Introduction
With the enhancement in technology, the demand for workforce in different fields of health care including the professionals associated with dental healthcare is increasing. By birth, I am Chinese. I moved to Australia since I was 15 . Therefore I have grown up in a mixed cultural background. Currently, I have been given a placement at Slovakia for an oral health course. In this report, a detailed explanation of the six dimensions of culture according to Hofstede’s Model will be done. Additionally, a detailed comparison of three different cultures among Australia, China and Slovakia will be conducted using the country-comparison tool along with its characteristics and expectations. The similarities, as well as differences between La Trobe University and University of Presov in educational context and scope of practice, will be described. Along with this, unique as well as common aspects of the profession and professional setting will also be discussed.
The dimensions of culture
According to Hofstede, the term culture can be defined as the collective programming of the mind that possesses the potential to distinguish members of one category or group of individuals from another. There exist 6 dimensions of national culture, according to the cultural model of Hofstede. This includes Power and Distance Index (PDI), Masculinity versus Femineity (MAS), Individualism versus collectivism (IDV), Uncertainty Avoidance Index (UAI), Indolence versus Restraint (IND) and Long Term Orientation versus Short Term Normative Orientation (LTO) (1). The first dimension represents the degree to which a less powerful member of organizations within a country expects as well as accepts that power has been distributed in an unequal way (2). The second dimension that is IDV refers to the degree of independence a society maintains amongst its members. The third dimension that is MAS represents the degree to which an individual tends to aim for tough barriers like success and competition or prefer tender components such as caring and modesty. The LTO dimension represents the degree to which the society desires to progress forward even by risking the reformation of their own traditions. Finally, when it comes to the IND dimension, it indicates the degree to which society is allowing an individual to enjoy life compared to other countries.
My expectations and characteristics
I was born and raised in China for 15 years before migrating to Australia. Considering the fact that Australia has become my second home town, I have grown up in a mixture of two cultures, one from the western part of the word and another from the western part and thus possess unique experience. Over time, I have realized that it is a lifelong experience since the culture of a society constantly keeps evolving over time. In spite of the fact that I feel to be a society member, my experiences and observation help me to understand the similarities as well as dissimilarities between two cultures along with absorbing good components of both the culture. The country-comparison tool that has been created by the Hofstede Insights was employed to compare cultures between two countries of mine as well as my placement location which is in Slovakia (4).
When it comes to power distance, I believe my characteristics align more with the Australian score. Unlike China and Slovakia, in Australia, hierarchy is established for convenience, employees are respected and superiors are always approachable. Employees are encouraged by the managers to share their thoughts and ideas for the betterment of the organization. when it comes to individualism, my characteristic depends on specific scenarios as well as circumstances. Since the majority of my teenage and adulthood has been spent in Australia, I respect individualism and the concept of self awareness, self help as well as privacy associated with it (5). However, I believe that while working in an organization, teamwork is highly crucial since employees need to take the responsibility of their tea members along with their worn. When it comes to masculinity, I am more accustomed to the workplace culture of Australia. Masculinity represents that a person’s central values are success and honor. While in both Australia and China, masculinity matters to a great extent, in Slovakia it matters the most. When it comes to long term orientation, my personality traits are inclined more towards my country of origin that is china. I prefer to maintain a time honored traditions as well as norms. However, I also prefer to welcome new changes that are beneficial for the society. Finally, when it comes to indulgence, I like to maintain the work-life balance.
The common and divergent aspects of the institutional environments
There exist a good number of common as well as divergent aspects associated with the institutional environment between La Trobe University and the University of Presov. the university of Presov ranks 8th when it comes to studying dental health. In both the universities the oral health course is for 3 years. Not only this, the aim of both the college is similar to the role of dental hygienists that includes health promotion, diagnosis, and periodontal maintenance and treatment. However, some minor differences in the course of study can be evident. For instance, in the La Trobe University, beside dentists other professional courses are available that includes oral health therapist, dental therapist as well as a dental hygienist (3). However, when it comes to the University of Presov, the only professional oral health course available apart from the dentist course includes the mental hygiene course. Apart from this, the syllabuses of the courses are almost the same in both the universities (2). However, while La Trobe universities bachelor of oral health science focuses on intra professional education, the management of Presov University focuses specifically on the two courses associated with dental hygiene.
According to the researchers, the scope of practice of dental hygienists in Slovakia is increasing with time. Considering the fact that oral hygiene has become a major concern for the government due to the increasing number of oral hygiene issues amongst the residents of the nation, the healthcare homes are welcoming oral health practitioners in order to enhance and strengthen the workforce. At the same time, they put a stronger emphasis on educating the legislation in order to ensure that the graduate clinicians are clear about their scope of practice and when to make a referral (7).
The unique and common aspects of the profession and professional setting
Like Australia, Slokovakia also possesses the potential to provide huge opportunities for oral health care services like dentists. However, if compared to the scope of a variety of professions associated with oral health care, in Slovakia, only two types of oral professions are a practice that includes dentists and dental hygienists (6). The concept of an oral health therapist is not there in the nation. Currently, the health insurance companies in Slovakia do not provide any health insurance associated with the same. in spite of the act that the importance of oral hygiene is increasing in the nation due to the enhanced number of oral issues faced by the residents, no specific oral insurance has been offered to the same by the government.
In contrary, a good number of dental insurance in Australia is covered by a good number of health insurance organizations. Children from 2 to 17 years under Child Dental Benefits schedule have been provided with 1000 dollars for dental treatments from Medicare which includes regular checkups as well as other necessary treatments. According to researchers, there exists an effective relationship between the economic status between a nation and its oral health condition. The literacy rate of Slovakia is as high as 99.6 percent (7). However, the country is the second poorest amongst Euro zone. access to healthcare service is limited and dentists prefer to work in urban areas. It is highly crucial for neighbors of the nation like Czechia, Poland, Austria and Ukraine to enhance the economic condition of the nation implementing different strategies.
Summary
From the above discussion, it can be concluded that culture is a dynamic and complex aspect is changing on a constant basis. The culture of the three nations that is China, Australia, Slovakia has been compared by using 6 dimensions power distance, individualism, masculinity, uncertainty avoidance, long term orientation, and indulgence. Having a bicultural identity, my characteristic displayed alignment with both Australian and Chinese scores in six dimensions.
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