Dental Tribune United Kingdom Edition

W hen you qualified from dental school they didn’t tell you about the stress some of you would face. They didn’t tell you about the high suicide rate. They didn’t warn you about the tread- mill, about burnout and about how dealing with Bureaucrats can sometimes feel like bashing your head against a wall. Of course many of you qualified years ago, before the UK became one of the most litigious countries in the world. And all of a sudden you wake up one morning with the stark realisation that the equa- tion has changed. And yet there are many of us who still love our dentistry. We treat and employ great people. We love our jobs and we love our lives, and the natural chal- lenges that appear in the path of our lives only make us stronger. So where are you, right now? Do you see the CQC as an ex- cuse to up your game? Or do you see them as an all powerful Ogre stalking the realm of the Dental folk? Do you do five min- ute check-ups, or do you spend the time you need to build rap- port with your patients? It’s never about the system. It’s how you react and work in the system. It’s never about the situation; it’s how you react to the situation. You might feel you are in a dark place right now, over- burdened with regulation, hit financially by the recession, your work suffering from self- doubt or disillusion. And what you need to remember is that it’s often in your darkest mo- ments that your true character emerges. There can be no light without the dark, and even the bleakest winter is always fol- lowed by summer. Life’s great- est opportunities usually come wrapped up in what seem like impossible situations. Trust me, I know. Of course, sometimes we need a little help. Recently 30 of some of the top names in UK dentistry came together to col- laborate in a book called “Mes- sages from Dental masters”. In this book are 30 never before seen articles, ranging from ad- vice to stories of self discovery. They have agreed to share their knowledge on how dentists can improve their working lives. The book contains such well- known names as: Chris Barrow Ellis Paul Paul Tipton John Renshaw Kevin Lewis Barry Oulton Raj Rattan Sheila Scott Amarjit Gill And many more....... There is another reason for the book of course. 40 per cent of all profits will be split equally between the BDA Benevolant Fund and the Dentist health Support Trust. Want to know more? Visit www.GDPResourc- es.com today DT It wasn’t supposed to be like this A record-breaking 72 dental practice manag- ers and dentists have achieved an Institute of Lead- ership and Management quali- fication with UMD Professional Ltd in 2011. The successful candidates all achieved a qualification awarded by the ILM, either through attending a workshop– based course or studying via distance learning. They will be presented their certificates at a ceremony in London in Janu- ary 2012. These exceptional results highlight the continued success of UMD Professional in provid- ing effective business and man- agement training for dentists and managers. Fiona Stuart-Wilson, Direc- tor of UMD Professional said: “We are delighted to be cel- ebrating the achievements of all those who have worked so hard for their qualifications, and congratulate everyone on their success. The high number of candi- dates this year demonstrates the increasing importance that managers and dentists place on having a management qualifi- cation and the benefits that this brings to their practices.” UMD Professional has more Level 5 and level 7 Diploma in Management regional work- shop programmes starting in the New Year, and continues to offer a distance learning option for those studying for the Level 3 and Level 5 qualifications. A limited number of grants are still available for the Level 5 and Level 7 Diploma cours- es in some areas; for more information please contact Penny Parry at UMD Profes- sional on 020 8255 2070 or by email: penny@umdprofession- al.co.uk. DT Managers achieve ILM management qualification M any GDPs lack confi- dence in their ability to provide good quality endodontics and would love the opportunity to be more proficient in their ability to save teeth and offer consistently high standards of endodontics to their patients. With this in mind, Dr Richard Kahan (former Eastman CPD Endodontic Course Director), recently launched a mentoring programme of GDPs so that they can improve their skills at a spe- cialist practice and really enjoy their endodontics. Only eight places are availa- ble on the programme and appli- cations are now being invited via www.endoacademy.co.uk You’ll have to be quick though – the closing date is 31st January. DT Endo course A mid much anticipation Sirona Dental Systems recently opened the doors to the brand new Centre of Excellence, training facility, showroom and offices, based close to Heathrow with easy rail and road links. Terry Patuzzo Sirona’s MD explained what a huge step for- ward this is for the company to show their range of equipment including Sinius Treatment Centres, digital x-ray, CEREC and hygiene systems, in work- ing order to enable training and product demonstrations as well as lectures and hands-on cours- es for dental surgeons and their staff at the bright, airy Centre of Excellence. The Company are actively encouraging dentists to visit this new facility, whether they are new or existing cus- tomers, to broaden the pro- fessions’ knowledge of Sirona Dental Systems innovations and solutions. During the opening cer- emony the delegates had the opportunity to listen to Dr Quin- tus Germishuys a London prac- titioner who explained how Sirona has helped to grow his practice. He believes that Si- rona has changed the way that he practices dentistry through their innovative products and made reference to the future of dentistry being digital. The President of the BDTA, Mr Tony Reed, made the point that member companies are subject to quality control and that it’s important for dentists to look carefully at dental com- panies before investing to en- sure that the company and the service it provides are up to scratch. Sirona is a company that certainly passes rigourous testing. Jeffrey Slovin, President of Sirona Dental Systems and Thomas Scherer Vice President explained how the company are continuing to invest despite the economic times with a stagger- ing 6 per cent of the company’s revenue invested in R & D. They feel that the UK is an important market for Sirona and congratu- lated Terry and his team on the opening of the Centre of Excel- lence in the UK. DT We had a good day. With Sirona The new centre of excellence T he release of important health data will stimulate medical research and en- able patients to take informed decisions about their care, the De- partment of Health has said. As outlined in the Chancellor’s Growth Review, new world-first data services will help to drive improvements in care. The UK is uniquely placed as being one of the few countries to have a universal ‘cradle to grave’ health system boasting some of the most detailed, anonymised informa- tion on patients. The UK has the potential to lead the world as a location for data-enabled health research, with direct benefit to patients, via the Clinical Practice Research Datalink. For the first time services pro- vided by the NHS Information Centre for Health and Social Care will link datasets from GP and hospital care, providing health service, pharmaceutical indus- try, academics and other profes- sionals with unequalled levels of information about the journeys of patients through the care sys- tem and the outcomes of different treatments. Alongside this boost to medi- cal research, patients will be able to see new data on GP perfor- mance on NHS Choices website this December, helping them make informed choices about their healthcare. Further data on GP prescribing will be published which information providers can use to inform patients, support- ing them as they make decisions about their own care. DT Research and patient empowerment December 12-18, 20116 News United Kingdom Edition