I am a retired Osteopath and Ergonomics / Human Factors professional and practiced primary health care in the Waikato region for over twenty years. In recent years I retired from clinical work. This was due to injury which I unfortunately never recovered from.
I began my working life in communications electronics. Electronics taught me about “fault-finding” in dynamically complex, “open systems”. This has helped me in my clinic where I managed the complexity of different patients in different environments with different health issues – dynamically complex biological systems. The human-environment interface is indeed a very dynamically complex arena and I thrive on the challenge of maximising efficiency, performance and job-satisfaction, whilst minimising personal harm.
In recent years, I have become increasingly involved in governance, from my own clinical practice and other personal interests, to the not-for-profit sector and governance at Waikato District Health Board (DHB). I have also studied governance with the Institute of Directors and at Waikato University.
Business activity is dynamically complex and all entities operate in open systems. Again, people are involved at all levels, whether at the decision-making board table or at the production table and people-environment interface is very important “place”, whether part of an external supply-chain or an internal value-chain.
I now find myself very busy at “getting my head around” the social issues which plague us and what I can do to be part of our exploring solutions to these problems. It’s probably an age thing! What has happened to our society? If I wasn’t part of the solution, then I must be part of the problem. I am determined to no longer be distracted by daily work and avoiding getting involved. What is the outcome for our children? The present trajectory is certainly not sustainable.
My passion is for global health care and my philosophy dictates that care of people is best achieved by addressing issues of the environment which cause ill health and injury. A healthy community, environment, business operation, etc. makes for healthy people. This logically follows on from the fact that in an optimum environment, humans (and indeed all animals) are capable of maintaining their own “health” – known as homeostasis. The opposite is also true – healthy people “create” healthy business operations, communities, etc. – a win-win scenario.
For my information about my governance experience please click here.
Please feel free to contact me by clicking here.