Pros
Was lucky enough to have several highly experienced, knowledgable colleagues, team mates and superiors in the Social Work dept. and beyond, who guided me through how to survive in a truly chaotic health system. This is not everyone's experience however. Although, as many toxic, dangerously incompetent or just lazy people there were, there were 10 times as many hard working, passionate people trying to just do their jobs well. Learned most of my foundational Social Work skills at the SW dept at Westmead, and was supported to grow and develop my skills and experience.
Cons
Chronically under staffed, under resourced and under funded, leading to widespread burnout, poor wellbeing and employment churn. Inter office/ department politics were rife, if you upset the wrong person or if they were in a position of power, you could have an exceptionally poor experience. Bullying was not uncommon and how this behaviour was managed was totally dependant on who you knew and what kind of manager you had. A lack of honesty, accountability and transparency by executive and senior hospital management was deeply frustrating and challenging, (especially during the pandemic years). The recruitment "freezes" that no one would name, but were very clear when departments were operating with widespread vacancies.