Putting theory into practice

December 15, 2024 Marie Taylor

In excess of 115 practice managers gathered for this year’s RANZCO practice managers’ congress, held in the expansive Adelaide Convention Centre.

 

Cliffy Wilson, from Indigenous cultural training organisation Kuma Kaaru, started the main conference with an inspiring Welcome to Country, which was not only informative but interactive, too. Attendees were also welcomed by Victoria’s Lara Sullivan, new chair of the RANZCO Practice Managers’ Advisory Committee.

 

Author Lisa O’Neill was day one’s amazing keynote, energetically setting the tone. She discussed how your energy introduces you before you do, which resonated with me. We can all tell when a team member has had a great weekend, or when their young child is teething and has not slept – their positive or negative energy is very apparent as soon as they walk into the room.

 

O’Neill encouraged us to control what we can but not to waste energy trying to change the things we can’t. She also spoke about the importance of looking after ourselves as managers so we can look after the teams we work with, including making sure we remember to set boundaries, for which she provided a handy mnemonic:

 

Be aware

 

Of what is

 

Unacceptable and

 

Normalise saying ‘no’.

 

Do what is best for you

 

And know that things aren’t your

 

Responsibility all the time.

 

Your needs matter too.

 

Another inspiring keynote speaker was Tsu Shan Chambers. As an optometrist who also works in the film industry as an actor, writer and producer, she said she’s been asked ‘What were you thinking!?’ many times! Acknowledging that TV and movies can inspire, enrage and excite millions of people at once, Chambers spoke about creating a better society, social change and ending avoidable sight loss, and acknowledged that Australia’s Vision 2020 initiative had achieved a lot, but there was more to do. To increase public knowledge and get people talking about eye health, her latest movie, My Eyes, is the story of a young girl with an inherited genetic eye disease. We were fortunate enough to see the movie’s trailer, which was really well received. I’ll be keeping an eye out for its 2025 release.

 

Tough talk

 

We had some really great talks around difficult and challenging conversations. Anna-Maria Gibb, product adoption manager at Avant, spoke to us about defusing difficult situations. She explained that if a practice has clear policies, the staff will have clear expectations. This allows for difficult conversations to be had around policies, such as ‘Can I refer you to our current dress code?’, which makes the conversation less about personal opinion and more about practice policies. This tied in nicely with Western Australia psychologist Tim Wong’s presentation on the art of difficult conversations. His talk began with all 103 practice managers on their feet, learning the shuffle. Needless to say, we were all amazing at it by the end of the session!

 

Asking why we should bother with difficult conversations, Wong said because the cost of not addressing such issues is too high. He acknowledged that in reality, people and their behaviours are difficult to deal with, however, we all have the power to choose how we respond to those behaviours and how we communicate with and influence people. I have seen how negative attitudes and behaviours can be adopted by staff working together and with some encouragement and engagement, we have the power to choose not to behave in the same way and to seek some positivity and support from our leaders and managers.

 

I really enjoyed how varied and interesting all the talks were. Monday afternoon saw us enlightened by Thomas Thom from the Catalyst Foundation. His presentation on LGBTIQA+ awareness and understanding was pared down from a three to four hour talk to fit into our 45-minute slot. Thom patiently taught us the appropriate inclusive language to use when working with members of the LGBTIQA+ community as they access our services and work within our teams. A take-home message for me was that it’s OK to get pronouns wrong, as long as you correct yourself – it’s a faux pas I have worried about committing in the past, as had many others in the room. Thom also discussed trying to avoid assuming pronouns based on appearance and current relationship.

 

This year, two New Zealand-based practice managers were appointed to the conference advisory committee and I would like to encourage our practice managers and administration team leaders to attend the November 2025 RANZCO practice managers’ conference in Melbourne. The opportunity to network and learn is something everyone will find value in.

 

 

Marie Taylor is a registered nurse who has been working in various ophthalmology roles in Auckland and Christchurch for 25 years. She’s currently the operations manager and clinical research manager at Southern Eye Specialists in Christchurch.