Tell me about your job as clinic executive at Dis-Chem.
My duties include establishing and carrying out departmental or organisational goals, policies and procedures; directing and overseeing the organisation’s financial and budgetary activities; managing general activities related to providing clinic services; negotiating contracts and agreements with different stakeholders; and identifying places to cut costs and to improve performance, policies and programmes.
What role do the Dis-Chem clinics play?
The clinics and 54 Dis-Chem Baby City stores provide preventive health care and early- risk detection solutions, and help patients manage their health.
We have seen a clear increase in the use of our clinics as consumers are increasingly recognising the ability of clinic nurses to manage day-to-day health-care needs.
Patients see the very real value of access to qualified nurses, giving them convenient access to optimal private primary health care at extremely affordable prices.
The clinics offer day-to-day care across five main categories — adult primary health care, female health, health assessments, baby services and sexual health.
What are the challenges facing your industry at present?
The nursing shortage is concerning. To mitigate this, we are investing in tertiary nursing education to ensure we create an appropriate pool of nurses to allow us to expand our primary health-care offering, which is centred on clinic nurses.
A significant challenge is to get consumers to understand the importance of primary and preventive health care.
Primary health care is fundamental to a health-care system in that it can improve the health outcomes of a broad base of the population. If people effectively manage their health care on a day-to-day basis, it plays a role in preventing the development of more serious illnesses or conditions.
Primary health care is gaining widespread recognition as being the “front door” of the health-care system and pharmacies are ideally positioned as a fundamental entry point to the primary health-care ecosystem
How did you end up working in this role?
I've always had a passion to open and assist with primary health-care clinics in the private sector, specifically in the pharmacy environment. I started assisting the pharmacies in the private sector from 2003, and specifically Dis-Chem from 2008.
In 2010, Dis-Chem identified the need to employ a nursing manager. I applied and started full time in August 2010, with just 42 nursing practitioners working in the Dis-Chem clinics. We now employ 492 clinic nurses and continue to grow our nursing numbers as we open more clinics.
What do you think makes you good at your job?
My general nursing experience and knowledge regarding the importance of primary health care, knowledge and experience regarding financial processes in retail pharmacy clinics and good relationships with the national and provincial health departments.
What did you want to be as a child?
I was always the one in the family helping people and animals that were in pain and sick. That’s probably why I ended up being a nurse.
What is the best career advice you ever received?
When I completed an executive development training course, the one element that stood out for me and which I enforce every day, is collaboration.
The day of the aggressive know-it-all colleague who steamrolls fellow workers is drawing to a close. In the future, success will belong to those who can quiet their egos, collaborate in the fullest sense of co-operation, and empathise with others.
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