ALAN CARLTON
23 BURNSIDE AVE
NEWTOWN 7008
This
application is for the position of Regional Dental Officer. It is a part clinical and part
administrative, managerial position. As
I have been employed by the Tasmanian Dental Services for the last three years
in a clinical position this application only deals with the non-clinical part
of the job. The following is how I would
attempt to perform the job of Regional Dental Officer if given the opportunity.
ROLE
OF THE REGIONAL DENTAL OFFICER
The
RDO must represent the TDS to the public and the public to the TDS. The RDO must tell the employees in the TDS
what the public expects, wants and deserves from them. He must explain to all employees what their
specific role is in the big picture. He
must enforce community expectations of work practices and ethical standards.
He
must at the same time articulate to the public what the aims and functions of
the TDS are and what the rights and responsibilities of the public are. He must sell the TDS to the general
public. He must continually justify it's
existence. The RDO must sell to the
public any changes in the TDS. He must
also sell lack of change or stasis.
The
RDO must also negotiate on behalf of the TDS with other sections of the Tasmanian
Public Service. He must continually
explain where and why money is needed and what steps are taken to ensure that
it is spent efficiently and effectively.
He must explain, to the people who directly control the money, how the
money is being used to meet the aims of the TDS.
The
RDO must also provide leadership. He
must set an example by doing the difficult things. The style, character and the way the RDO
approaches his job will affect and pervade through the whole of the TDS. Everybody will directly or indirectly take
their view of what is right or wrong or morally acceptable from him.
MANAGEMENT
PHILOSOPHY
In
my opinion the character of the RDO and the philosophy that guides his work is
far more important than specific knowledge of and details about the job. The philosophy that guides his work is the
golden thread that runs through everything he does. It is the rock upon which everything is
built. I believe that every situation
that arises can be solved with the
assistance of the following basic principles.
1 People need rigid, well defined
limits to their jobs. This needs to be
in writing and is independent of the official "job description". They
then need to be given complete responsibility and latitude to take risks and express
themselves within these strictly defined limits.
2 Concentrate on people's
strengths. People should do what they do
best and practice what they are good at.
They should be working in positions which take advantage of their strengths. Ignore their weaknesses and they will become
irrelevant.
3 The vast majority of people want
to have pride in their work. They want
to enjoy their work.
4 People need the stimulation of
continually being exposed to change and challenge. They don't want to be protected from the
dangers of taking risks. Most people are
under-extended in their daily work. They
are only using a fraction of their potential.
People
under pressure seek help from their colleges.
They work as a team.
Underextended people become bored and whinge and complain. Excessive pressure is just as destructive but
less common in the TDS.
5 The quality of work performed is
related to the happiness of the staff.
Staff who have pride in their work and are not under stress at home or at
work perform work of better quality
and
quantity.
6 Criticism can be constructive or
destructive depending on the way it is presented. The aim in changing work practices is for
people not to see the change as a personal attack upon themselves but rather as
a legitimate attempt to help them do their job better from which we would all
benefit.
7 Never criticise one person to
another person. If you have something to
say and you can't say it to the person involved then don't say it.
8 Be consistent. If you say one thing to one person then say
it to everybody.
9 Confidentiality. If somebody tells you something in confidence
then it stays completely and absolutely confidential.
10 The TDS is a team where everybody is
on the same side. We are all working
together and our aim is the same. There
is no divide between management and workers.
No divide between staff treating adults or staff treating children.
11 People behave the way you treat
them. If you trust them and tell them
you trust them then they will earn that trust.
12 Disputes should be resolved quickly,
rapidly and firmly. To do something; anything is better than doing nothing A dispute that lingers saps morale and
becomes harder to solve.
13 What is best for the community and
best for the employees of the TDS is not always mutually exclusive. Often they go hand in hand with an
improvement in working conditions resulting in a better service being provided. When there is a conflict between what is best
for the public and what is best for the employees of the TDS, then the RDO has
to take the side of the public.
14 Decisions to change should either be
done by concensus or autocratically. You
cannot have a wishy-washy process which is a mixture of both. It is up to the person in a management
position to decide if the decision should be made autocratically or delegated
to the people directly involved.
15
Before any decision is taken the
RDO needs to consider if the aims of the TDS are being met.
AIM
OF TDS: The role of State Public
Dental Health Services should be to promote oral health to the wider community,
and provide preventive, restorative, rehabilitative and appropriate specialist
care to the financially disadvantaged, preschool and school children and
special disadvantaged groups(e.g. homebound, institutionalised, geographically
remote etc).
These
services should be provided in a way that meets the need for equitable,
accessible and appropriate health services.
They should be provided in an efficient and effective way in close
association with the wider community, while recognising the consumer's health
rights and responsibilities.
EXPERIENCE
I
will now list some personal experiences that have shaped my attitude to my work
and have helped me arrive at my basic principles which I have outlined
above. I will also list experience which
I have had that would assist me in the position of RDO.
I
graduated in 1979 from Melbourne Uni.
Since then I have worked both here and overseas in private practice and
for the public service. With hindsight I
can see that this wide range of dental experiences has been very
beneficial.
1 Travelling Overseas. I worked for about six years in South
Africa. From this I learnt a little
about Africa and a lot about Australia.
This experience put living in Australia in perspective.
2 Working at Ngwelezana Hospital in
Kwa Zulu. The vast majority of patients
at this hospital lived in close to third world conditions. I worked there for two and a half years.
3 Running the Comrades
Marathon. This race is about 90km's long
and physically and emotionally much tougher than a standard marathon. I found the whole experience very humbling. The experience also increased my confidence
to tackle long and difficult projects when the finishing line is not obvious or
apparent.
4 Working in my own private practice
in Beechworth, Vic for three and a half years.
A dentist in a small country town is an active and inescapable member of
the local community. I learnt about
taking risks and assuming responsibility for decisions taken.
5 Having three children. It is impossible to define exactly what
influence raising three children has had on me.
I know that it has greatly influenced the basic principles which I
outlined above.
6 Working for the TDS since June
1990. This experience has given me
specific knowledge and detail about the advertised position and about the
TDS. This period of time is long enough
for me to see things from the inside and short enough for me to remember and to
see things from outside the TDS.
