The Team that Learns Together … Succeeds Together!

Continuing education is a necessity for any dental practice. Are you reaping the benefits as a team?

As an office manager, there is nothing more frustrating than when the doctor attends a continuing education course and returns ready to go and expects you to know how to bring the rest of the team up to speed. He or she hands you a printout of some PowerPoint slides with their notes scribbled in the margin and they tell you that effective immediately, we’re implementing this into the practice. 99% of the time, the new system fails. It fails because the team wasn’t at the course. They did not get the comprehensive training that the doctor did. It’s unfair and confusing to the team to be expected to know how to implement a new product, technique or system without being given the proper training to do so.

Continuing education isn’t just learning. It can be used for a number of positive aspects including team building. Plan an entertaining night out after the course. Some teams plan dinners at trendy restaurants, concerts, bowling, ball games, etc. Make the events surrounding the course so much fun that your team can’t wait to take another one. Everyone will return to the practice refreshed and ready to get the ball rolling on what they learned.

Another benefit of the team approach to continuing education is marketing. Take lots of pictures of your team learning together at these courses. Post them to your website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other social media sites. Brag to your patients that your team is always on top of the latest trends in dentistry. Patients will be extremely impressed by the amount of education and training that your team has. It’s a win-win situation.

Continuing education can be costly. Make sure you get the most out of it, by ensuring that your team is educated for success!

About Post Author

Angela Donovan

Angela Donovan is a Certified Dental Practice Management Administrator through the Dental Assisting National Board. She has over 20 years of dental practice administrative experience. Currently, she is the office manager for Harbor Cove Dental in Gloucester, MA. She is the President and Founder of the New England Dental Office Managers Study Group. She serves as a committee member for Delta Dental of Massachusetts Office Managers Advisory Council (OMAC) and DenteMax OMAC. She is also an active member of the Association of Dental Implant Auxiliaries. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her husband, Dennis and their dog, Millie.