PA Hospital dietitian, Soraya Cunningham is committed to building the amazing workplace culture in Nutrition and Dietetics that first drew her to be part of the team.
Employed at PAH for eight years, Soraya has invested the last few years in inpatient kidney health in PA’s High Dependency Dialysis Unit and Jasmine Unit out at Casuarina Lodge in Wynnum.
“Culture is very important to me. Our department has a really good culture and it was one of the things that really drew me to working here at PA,” she said.
“I feel like anyone new to our department is also influenced by the great attitude and feeling in our team which makes it easy for them to slip into the culture stream we have already created.”
This includes students, new grads and early career dietitians who all attest to the influence of the amazing culture from their own experience and want to be part of it.
As a champion within their culture group which embodies the FISH philosophy, Soraya brings to work an attitude of giving back to her team.
Her efforts resulted in the PAH Staff award in September for compassion focussing on her investment in the wellbeing of her colleagues. The nomination highlighted her work after hours to de-clutter the department resulting in a safer and more comfortable space for team members to thrive and also her investment into local and statewide education resources for patients.
“Our group formed a plan to tidy up the office after hours to remove the clutter of the last 20 or 30 years. I found it cathartic to throw out what we no longer needed to improve the work environment. It’s bright and comfortable and makes it great to come to work,” she said.
Their team also include team building throughout the year with Soraya a driving force behind activities like Valentine’s day encouragement ideas and trivia activities highlighting fun facts about the department as a means of bringing everyone together.
“I have worked across most of the areas of dietetics but I like the longevity and the relationship that can be built with someone who has been managing a chronic disease for a long time,” she said of her work in kidney health. “Building a relationship and rapport is essential to create engagement with that patient because the information is not new, but is necessary to motivate change.”
It seems Soraya brings this same approach to all aspects of her work with teamwork and inter-departmental relationships playing a key role in building Nutrition and Dietetics’ strong team culture.