ursing is a rewarding career, but it also brings challenges that many new nurses find daunting. To build the confidence and capabilities of new recruits, Kowloon Central Cluster (KCC) this year launched the one-year 'KCCian Programme'. Freshmen nurses receive a diverse range of training through the Programme and benefit from an experienced 'ward coach' who provides personalised support and advice.

KCCian participant Eddie Lai, a newly registered nurse in the Orthopaedics and Traumatology Department at Queen Elizabeth Hospital, said: "Having experienced colleagues as mentors helped me integrate into new working environment more easily. They shared many real cases with me, and explained how to deal with different situations on the ward."

Lee Sai-man, Eddie's preceptor and a registered nurse for over 10 years, said the Programme also gives more experienced colleagues the opportunity to refresh their knowledge. Chan Hon-man, who has four years' experience and is a Programme enabler, said that assisting the freshmen is a worthwhile challenge.

ow to get your team more engaged at their work? New Territories East Cluster (NTEC) shares some tips. The Cluster recently won the Excellent Employee Engagement Award (HR Services Category) in the Hong Kong Institute of Human Resources Management's HR Excellence Awards 2012. NTEC aims to enhance the engagement of its staff members in various ways, including direct dialogue by organising regular staff forums where management communicates face-to-face with frontline staff. The Cluster Chief Executive tours the wards and holds monthly meetings with different grades of colleagues to listen to their opinion. Equally important are sharing and caring. Establish a caring culture, for example, by setting up an emergency support team to provide psychological assistance to staff. Communication Ambassadors also acts as a bridge between the frontline and management. Use the intranet to set up forums, such as YouSay, Your Blog for colleagues to express their concerns.

In short, it's important to have colleagues deemed being cared of, get them involved through various means of dialoges and in the process of making decisions.

hat good is just talking about environmental protection without taking any action? Everyone should do something to help save the planet. Kowloon West Cluster (KWC) held a Green Week in early October that featured a series of green activities, such as a cookery class and talks at Princess Margaret Hospital, Kwai Chung Hospital arranged a visit to the Environmental Resources Centre, and Kwong Wah Hospital staged an Energy Saving Day. The organisers also invited experts to share their green tips and held related competitions to raise colleagues' eco-awareness. Separately, Kowloon Central Cluster organised a Green Day in early November and invited green pioneer Dr Simon Chau to talk about his green lifestyle.