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Conflict in the clinic

Most jobs deal with people, and when you deal with people, you’re likely going to have workplace conflicts.

Something many people notice about the dental field is how gossipy it is… Maybe it’s the fact that the majority in each clinic is female? Either way, a colleague and I got into a conversation and started trading stories about clinics.

Here are a few of the more common conflicts found at the clinic:

Boss throws a tantrum

Now, the worst thing about having your boss chucking tantrums is just that… they’re your boss. If they were a friend or family member, I’ld smack them on the side of the head and tell them to grow up …. or maybe not, but you get the point! There’s no other way to handle it (unless you don’t mind getting the sack) but to smile and ignore their jibes directed at you.

Boss bitches about you to a patient… in front of you

The worst thing a boss could do is talk down to their staff in front of a patient. Seriously, what’s the point of that? I mean, the staff is pretty much trapped in that room with you … why make it even worse than it already is?
Do you seriously think that we enjoy being in your presence?

Doesn’t the boss realise how completely unprofessional it is to question the competency of staff in front of the patient when they’re in the middle of treatment?? It’s like the doctor saying to the nurse, “Don’t kill the patient when I’m gone” whilst she’s adjusting the patients’ IV.

If someone has worked with you for 5 freaking years and you’re still questioning their competency, then why the heck didn’t you bring it up earlier?!?

Boss discloses detailed information about you to a patient… without consent

A staff member had to take sick leave for surgery and during the whole time she was away, my boss would tell patients (in detail) why my colleague was not working regardless of whether or not the patient even asked about it. When my colleague came back to work, everyone knew.

Just because staff are obligated to tell you WHY they have to take sick leave, it does not obligate you to let the whole freaking world know too!

Colleagues playing mind games

You know the types, they’re the ones who weedle their way into everyones’ good-books and then cunningly get individuals into trouble or even sacked. You won’t even know what hit you.

I know of all the staff quitting because the practice manager has the dentist wrapped around their little finger, and oblivious to the boss, they bully other staff.

Workplace politics

I’m not very good with politics, and I do my best to avoid it like the plague. But when you’ve been approached in your work room, then there’s not much choice but to listen to the arguments. When war breaks out, I like to think of myself as Switzerland – neutral to the flaw.

Dental Hygiene Job Outlook

I’ve been seriously thinking about a career change, something away from the clinical life of a Dental Hygienist. My constant surfing brought me to the Australian Government Job Search site. I’ve always known about it, but I didn’t realise that it provided such detailed information about all the different career paths. From this site it takes you out to so many websites to the point I wonder why they even bother setting them all up in the first place?

Anyway, one of the links takes you to the Job Outlook site which I recommend people to have a look at. The information is all there for the viewing, why not have a squiz at the industry averages? Obviously I had a good read on the outlook for Dental Hygienists.

They’ve grouped Hygienists together with Therapists as usual, but I didn’t understand the logic of the Technicians and Prosthetics getting tied in together with us…?

The job outlook for the Hygienist isn’t bad, especially for those in WA. There has been a change from the traditional Dental Hygiene/Therapy group to Oral Health Therapist for those in Perth, and that means a year of no new Dental Hygienists or Therapists.

 

I’ve reached the point where the joy I have from treating patients has diminished to a depressing state. Constant internal politics, pure stinginess, idiots who don’t know how to run a business, aches and pains… etc. have amounted so much that it outweighs most of my desire to stay. I’m still reluctant to let go, and reluctant to leave the comfort zone I’ve created.

Let’s see where life takes me.

Mr Bean goes to the Dentist

What started off as just a general comment about dental pain and/or fear turned into how the media enjoys portraying the stereotypical dentist as a sadistic male know it all.

… Mr Bean… what more can I say? punch

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Pre-Travel Research

As many of my friends know, I like to research. It sounds harmless enough, researching is handy to make sure you know exactly what you’re talking about, or eating, or seeing, or getting into etc. The trouble comes when you research excessively to the point you think the stuff is rubbish and write your own account… I’m just a tad like that, not that far gone yet.

It wasn’t always like this, but the 6 years in tertiary education rewired my brain in it’s quest for knowledge (and I suspect a touch of PD too). Prior to this I was quite content with the answer of “Just Because”.

Anyway, this is my round-about excuse for my lack of updates as of late. I keep getting lost in my Pre-Travel Research for Cambodia and Thailand.

