June 7-13, 2010United Kingdom Edition T his is the first in a series of articles on dental prac- tice management in the changing clinical and commer- cial environment dentistry oper- ates in today. So you’ve done the rotas, checked the lab work is in, booked a temp because the nurse in Room 1 called in sick again (third time this month? Roll on her next appraisal!). The dentist in Room 2 is stressing because his 9am patient is in the chair and he has no idea how to switch the PC on let alone find the BPE probe – that’s because the hygi- enist was in yesterday and they all seem to end up in her room..., you had to send his nurse down to sort out the stock that has just arrived, otherwise she would have found them by now. The phones are ringing off the hook – that’s good, phones bring in revenue you think fleetingly, and you’ve got two big treatment plans that you are hoping will go ahead soon, thanks to the fan- tastic presentations you made to the patients last week. You make a mental note to call them today and just as you settle down to open all the mail, the boss comes in bright as a pin with yet anoth- er new light bulb idea. “Could you research websites today, because everyone says we ought to have one... and by the way did you look at that CQC article, and have you sort- ed out our clinical governance stuff to check if we will be com- pliant? After all we did buy a disc when I went on that course a few weeks ago...” Should you 1. Pull your hair out? 2. Smile sweetly and say “no problem” for the next hour? 3. Put your headphones on and escape for a coffee? 4. Decide that something’s got to change? Action Plan Changing the boss is not an op- tion. All bosses go on courses and come back with millions of ide- as, then hope their practice man- agers can wave a wand to make them happen. Changing your job is not an option. You actually love your job and thrive on the day to day twisting and turning that goes on in practice manage- ment. No two days are the same, but a little less fire fighting and a little more time to plan would be a godsend... a little more money would not go amiss either! You know you would make it back for the practice. Alarmingly, your job descrip- tion will grow next year with Care Quality Commission regis- tration. It’s all very well that boss bought a disc, but wouldn’t it be great if someone could help you go through it? Revenue generation will also get harder with the economic sit- uation. Less people seemed to be buying expensive plans recent- ly... now with the announced cuts in public spending who knows what will happen in the NHS. Your ultimate task is to ensure the practice is profitable, runs smoothly and grows or stays steady at a size that the boss is happy with...but each new challenge seems to drop revenue or add cost these days. Just look at the new infec- tion control guidance and the time that wash- er disinfector takes! Develop yourself Every hour of your working day is taken. You can’t work any harder, but you can certainly work smart- er. You understand dentistry, you’ve risen through the ranks in the practice and you have learnt on the job – that makes you an “industry expert”. However, unless you’ve had formal management train- ing, experience is a good tutor but it can be hit and miss and therefore expensive in terms of the mistakes that can be made. “Core CPD” may be good enough for nurses, but a prac- tice manager (a practice owner for that matter) needs more of the right training to keep pace with the changing world of dentistry. Email the author at seema.sharma@dentabyte.co.uk for a job description for the practice manager of the future, then set about developing your skill set so that you are tommor- rows’ practice manager. There is plenty of time and as your knowledge will translate into an increased bottom line and a stress-free practice, your boss will be happy! DT Asks Seema Sharma Tomorrows’ Practice Manager – Dentistry is changing, are you? About the author Seema Sharma quali- fied as a dentist but gave up clinical work after 10 years in prac- tice to go into full time practice management. Today she runs three practices, including one which is one of 30 na- tional Steele Pilots. Seema established Dentabyte Ltd to provide affordable “real-world” practice management programmes to help practice manag- ers and practice owners keep pace with the changing clinical and commercial environment facing them today. Visit www.Dentabyte.co.uk to register for updates on practice management or email Seema at seema.sharma@denta- byte.co.uk to find out more. ‘No two days are the same, but a little less fire fighting and a little more time to plan would be a godsend... a little more money would not go amiss either!’ Connecting all aspects of running the practice takes time