Why is it that only 6-10% of dentists can retire at age 60 and enjoy the same lifestyle they had when they were practicing?

Why do a majority of dentists believe staff management is their biggest headache and the main reason they would quit dentistry?

These are troubling questions. Do you fall into either of these groups?  Here is a quiz to help you decide.
How do you handle these situations?

1. A patient complains to your secretary that she had to wait 20minutes to be seen and your secretary mumbles something and tells her it shouldn’t be much longer.
2. You want to start a Soft Tissue Management Program.
3. You hold huddles because you read it’s a good idea, but you end up preaching to blank stares for 15 minutes.
4. You need your secretaries to handle phone conversations professionally, your assistants to learn new skills, and your hygienists to motivate more dental treatment.
5. You attend a great conference and return with 5 new ideas you want to implement.  How many are in place 6 months later?

These are pretty basic concerns, but what about tougher problems?

1. Developing your leadership skills
2. Setting your practices direction with a vision, mission and strategic plan
3. Writing a policy manual
4. Hiring, training, managing, and disciplining staff
5. Knowing the difference between giving and earning raises for staff
6. Fully utilizing your dental software program
7. How to choose and implement a comprehensive staff benefit package
8. Developing a marketing plan
9. Hiring an associate
10. You’ve practiced 5-10 years and your still in debt

Many dentists still believe that “quality” dentistry and aggressive selling of esthetics and crown/bridge will lead to economic success and personal satisfaction.  These days are gone (if they ever existed).  Dentistry has grown in complexity beyond the ability of dentists to manage their practices in their “spare time.”

In the past, a rigid “just do what I want” (whether I tell you or not) was the dentists’ way.  The new generation of staff is not satisfied with a pay check.  They want to provide meaning to their lives, a sense of belonging to a quality practice, focused on empathetic relationships, where there is some fun in the day and spiritual fulfillment.
           
As dentists, we’ll never be able to pay “top dollar” to hire the best and brightest.  We’ll have to be satisfied with housewives, young unmarried women, and those searching for a meaningful career.  However, great books/movies are made about the “coach” who gets a group of average people to accept his vision, believe in themselves, set common goals and as a team reach amazing goals.

If you don’t think you can be the “coach” then look for someone who can or thinks she can.  Walt Disney was famous for growing their own executives who started as ticket takers.  You can do the same over a 2-3 year period.  The manuals will show you how.

Finally, here are themes that these manuals are based on:

1. Dentistry is purchased with discretionary dollars.
2. The more responsibility your staff assumes toward their careers, the more responsibility your clients will assume toward their dental health.
3. A coach builds self-esteem.
4. A dentist’s goals are met by effectively helping others achieve their goals.

PHP offers you a comprehensive written approach to solve these problems and many more.  In fact, there are over 4,000 pages that provide “The HealthPark Way” to solve all these problems.  Better than just a solution, each solution to a particular problem fits into the overall direction provided by our vision and mission.

Our manual system is as different from hiring a management consultant as preventive dentistry differs from drill/fill.  The purpose of these manuals is to help you set up systems that will avoid major problems.  Rather than pay a consultant to set up his program and tell your staff what you’re not comfortable telling them yourself- adapt HealthPark’s training manuals into your style of practice.

So what makes HealthPark so special that they think they can help me?  These manuals were written by Dr. Chuck Smith (Click here for his CV).