DTUK1710

BDTA members comply with a strict Code of Practice which means they are committed to providing you with superior standards of service and support, the highest quality products and the most innovative services. This gives you peace of mind, saves you time and helps you to deliver the best in patient care. For a full list of BDTA member companies visit www.bdta.org.uk or telephone +44 (0) 1494 782873 for the latest copy of the members directory. British Dental Trade Association Mineral Lane, Chesham Bucks HP5 1NL Tel: 01494 782873 e-mail: admin@bdta.org.uk www.bdta.org.uk The British Dental Trade Association The BDTA represents over 130 companies who supply you with all you need to run your practice efficiently. Practice Team Advert A4 4/3/10 08:25 Page 1 are not worth having as a patient. • Don’t try to cater to them. Appeasing difficult people can feed their insatiable ap- petite for more. It can lead to what we call a “black- hole client” who will suck all your energy during their visits for very little return. (I bet you are thinking of one now!) • Don’t fight back or try to beat them at their own games. They have been prac- ticing their skills for a life- time, and you’re an amateur. Sometimes not responding at all and changing the subject can work very well with this. Finally and most impor- tantly I think: • Don’t try to change them. You can only change your responses to their behav- iour. While a patient is going through the motions, they will not be responsive to any attempts to change their behaviour. We have to guide them to a state of awareness of a need to change before we can begin to introduce choices for them. Dealing with overly aggressive people Thankfully this is not a daily occurrence in most practices, but it is very unpleasant for those facing it. Abuse of staff should not be tolerated and the principal should always side with their staff in this situation. The best solution, however, is to avoid the con- frontation completely. Stand up to them, but don’t fight. Overly aggressive peo- ple expect others to either run away from them or react with rage. Your goal is simply to assertively express your own views, not try to win a battle of right and wrong. First, wait for the person to run out of some steam. Some- timeswritingdowntheircom- plaint is a good way of defus- ingthem.Thencalltheperson by name and assert your own opinions with confidence. There are many other types of negative behaviour that we can stop with good patient-management skills. It is helpful to go on courses from time to time to enable us to deal effectively with this type of issue and it improves our complaints-handling skills if we are all aware of how we deal with certain sit- uations. Ursula Markham’s book How to Deal with Dif- ficult People is great. You could read it and discuss it as a group, with clear outcomes and a chance to feedback. What’s more, you will have completed verifiable CPD, as well as making your working environment easier. So, next time you look at your day list and see a name that makes you groan, think of how you can break the cycle, so they do not get the result they desire, which stops the behaviour that can be so draining. Go on; give it a go – it just might make your day. DT About the author Mhari Coxon is a dental hygienist practising in Cen- tral London. She is chairman of the London British So- ciety of Dental Hy- giene and Therapy (BSDHT) regional group and is on the publications com- mittee of its journal, Dental Health. She is also clinical director of CPDforDCP, which provides CPD courses for all DCPs. To contact her, email mhari. coxon@cpdfordcp.co.uk. Finding the right path to help more difficult patients 25DCPsJune 28-July 4, 2010United Kingdom Edition