Dentaltown May 2013 - (Page 44)

dentaltown.com New Feature blog selection I Attended Your CE and All I Got Was This Crappy Notebook From the Dentaltown.com blog: The Average Dentist It would be fun to record the ups and downs of an “average” dentist and what we face on a day-to-day basis, not only with our patients but also in our dealings with the dental industry. Nathan Saydyk We all know how it goes, you pay thousands of dollars to attend a lecture or class, get really jazzed up about the stuff you learned, come home and never touch the material again. Six months later you find the spiral notebook they gave to you on the bottom of the pile of papers on your desk. You set it aside to look through but it takes another two weeks before you can sit down and take the time to look through it. At this point you can faintly remember that there was something important said that you wanted to remember but the notes you took all look like gibberish. You promise yourself you will look through it later and you put it back on your bookshelf next to all the other stuff you have never followed through on. One thing that I am rather good at is implementing things. I am a starter. I will give you some of the gems I have gleaned. First, take your team. Seriously, do you think you will have the time to teach the entire lecture with the same spirit and energy that the lecturer did? There is no way to anticipate the questions that the clinical and administrative team will ask. I am amazed at how much better things t go when my team joins me at classes. Second, have breakout sessions with your team during the meeting. The exciteInterested in sharing your thoughts on this ment of the meeting will get their creative juices flowing. Have them make notes on blog or have an idea for a post of your own? ideas and methods. Start to record what the steps for implementation might be. Check out Dentaltown’s new blog section at towniecentral.com/dentaltown/blogs Many times lecturers will have their team members at the meeting with them. Ask your team to talk with them and get answers to their nuts and bolts questions. Third, review the material. That night you should look over your notes and decipher your doctor scrawl on the margins. I like to make a list of key points. I also like to make a list of material to order and many times I will order it while at the meeting. Review the entire presentation at least twice in the next week. Seeing it three times makes you retain much more. Fourth, have a team meeting where each individual presents key points from the class. I like to make a PowerPoint presentation; a team member making the PowerPoint is even better. One team member should be the note taker. In the meeting make a plan for implementation as a team. Break it into steps and delegate to team members. Don’t forget to identify potential road blocks and how you will overcome them. Fifth, follow up on your plan and have a system to track your progress. Don’t get caught up with tracking the financial impact. While this is good, it is usually an end measure. Track something immediate. For example: If you want to do more Invisalign, track the number of people you mention Invisalign to each day and calculate the percentage of all your patients seen that day. The last thing, I always talk to my team about the concept of “beating gravity.” I learned this from Mercer Consultants and loved it. When a rocket goes into space, the majority of the energy is spent in the first few minutes as the rocket escapes the earth’s gravitational pull. A new project also requires a lot of energy at the start of the project. Don’t get discouraged when it takes longer or there are bumps in the road. Invest some time and energy as a team and don’t have another CE course full of great ideas relegated to the bottom shelf. n quantumhead Stoneridge Dental Gilbert, AZ Member Since: 04/07/2004 Posted: 3/26/2013 44 MAY 2013 » dentaltown.com http://www.dentaltown.com http://www.towniecentral.com/Dentaltown/Blogs.aspx?action=VIEWPOST&b=17&bp=26&v=1 http://www.towniecentral.com/dentaltown/blogs.aspx http://www.dentaltown.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Dentaltown May 2013

Dentaltown.com Highlights
Howard Speaks: Is Dentistry Getting Too Easy?
Professional Courtesy: High Tide for High Tech
Continuing Education Update
Industry News
Second Opinion: The Stainless-Steel Crown for Primary Molars
Special Second Opinion: Prevent a Tulsa Repeat
Simple Two-implant CT Guided Case
Does Your Staff Ask for Referrals?
Your 2013 Website Optimization Starts Today
I Attended Your CE and All I Got Was This Crappy Notebook
Dentaltown Research: CAD/CAM
New Products
DIY Finance, Part VI: Red Flags and Scams
Employee Working Interviews: They’re Legal, Aren’t They?
The Sleeping Giant in Your Practice
What’s on My Tray? Prep and Impression, Crown and Bridge
Continuing Education: Articaine and Paresthesia in Dental Anesthesia: Neurotoxicity or Procedural Trauma?
Concentric Circles Dentaltown’s annual focus on the charitable side of dentistry
All the Things Money Can’t Buy
Taking on Pro-bono Cases
Doing Good and Doing Well
Global Dental Relief
Giving Thanks, One Smile at a Time
Big Help on a Local Level
Oral Health America
You Should Know: Climb for a Cause
In This Issue: Where Should Prevention Begin?
Perio Reports
Ad Index
Profile in Oral Health Prada or Prevention: A Look at Public Health and Oral Health
Dentally Incorrect

Dentaltown May 2013