Richard Fox and Renske van den Brink

When Colleagues Disagree: Navigating Relationships at Work

Colleagues in primary care are not always the keen team players we would like them to be! This workshop will look at ways of dealing with differences and difficulties between colleagues and staff. Anyone working with others in primary care is welcome to attend – and you are welcome to bring along scenarios from your workplace for us to use as examples. The facilitators will use an actor to demonstrate ways of handling situations – and don’t worry; participants will NOT be asked to do role plays! The aim is for you to come away with clear ideas on how to get your colleagues and staff to cooperate as fully as possible in a team setting.

Biography: Richard has spent most of his working life as a rural general practitioner. His interest in the MindBody area led him to train further in counselling and psychotherapy, and he now practices counselling and psychotherapy in Ponsonby, Auckland. He has also been a part time senior lecturer in the Goodfellow Unit and continues to be involved with running workshops on communication skills for groups of doctors, nurses and pharmacists.

Biography: Renske graduated from Auckland Medical School in 1989 and has spent most of her medical career in general practice. Renske worked as a facilitator on the Overseas Trained Doctors Programme. In 2002 she graduated with a Diploma in Counselling using the Psychosynthesis model which supports her work as a Counsellor and MindBody therapist in her private practice. Recently, she has focused her interest in the MindBody area and was convenor of the 2006 MindBody Conference. She is currently enrolled in a Masters of Health Science at Auckland University of Technology in the area of MindBody healthcare.