TRAINING FOR SUCCESS IN TESTING TIMES
2020 has proven to be a humbling year for even the best of us. The unprecedented changes around us have made practicing dentistry extremely challenging and the situation that we find ourselves in is to make a choice of how we define ourselves as a team and a clinic going forward and how we plan to find our way back.
Here are some sure fire ways to get you on your road to recovery
The ability of the dental assistant to anticipate the needs of the dentist in any procedure and ensure that he or she has everything organized to reduce the response time and makes it stand out as compared to a mediocre practice. This allows an office to increase its speed in treating patients without compromising the quality of care.
1) FINANCIAL PLANNING
Take a stock check of your cash flow your outgoing and your overheads. Assess the damage to be able to remedy it. This is not an easy task but it will determine how everything else will play out from here on. If you know your new treatment rates, your investment in newer equipment and your reserve funds these answers will all give you the clarity of how and when to go back.
2) SAFETY MEASURES
Safety is two-fold, addressing the needs of patients and the dental team. It is now redefined in protective barriers for all involved from the receptionist to the support staff and even patients have their own PPE to be worn during the entire journey of the dental appointment.
3) PATIENT COMMUNICATION
So much has changed for the dental patient and they may be absolutely clueless. Time to get the team to reach out to them, educate and build awareness so they continue to feel cared for and wanted in our practices.
4) STERILISATION UPGRADES
From buying new aerosol limiting equipment to upgrading barrier methods our clinics have gone through a makeover of sorts but we are only as good as our weakest link. One of the most important functions of a dental assistant is infection prevention and control.
The dental assistants handle sterilization and follow the correct protocols to ensure disinfection of tools and equipment which makes the patient feel safe and secure.
5) TEAM TRAINING & MOTIVATION
Dental assistants have varied responsibilities and the success of a clinic depends on how they deliver in every role. It’s important that they increase their knowledge through education, managing challenging opportunities, and enthusiasm to learn the “new normal”. Sometimes even despite good intentions they make grave mistakes due to the lack of a formalised training regime.
Having the right training and education a practice can maximize their effectiveness to be successful especially when the smallest mistake can have such dire consequences.
Average rating
