SPINAL NETWORK NEWS

NZ Research Community Updates
KALEIDOSCOPE UPDATE
KIA ORA FROM BAIL
I have worn many hats in my working life:
aircraft terminal operations, corporate
recruitment executive, the NZ air force,
vocational rehabilitation, and, would you
believe, part of the management team
for a professional theatre company! I
am passionate about people and life,
and I am lucky, in that I get to facilitate
clients’ discovery that life is for living and
dreams can be achieved (when I am not
behind my desk swimming in a sea of
administration that is!!).
Of late, there has been a shift in client
dynamics on the spinal unit wards,
enabling a great number of projects to
gain momentum. The Kaleidoscope team
has been working on client resources
and workshops, as well as on the
formulation of an employer education
seminar series. The Auckland office
has had some great client success with
new employment and, in Christchurch,
people returning to their pre-injury/-
illness employment. Check out the next
newsletter due out in November for
some insights and stories in the space of
employment
The lead up to Christmas – yes, it is
upon us I am told – can be a time of
relaxation, reflection, and re-connecting
with friends and family. We are all madly
getting the ‘things-to-do’ lists done, so
we can head off on leave. I, on the other
hand, have been exploring professional
development for the team and myself,
and wanted to share with you some
great tips and websites that I have
encountered of late.
• When you write your CV, create a
header with lots of ‘buzz words/skills’,
and then make the text white, and the
document PDF format. If it is uploaded
to a website that HR managers and
recruiters scan (such as Seek), when
they type in the skills they are looking
for, yours will appear a great deal more
frequently.
• If you haven’t been exposed to the
absolutely brilliant sharing-of-ideas
website: TED Talks, check out: www.ted.
com for inspiration, to challenge your
thinking, improve your knowledge on a
huge range of topical issues, or, just for
fun and out of interest. A great person
to start with is Brene Brown, or why not
listen to Steve Jobs talk about his journey
and the phenomenal success of Apple?
• Get interested! Interested in why you
do what you do, what direction your
career is taking, and where you want to
be in 5 years’ time. If that’s too hard, just
think 2014: what’s your focus for the
year ahead? Research companies you are
curious about and interested in. What
are your ‘non-negotiables’ when it comes
to seeking employment?
• At a recent seminar, I received
powerful statistics regarding the
website LinkedIn: 87% of employers
use it frequently and 93% of people in a
position to make decisions / recruitment
agencies have profiles.
Debbie, Meika, Lesley and I, always
have our door open, so contact us to
schedule a meeting if you’re an employer;
pop in if you’re an existing client or just
thinking ‘what now, where to from here?’,
and engage in the wonderful space I get
to call ‘work’.
Mel Kelly
To the readers of Spinal Network News
who do not know us, we are a dynamic
charitable trust committed to improving
the life experience of people recovering
from serious injury and illness. We do
this by facilitating quality research and
innovative approaches to rehabilitation.
The purpose of all BAIL research and
activities is to identify and remove
barriers to independence. Our location
in an office adjacent to the Burwood
Spinal Unit is a real benefit to our work.
However, we have many international
connections, and collaborate from time to
time with our foreign colleagues.
One such current collaboration involves
BAIL’s Research and Strategic Advisor,
Anne Sinnott, and our friends at Spinalis,
in Sweden. Anna-Carin Lagerström &
Kerstin Wahman wrote an outstanding
book entitled “The Art of Healthy Living
with Physical Impairments”. When they
decided it should be published in English,
they turned to BAIL for help.
It is well known that a healthy lifestyle is
fundamental to well-being – both physical
and emotional. This applies particularly to
those who live with physical impairments.
This book was written to inspire and
impart the necessary knowledge to
achieve a more active and healthy lifestyle.
The book provides adapted programmes
based on scientific research and clinical
experience, as well as tips and advice
from individuals living with physical
impairments.
Anne’s assistance in the adaptation
process included travelling to Sweden
for an intensive work period, which
was funded in part by the ANZ Staff
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