You have been working in the dental office for over 10 years and have the system of ordering supplies down to a tee.

It is important to respond in an honest way so others are able to give you honest responses to how they feel they would have connected with you in this situation.

Scenario

You have been working in the dental office for over 10 years and have the system of ordering supplies down to a tee. Throughout the years, you have made trusting relationships with the dental representatives who visit regularly, and the dentist knows you will always make smart financial decisions with the orders you place so he has assigned this duty and trust to you.

A few months ago, a new employee was hired. During orientation, the doctor explained to Sarah (the new assistant) that he has assigned you to the responsibilities of ordering supplies for the office, and the procedure that the office follows was precise. If there were any further questions or concerns, they needed to be directed to you.

Within 2 weeks of the hire, Sarah took it upon herself to call the dental supply company and order products that she wanted, without prior approval. After several random orders were delivered, you talked with Sarah and kindly explained to her that there was a system that the office used for budget and storage purposes, and if there was anything that she needed beyond the regular orders, she needed them to be approved with you or the doctor. A week later, the doctor approached you and asked what the miscellaneous items on the invoice were. You explained to him the situation and said that you were working with the new employee to resolve this issue. You again visited with Sarah explaining that many times there are products that are preferred by individuals in the office and the doctor is very accommodating to ordering them as long as he knows in advance. She replies to you: I have also held your responsibility in the last office I worked at. I clearly know what I am doing, and I am not sure why you are making a big deal of this.

Each one of you at this very moment would respond differently to that comment if you were just told that straight out.

Journal #2

Respond to your classmates as if they are Sarah.

What would you say after you have already brought this situation up to her twice?

By what you learned in this unit, would you respond immediately? How?

Would you confront the doctor? Say what?, write EXACTLY what your first reaction was!