Health Programs rotation. The role consists of conducting research and evaluation on the effectiveness of GMHBA’s Chronic Disease Management Programs here at GMHBA. Depending on whether there are any scheduled meetings in the morning, I like to allocate 2 hrs dedicated to solo time working on my scheduled tasks which consist of research and planning for upcoming health programs provided by GMHBA to our members. Currently, our department is working on two health initiatives targeting hypertension and cancer. Due to the complexity of such chronic diseases, my work revolves around researching and analysing the burden of such disease and identifying areas of opportunity which would then enable us to determine the scope of intervention the programs have in influencing the burden of disease and its progression.

My task for today is centred around evaluating data pertaining to cancer claims for an upcoming project here at GMHBA. Utilising my skills in clinical evaluation and analysis, I would be evaluating the claims and breaking down the costs associated with cancer. From the analysis, I identified areas of opportunity that would allow us to determine the extent to which our programs are able to manage avoidable episodes associated with cancer amongst our members.

11.00 AM

I take a short break to get up from my desk and stretch out while enjoying my second cup of coffee. To all coffee lovers- GMHBA has a high-quality coffee machine in the kitchen on each level with different coffee pod flavours!

11.15 AM

Started with my other task for the day which revolves conducting external calls for a survey that I am collecting to evaluate outcomes on our Care Coordination Service (CCS). CCS is one of GMHBA’s health programs provided to our members post-hospital discharge. As the name of the program suggests, CCS staff coordinate care between the member and ancillary services such as physio and occupational therapists to help members navigate their health journey post hospital discharge. By conducting these calls, an NPS (Net Promoter Score) is generated – this is one of the indicators of success of the program.

12.15 PM

GMHBA’s office is located in a great spot with many restaurants and cafes around the area. Also, the Geelong Pier is a 5-minute walk from the office. Usually, I go for walks around the Pier or sit down on the benches while having my lunch.

1.00 PM

Scheduled meeting with the other grads to catch-up! We usually schedule these meetings once a week just to reflect on our work and share our experiences in our allocated rotations. I personally enjoy these meetings because it gives me an insight on the other rotations, and it paves the opportunity for us to share our thoughts and feedback on the grad program.

2.00 PM

Catching up with my rotational manager. This session allows me to touch-base with my manager to see where I’m headed with my tasks. Most importantly, it is my opportunity to ask questions and obtain feedback on areas of improvement. We tend to hold these one-on-one meetings at least once a week, online or in-person.

3.00 PM

At this time of day, I like to refer back to my notes on members who have requested to be called at a later time and commence with the survey.

4.00 PM

Towards the end of the day, I reflect on my tasks for the day and identify if there are any follow-up tasks to be done. Usually, I’ll keep a record of such notes in my diary to refer to the following day.

4.30 PM

Pack-up and catch the train back to Melbourne. The great advantage of GMHBA’s office being located in a central location of Geelong city is its close distance to the train station-which usually takes around 9 minutes to walk to.

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