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 NEWSLETTER    September, 2009

TIP: Club or Association meeting

Assign one person to be the room "comfort monitor" and introduce that person to the group.  This person will monitor the room temperature, seating issues, and water station or refreshment matters.  When the audience knows that you're thinking about these issues they'll feel positively about your group.  When briefly introduced to the group, attendees will feel confident that there's someone to voice their concerns to. This needs to be someone who is attentive to the needs of others, has good interpersonal skills and can get things done!

ADA Meeting in Honolulu

I'm looking forward to speaking at the ADA meeting in Honolulu this month.  This is the 6th time I'll speak at the ADA Annual Session, and the 2nd time I'll speak for them in Hawaii.  This time, however, we're making it part of a vacation and I'm really looking forward to that!  The two topics I'll present are :

 

  • Managing Maalox Moments Confidently and Assertively (Friday)
  • How to Build a Cohesive Team: Understanding and Managing the 5 Dysfunctions of a Team (Saturday)

 

These are both VERY interactive programs so these are sure to be lively sessions.

 

If you'll be at the meeting, please stop by to say hello.

Maalox Moments & Assertiveness

Are you uncomfortable being assertive?  Do you hesitate to speak up in meetings to voice your opinions?  Do you go along with whatever the rest of the group says? 

 

There's often great discomfort with the idea of being assertive, particularly in challenging situations.  It's not just in dentistry, though the dental profession certainly has its share of people resistant to addressing issues forthrightly ... whether that's with patients or colleagues. In dentistry far more people place themselves at the passive end of the scale than at the aggressive end of the scale.  Neither end is effective when it comes to interpersonal transactions! Assertive behavior sits nicely in the middle.  The key is that assertive communication  respects the rights of others AND yourself at the same time. 

 

If you consistently find yourself withholding your opinions or your ideas, ask youself if you are being as respectful of yourself as you are of others.  There's an important balance to be maintained here!

 

This issue is a major one in the seminar: Managing Maalox Moments Confidently and Assertively.  The exciting part of this presentation is the interactive element when we role play and practice developing new assertive skills. It is these skills that help team members deal with team mates and patient challenges!

 

Learn more about this program here.

What to do during "down" times

There's no better time to do staff training than now.  Invest in your practice and in your team. When we're in "busy" time again, you won't have this opportunity.  Show staff you're proactive,  build their confidence in the practice and help them fine-tune skills so they can better handle the challenges to come!  If you are considering cross-training, this is the perfect time to do this!

HOW TO HANDLE:
Pesky Patients & Cell phones

So, they're driving you nuts with the cell phones in treatment rooms?!  No, you can't wrestle it from their grip when it rings!  But you do have a right to maintain the environment of your own work area!

 

Take charge in a patient-friendly way. Signs alone will not do it.  If you rely on a sign you are being passive and you hope the patient will take heed.  A sign means very ittle to cell phone offenders ... if they even see the sign.  You hope  they'll pay attention to the sign, so that you don't have to verbally address the offense.  If you've had it with the frustration of this situation you can not be passive.  This won't get better by itself. It takes training your patients, one at a time, as to what is acceptable in your office.  

 

Remember that famous scene In the movie, "Network" that had one of the actors in complete frustration throwing his head out the window and screaming, "I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it any more." Don't let the aggravation build up to that point! You are in charge!

 

Here's the scenario: The patient is about to be seated.  Before the patient gets settled in the chair, the assistant pauses, looks the patient right in the eyes, places a hand on the shoulder or arm and says (in a vocal tone that's friendly but confident), "We ask that all patients turn off their cell phones when they're in the treatment rooms. It's appreciated by everyone including other patients and it enables us to do our jobs better for you.  So would you take just a moment now to turn your phone off or put it on vibrate and then we'll get started." This moment is very key as the assistant pauses before turning to do something else.  The more dominant the patient is, the more important this moment is! 

 

What if the patient says, "I'm expecting an important call from my child!"  Respond with, "We'll be very happy to hold your phone at the front desk and have it answered if it rings." Alternatively, you may say, "We'll be happy to take a message if your phone rings."

 

This may sound very daunting to deal with face-to-face, but it's a respectful way of handling a frustrating situation and maintaining respect for yourself in the process. Patients who are aware will understand and probably continue the conversation about their own frustrations with inconsiderate cell phone users. 

 

It's likely that you'll only have to do this once or twice with a patient and you won't have to deal with it again with that person.

 

Role play this with all team members until they feel comfortable with it.  Find the way of saying this that is natural for you all.  The more you do it, the less intimidating it will be!

TIP: Office TEAM meeting

At the close of your team meeting, go around the room and ask staff to recap what was discussed or decided in the meeting - what are they going to do or what changes were addressed.  This can uncover a LOT of misunderstandings.  However, your approach must be open and non-judgmental, "OK, let's ensure we're all understanding this in the same way, and if you disagree or if you think we decided on something else, this is the time to speak up!"

 

For more tips on this topic, see these articles:

 

Create the Effective Team Brainstorm Process

 

Create the "Safe Environment" for Team Discussion

Overheard by the MYSTERY PATIENT

I was conducting a mystery patient visit to a dental practice I'd heard great things about.  In reception I sat near the counter to hear how the phones were handled. 

 

The receptionist was making confirmation calls for the next day.  The patient she'd reached said she couldn't make her appointment and she asked to reschedule. None of the patient's desired dates was available.  The receptionist offered, "We'll put you on the short list for next week ... we get lots of cancellations and I'm sure we can get you in."

 

My thoughts:

The patient that called learned it's easy for the office to accommodate the last minute issues of the patient. The receptionist's cavalier vocal tone and attitude depreciated the value of the appointment.  At the same time, the receptionist said a lot of people ARE cancelling - this is NOT a good thing to say to patients!  It could place thoughts of concern in the patient's mind about WHY so many patients are cancelling. I had concerns about how the schedule was being managed or mis-managed. Far better to have said something like, "Oh, my, our schedule is tight with students getting ready to go back to school. I wish I could find something for you, I'll need to call you back after I look into this. What time can I reach you tomorrow."  Then call back and offer to put patient on "short list" WITHOUT saying lots of patients are cancelling!  Be accommodating without enabling this behavior in the patient.  It's also important for patients who are in earshot to get this same message!

 

Your office:

Take this example in to your next team meeting and ask team members (non-clinical AND clinical staff) how they would handle this situation.  Consider how their responses sound to patients sitting in reception and in earshot of phone conversations.

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