2017 New Grad Edition - 59

Taking the side of the team against the senior dentist
or management may make you feel accepted by staff
at the time, but long term, I guarantee you'll lose the
respect of the team.
At all times, you are a doctor. That doesn't change,
regardless of which point you're at in your career-even
if you're an employee of the practice who works just one
day a week. You always walk a fine line with the team.
To earn respect, offer it-but don't feel obligated to
become "one of them," because you're not.

How to instill (and reap the benefits of)
valuable meetings and communications
I'm a great believer in the benefits of a fiveminute meeting every morning. A quick analysis of the
day's schedule ensures everyone is on the same page and
allows any potential problems to be identified. If a doctor
works a different schedule and isn't able to attend this
meeting, a key management tool is compromised, so
doctors who arrive after the morning meeting should
check in with the scheduling coordinator to be brought
up to speed with last-minute changes or issues.
Successful practices also schedule monthly meetings,
where participants are encouraged to identify aspects of
management and policies that are working well. This
type of meeting is great for morale and promotes team
participation. More importantly, the meeting gives
people the opportunity to identify an issue early and
offers the team the ability to solve problems before they
grow to become a major issues. Participation in these
meetings is essential, although they're are not a venue
for doctor-to-doctor disagreements; such discussions
should be conducted privately.
If you're working as an associate in a practice that
holds staff meetings only when there's a problem, you
have two options: address the shortcomings of the
current system and propose meetings and morning
huddles, or accept the reactive management approach
and live with the consequences.
In larger practices, there should be separate meetings
for clinical and administrative departments, scheduled
to increase efficiency within each department.
I urge every practice with multiple dentists to conduct
weekly and monthly doctor-only meetings, with an
agenda created and minutes recorded. It's imperative
that the team perceives the doctors as working in unison.
Again, if you're working in a practice where there's no
cohesiveness between the dentists, you have the choice
of either putting your head down and soldiering on,
or trying to help management change its approach to
doctor/staff communication.

Avoid having these interactions
with the team in the front office
Doctors do not belong at the front desk. This rule
applies to all doctors, but especially to new associates;
there's not one good reason for them to interrupt the
flow of business. Feel comfortable to walk your patient
down to the front desk area, but release the patient by
saying, "Mary, I'm going to give you over to Jenny now,
who will take care of all your clinical and management
needs. If you have any questions, do please let us know."
Nothing will upset administrative team members-
and, in time, turn them against you-more than a dentist
who hangs around the front desk asking questions.
Here's a list of more no-nos when it comes to talking
to the business staff:
* Don't check the schedule to see if the next patient
has arrived.
* Don't ask whether the last patient paid in full.
* Don't ask if a new patient from yesterday agreed
to treatment.
* Don't ask when a certain patient is coming back
for the next visit.
* Don't ask any insurance-related question about a
patient.
Finally, let me conclude the article with some advice
about the best way to communicate with other doctors
and the staff. If there's something you want to follow
up about later, write down those thoughts, frustrations,
ideas or questions. Maybe you keep a notebook in your
pocket, or create a voice memo in your phone. Then
present those thoughts later, in private: There are no
benefits to interrupting people during their busy day,
and if patients are present such action also would be
unprofessional.
An added benefit to this method is that it allows
you to capture a potential problem in its infancy, rather
than let it fester until it becomes unnecessary baggage. ■

Hear the author share
more practice insights
Practice management educator Jennifer
de St. Georges discusses why automatic
appointment reminders often backfire, how
successful dental practices marry marketing
and management, and much more in her
recent podcast with Dr. Howard Farran. To
listen, go to dentaltown.com/jennifer-pm.

dentaltown.com \\ NEW GRAD 2017

http://www.dentaltown.com/jennifer-pm http://www.dentaltown.com

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