The transition from a working individual to a new working parent can be challenging. There is increasing recognition that periods of pregnancy and parenthood are a common source of gender-based bias and discrimination. Evidence demonstrates up to one in two women in Australia experienced discrimination in the workplace during their pregnancy, parental leave or on return to work. Emergency medicine has additional and unique challenges such as shift work, high acuity patients, busy departments and exposure to distressing events which can lead to vicarious trauma.

The Royal North Shore Hospital (RNSH) Emergency Department (ED) has developed the “Parental Leave Understanding and Support (PLUS)” programme, a return to work package focused on preparing new parents for their return to work in the ED after parental leave. Implementing this programme is an important strategy to increase staff retention and promote a resilient, engaged and committed emergency workforce to which is able to provide high quality patient care. Further to this, a formal process attracts talent, fosters a positive workplace culture, and ensures compliance with laws. Having a formal structured return to work program ensures new working parents are supported and empowered to return to the workplace equipped with the necessary tools to make the transition. The programme has been acknowledged by ACEM, advancing women in medical leadership charter, with the ACEM President at the time, Dr Clare Skinner acknowledging the RNSH ED P.L.U.S programme as the gold standard of which A.C.E.M would aspire to have integrated into all EDs. It scalable and has been implemented in other ED in Australia.

The predicted impact and outcomes for this project are being formally evaluated with a prospective research study which has Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC) approval. Feedback from participants and early preliminary data has been overwhelming positive