After you decide on a destination (which takes some research in itself), there’s a whole list of things to look into for each location (less countries = less research):

  • Accommodation – location, hotel vs hostel, reviews
  • Activities – type (leisure or extreme), location, cost, reviews
  • Dates – availability
  • Government Warnings – smartraveller
  • Insurance – budget vs comprehensive
  • Itineraries – self plan vs tour
  • Payment Options – Cash, Credit, Direct, Deposit, T/T
  • Registration - smartraveller
  • Safety Precautions – reviews, smartraveller
  • Sites to See – wikitravel, Canby (Cambodia)
  • Vaccinations - Chikungunya fever, Dengue fever, Malaria, Japanese Encephalitis, Hepatitis, Cholera, AIDS/HIV, Giardia, Salmonella, Typhoid…

To be quite honest I haven’t looked up much for Phuket because it seems to be well travelled. Siem Reap on the other hand has lots for me to look into… And now that it’s near my departure date, I’ve found myself some extra things to organise.

Cambodia itself has an extremely harsh history, and even now it is still struggling to form solid foundations for their most basic of needs.

I stumbled across the Angkor Hospital for Children, established by a NGO called Friends Without a Border, either through a review site or travel log… As a health professional, Angkor Hospital for Children really hits close to home because I know first hand how ignorance to the most basic preventive measures (washing hands, brushing teeth! etc) can affect someone’s life.

Anyhow, I’ve somehow turned my planned trip to see the Angkor ruins into a more meaningful experience. It’s a bit last minute but I’ve scrounged up some toothbrushes, toothpaste and my clinics old instruments for donation.

Now let’s just hope I get everything done on time with no hiccups!

Busy at work… with the family

I’ve entered the rat race.

Work. Cook. Eat. Clean. Sleep. Repeat

They say work is your second home.

giggle If the above statement is true… then this must be my family

GC Tooth Mousse Cows are so CUTE! I admit it’s a great marketing tactic, and I don’t think any of the other dental companies have collectible mascots for their products like these Tooth Mousse cows. Of course, if the product itself wasn’t good, then it wouldn’t sell no matter how cute the mascots are.

sweatWe actually have more cows, but they’re all spread out in the clinic and I couldn’t find them…. plus I didn’t want the boss to think I was spending my time so unproductively. heH…

giggle On a side note, I heard GC only gave out their keyring cow ‘Penelope’ to the dental hygienists? hAHa! maybe I shouldn’t have showed it to everyone at work

Dental Code of Conduct

twistedlover…under Washington Administrative Code 246-16-100, they [health professionals] “shall not engage, or attempt to engage, in sexual misconduct with a current patient.” Sexual misconduct “includes but is not limited to” sex, kissing, “hugging . . . of a romantic . . . nature,” “suggesting or discussing the possibility of a dating, sexual or romantic relationship after the professional relationship ends,” “terminating a professional relationship for the purpose of dating or pursuing a romantic or sexual relationship,” or “making statements regarding the patient['s] . . . body, appearance, sexual history, or sexual orientation other than for legitimate health care purposes,” among many other things.

OK, you say, no problem; you should just switch to a different dental hygienist or optician, and then start dating. Perhaps banning optician-client relationships is going a bit far, but it’s hardly a big burden on people’s romantic, sexual, or marital choices.

contractNo dice! Subsection (3) of the provision states that “a health care provider shall not engage, or attempt to engage” in any of these activities “with a former patient, client or key party within two years after the provider-patient/client relationship ends.” Two years is not a short time. If you do want to date your former dental hygienist or optician, you can’t even kiss her until two years after you leave her practice. Or, to be precise, you can kiss her, and she can kiss you back–if she is willing to risk professional discipline and possibly loss of her livelihood, a pretty serious burden….

….Of course medical relationships offer room for various kinds of abuses. In some situations, it may be proper to interfere with people’s right to marry, and their sexual and romantic autonomy, in order to prevent those abuses….

..…But the trouble here is that the rules go vastly further than these special situations, and vastly undervalue the countervailing reasons to limit regulation–people’s right to choose whom to date, have sex with and marry, even including their dental hygienists, opticians, and the like. So much for the right to marry; so much for sexual autonomy; so much for consenting adults deciding whom to love, without the fear of losing their livelihood.

The Lonely Optician
by EUGENE VOLOKH
Source: WSJ Opinion Journal

After reading this article, I did a quick google of the Australian Dental Code of Conduct. The best document I found was from the Dental Practice Board of Victoria, and it didn’t have all those extra subsections *phew* Not that I’ve got anything to worry about, but you really never know what people will sue you for nowadays!

What I don’t like about the Code of Conduct is how it really strips the power from the practitioner or health care worker. I’ve had a number of patients who have made me feel uncomfortable with their innuendos, and all I can really do is tell the patient to stop…. and they would then just claim innocence.

The main problem comes with trying to distinguish between those patients who are just naturally flirtatious and don’t mean any harm, and the sleaze of the world…

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