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Dr. Ron’s BLOG Challenge

My client called late in the day explaining how irritated he was with his hygienist. She had just spent from 4:30 pm to nearly 7 pm (two and a half hours) doing two simple cleanings, taking a set of bitwings and a panorex, with no concept of overhead or productivity and what it cost to keep her for 2.5 hours. To make matters worse she was currently (at the time my client called me) in the treatment room with a male patient who was flirting with her (she’s single) and…she was returning his advances. To make this more irritating to my client, these late in the day appointment times are prescious and when the 6 pm patient FAILED her appointment the hygienist simply extended the visit with “idle chit chat” with her male friend. The doctor was inflamed as he felt she had no appreciation for the cost of delivering care and the expense of failed time not put to good use. He was ready to….oh, you know….scream. What advise do you have to share with my client?

Dr. Ron, THE DENTAL COACH

Dr. Ron is the only Master Certified Dental Coach (MCC) on the planet. He has blended 20 years of clinical dental practice with executive roles in financial planning and investment management along his graduate business training to provide his clients with the tools, support, and accountability to accomplish more. About Dr. Ron, "I count you as one of life’s best finds", says Dr. Gary Imm of Reisterstown, Maryland. He has authored many articles; manuals; ThinBooks ^tm; TeleClasses and if you visit http://www.drarndt.com you can receive one of his FREE reports, "9 Painful Mistakes Dentists Make in the Hiring Process"

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4 Responses to “Dr. Ron’s BLOG Challenge”

1. Dr Mike Says:
   October 31st, 2006 at 1:46 pm

   Put her on commission and she will speed up considerably or it will be much easier for you to swallow her slow pace. She may work at a slower pace because she enjoys it (as one of my hygienist) but with a different pay structure, you and she may find a happy medium.

2. Fred S. Hecht Says:
   October 31st, 2006 at 3:43 pm

   Put her on a % of collections. Do i win the key to the Jaguar or what. Next concern Fred

3. Dr Matt Says:
   October 31st, 2006 at 10:09 pm

   Schedule better so patients show up for the coveted appt times.. Have her do recall if patient fails the appt. Evening is an excellent time to reach patients.

4. Linda Zdanowicz Says:
   November 4th, 2006 at 6:03 am

   Hi Dr. Ron, Does your client state his expectations clearly to the hygienist or does he sit and seethe and rant to you later? I find that people will live up or down to your expectation of them. We once had a hygienist that would leave the office to go home at 3:30 if she had no other pts. for the day, all the while expecting to be paid till 5:20 like the rest of us who were actually working. In her eyes she came to work to clean teeth, period. Now that I manage the office I have a list of downtime chores, I have taught the hygienists some basic lab work and they are also encouraged to use the internet to research new products and topics. They are also expected to give a hygiene report at our monthly staff meetings on what they find out. There is room for abuse there but I think they feel more personally accountable because they know they are looked at as part of the team. They are also expected to help assist with crown cements if I need them to. They will set up and clean up treatment rooms as well. When you make hygienists feel like part of a team where everyone has equal value, they live up to that, in my experience. Also, what your client sees as flirting may actually be good PR. Let’s face it, he wouldn’t have liked it any better if she just dismissed him and sat around reading People magazine.
   Linda

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