Designate a special training day. An excellent way to keep your team’s skills up to date is by clearing a day on the practice schedule and devoting it to training sessions. The doctor and staff should …
Institute procedural time studies.
Institute procedural time studies. Pediatric dentists and team members often have a false impression of how long procedures take. They need to better understand the length of time that each treatment …
Acknowledge your fellow team members.
Acknowledge your fellow team members. Surprise your co-workers by leaving a silly, fun, or inspiring note anonymously for them at the end of the day. When they come in the next morning and discover …
Continue Reading about Acknowledge your fellow team members. →
Script every patient interaction.
Script every patient interaction. Scripting helps doctors and team members communicate more effectively with patients. As in sports, working from the same “playbook” builds team unity. Scripting …
Advice for the Surgical Specialist – Assign responsibility for each target.
Advice for the Surgical Specialist – Assign responsibility for each target. Every target must be “owned” by the doctor or a staff member. Practice leaders shoulder ultimate responsibility for practice …
Continue Reading about Advice for the Surgical Specialist – Assign responsibility for each target. →
If you find a certain administrative process frustrating, figure out how to change it.
If you find a certain administrative process frustrating, figure out how to change it. Even the best management systems develop bottlenecks. If you run into a snag in your work, think about why it’s …
Advice for the Front Desk Team – Help patients with their insurance.
Advice for the Front Desk Team – Help patients with their insurance. Dental insurance coverage is a source of anxiety for many people. Anything you can do to alleviate that anxiety is a win for the …
Continue Reading about Advice for the Front Desk Team – Help patients with their insurance. →
Ask patients for feedback.
Ask patients for feedback. Many surgical specialists and teams have only a vague notion of how patients truly feel about their practices. Without specific data, patient satisfaction is difficult to …
Advice for the Surgical Specialist – Have lunch with a team member.
Advice for the Surgical Specialist – Have lunch with a team member. To learn more about your staff members and to give them a better sense of what motivates you, meet with them individually to share a …
Continue Reading about Advice for the Surgical Specialist – Have lunch with a team member. →
Give encouragement and compliments to patients.
Give encouragement and compliments to patients. If patients are doing a great job sitting still for a lengthy procedure, compliment them. They’ll appreciate it and feel better about the appointment. …
Continue Reading about Give encouragement and compliments to patients. →
To reduce stress, root out the cause: management system bottlenecks.
To reduce stress, root out the cause: management system bottlenecks. Days at a surgical practice can be stressful… especially if the systems the team relies on are outdated. As bottlenecks build up, …
Continue Reading about To reduce stress, root out the cause: management system bottlenecks. →
Work with other team members for smoother “hand-offs.”
Work with other team members for smoother “hand-offs.” Usually, where your work ends, someone else’s begins. These “hand-offs”—when patients, tasks or procedures are transferred to other staff …
Continue Reading about Work with other team members for smoother “hand-offs.” →
