Dental Tribune United Kingdom Edition

Sirona Dental Systems, Lakeside House, 1 Furzeground Way, Stockley Park, Heathrow, London UB11 1BD sirona.com Brilliant imaging quality from Sirona. T h e D e n t a l C o m p a n y 0845 0715040 info@sironadental.co.uk With the ORTHOPHOS XG family you can achieve Highest level of Image quality for panoramic, cephalometric & 3D images Crystal clear 2D images due to caesium iodide scinitilator material Reduction of metal artifacts with innovative MARS software HD 3D-sensor and smaller field of view for endodontics Low noise and high contrast for a reliable diagnosis Easy patient positioning Guided surgery Enjoy every day. With Sirona. February 11-17, 2013United Kingdom Edition F irst and foremost how do you appoint a prac- tice manager? For many practice managers they have fallen into this role having been in a practice for a lengthy period of time, some do the work but are not named prac- tice manager and for others it is the total opposite – they do have the title, but only do a small part of this role. What is the role? This is a question that I am often asked by dentists considering ap- pointing a practice manager. I describe it to them as being “a practice manager takes all the administration away from you allowing you to focus simply on the clinical aspect”. For al- most all dentists the prospect of no administration is highly appealing, but to some it can be a daunting prospect. Some dentists actually enjoy doing the clinical all day and the ad- ministration in the evening… Release control Some dentists are not ready to release control to anoth- er member of the team. A small minority will have a member of their family doing administration for them e.g. wife/husband. I was a practice manager for several years in a small private practice in Glasgow. I managed a very small team of just four, with a patient list of approximately 600 patients; a large number of which were on a dental plan. This was a fairly easy team, but there were very limited prospects for both me and the team. I completed payroll, the hiring and disciplining of all staff, the writing and imple- menting of procedures, the training of staff, reconciling the income and expenditure, chairing all team meetings and appraising all dental nurses and hygienists. In comparison I have just completed several months of secondment to one of our practices in Thurso. A fully NHS practice with four den- tists and a therapist, we have more than 4000 patients (this practice opened in January 2012) and more than 1000 still on the waiting list. I managed a team of 22 and because I had a business manager to support me I found that the workload was halved. I didn’t do payroll, or reconciling of bank state- ments, or chair team meet- ings. I did however complete appraisals and for such a large team it is hard work. For anyone considering go- ing into practice management here are my top ten tips: 1 Remain positive – even when things are tough 2Reassure your team regu- larly 3 Praise them – I used to write articles about how great my team was 4Be open and honest with them and encourage feedback 5Have and instil into them an open door policy 6 Be ready to accept that not everyone will be on-board with any changes or the way that you do things 7 When embarking on change ask them for input – you never know they may have a unique suggestion 8 Never say no to some- thing without explaining your reasoning – this gains respect 9 Be sure to recruit the right team – it’s much better to spend time on the recruitment process rather than sorting a problem member of staff 10 Never panic or flap in front of them – keep this for behind a closed door! Try to enjoy your role Having a dental nurse back- ground is a huge advantage. Every practice manager should be able to explain what is required of their staff, if you don’t have the dental back- ground you can often struggle to get “buy-in” from the team. I have seen teams run rings around practice managers who do not have dental back- ground. A lot of practice managers suffer from stress as this can be a stressful role. It is crucial to be able to identify this early on and not become a victim. As someone I know says “you can be smiling on the outside and screaming on the inside”. DT Being a practice manager Jill Taylor’s top ten tips for being a practice manager About the author Jill Taylor is a qualified regis- tered dental nurse, dental radiogra- pher, trainer and practice manager. Jill is Seconded Member advising in Practice Man- agement and Re- ception for the British Association of Dental Nurses and the current presi- dent of the Association of Dental Ad- ministrators and Managers. Jill has worked in both private practice and NHS since 1994. Jill has also worked in the hotel industry and has a passion for excellent customer service. Jill has a vast array of experience from man- aging a small private practice with only four staff and less than 600 pa- tients to the opposite extreme state of the art, brand new NHS practice with a team of twenty-two with over 4000 patients (and another 2000 on the waiting list). Jill is currently em- ployed by The Dental Business Acad- emy as both a Practice Management Advisor and as Senior Practice Liaison for “SUSAN - The Practice Managers Best Friend” cloud based practice management system. Alongside this Jill is also involved in the mentorship of practices using SUSAN. ‘A lot of practice managers suffer from stress as this can be a stress- ful role. It is crucial to be able to iden- tify this early on and not become a victim’ Be sure not to end up like this Show your team you are like this