In this episode of the One Health Podcast, Dorian Broomhall from Culture & Wellbeing, gets to know Peter Boyles, the Acting Director of the Office of the Secretary.

During our conversation, Peter speaks about how he came to pursue a career in pharmacy and the path he took to become Chief Pharmacist.

Peter reflects on the challenging experience he had returning to Tasmania when the COVID-19 pandemic began, and on the work he was proud to be part of during this period.

Peter speaks about embracing the opportunities that have come his way. He speak about always saying yes to new challenges and how this led him into stints as Acting Chief Executive of Public Health Services, Acting Chief Risk Officer, and ultimately to his current position as the Acting Director of the Office of the Secretary.

He also talks about how we each develop skills we may not realise we have, and how these skills can be transferrable across many different domains.

In this episode of the One Health Podcast, Dorian Broomhall, Manager of Culture & Wellbeing, gets to know Ian Thomas, our Chief Risk Officer.

During our conversation, Ian speaks about his long career in corrections, and how transitioning into management gave him the chance to work at various prisons across the UK and Australia.

He talks about the crucial role that comradery amongst colleagues plays in helping us look out for each other in demanding work environments.

In this episode of the One Health Podcast, Dorian Broomhall, Manager of Culture & Wellbeing, gets to know Professor Dinesh Arya, Chief Medical Officer, Chief Psychiatrist and Deputy Secretary for Clinical Quality Regulation and Accreditation.

In our conversation, Dinesh speaks about being inspired to follow in his grandfather’s footsteps and become a psychiatrist when he was growing up in India.

He talks about being a lifetime learner and about the importance of putting the proper time into developing one’s skills.

He speaks about realising that in order to be effective in his role, he needed to develop his skills in many areas, and so has conducted study across academia, practice, management, administration, law, data science and more.

He argues that understanding our environments when managing systems is just as crucial as developing our associated skills.

Dinesh talks about how he views leadership and management as being just as scientific as medicine, and that our practices therefore should be guided by evidence.

He also shares his thoughts on how we can consider trauma in our workplaces and suggests appropriate ways in which we can offer support – starting with caring.

Note: Since recording, Policy, Purchasing, Performance and Reform and been renamed System Management and Reform.

In this episode of the One Health Podcast, Dorian Broomhall, Manager of Culture & Wellbeing, gets to know Sally Badcock, the Acting Deputy Secretary for Policy, Purchasing, Performance and Reform.

During our conversation, Sally speaks about growing up on the North West Coast and working in law in Paris and Brisbane.

She talks about the benefits of having people with both generalist and specialist skillsets on our teams, and the value that comes from developing, coaching, and mentoring staff.

She talks about how taking on challenges with the right amounts of stress and risk can drive us forward.

She also explains the function that Policy, Purchasing, Performance and Reform serves within Health.

In this episode of the One Health Podcast, Dorian Broomhall, Manager of Culture & Wellbeing, gets to know Brendan Docherty, Deputy Secretary for Hospitals and Primary Care.

During our conversation, recorded back in April, Brendan speaks about growing up alongside six siblings in Scotland and becoming one of that country’s first male midwives.

Brendan speaks about his focus upon the PERM principles as he progressed in his nursing career – that’s practice, education, research, and management.

He also speaks about resource effectiveness as a part of clinical governance and how he considers the best use of the taxpayer’s dollar. This includes looking at new ways of using our existing infrastructure to deliver care efficiently.

In this episode of the One Health Podcast, Dorian Broomhall, Manager of Culture & Wellbeing, gets to know Brent Feike, Chief Information Officer.

During our conversation, Brent shares how his fascination with space led him to study science and turn his passion into a career.

He talks about how growing up surrounded by many different cultures in Europe enriched his perspectives and shaped his approach to equity and inclusion.

Brent speaks about how saying yes to every opportunity during his professional career helped him build a unique skill set and helped him to grow as a leader.

He talks about getting used to jumping into the deep end and getting comfortable in the uncomfortable.

He also talks about his experiences with Performance Development Discussions in both the public and private sectors have led him to view them as important tool in understanding our places in an organisation’s purpose.

In this episode of the One Health Podcast, Dorian Broomhall gets to know Joe McDonald, Chief Executive of Hospitals South.

In our conversation, Joe talks about the family events that led him to pursue a career in nursing, and about the difficulties he faced starting out as a male nurse in Glasgow.

Joe speaks about his experiences working in the UK, Malta, New Zealand, and mainland Australia.

He talks about what he has learnt about Tasmania, and about how he views the place of the Royal Hobart Hospital within the THS.

Joe speaks about centring the patient, and about how he approaches those difficult conversations with people who may have lost sight of that idea.

He also describes how effective it can be to exert influence through relationships.

In this episode of the One Health Podcast, Dorian Broomhall, Manager of Culture & Wellbeing, gets to know Laura Pyszkowski, outgoing A/Director of the Office of the Secretary, and soon-to-be Executive Director of Nursing / Director of Services for the Department’s home and community care programs.

In our conversation, Laura talks about times in her life she had decided to change direction and about how that has taken from Launceston to Sydney, Melbourne, and London.

She speaks about her desire to be of service to her community, and the sense of connection that brings her.

She tells us about her experiences working through the height of the pandemic. She speaks about how important it was to building relationships during that time, and the pride she felt in seeing great people come together to quickly make an idea a reality.

She speaks about embracing the strengths that come from the different ways people like to work, and the benefits of staying open to being challenged.

Laura speaks about the experience of receiving a Public Service Medal, and about how hard it can be for many of us to accept recognition.

Finally, she tells us about the responsibilities that fall under the role of the Director of the Office of the Secretary.