These days, the challenge for most dental practice managers is either that there is no official job description or that the role is poorly defined. When job descriptions do exist, there’s no consistency to them – they can range from brief one-pagers to seven pages long!
Of course, roles and responsibilities vary from dental practice to dental practice, depending on the size of the practice, the number of treatment rooms, whether it’s a solo or group practice, and other factors. But despite the confusion over roles and responsibilities, four primary pillars have emerged that are key for successful practice managers.
Business acumen is the ability to understand and manage the commercial side of your practice. It’s about knowing your production numbers –
not only which numbers to track, but also why to track them – and being able to make informed business decisions based on those numbers and the stories they tell. In today’s dental practices, such business acumen skills are increasingly sought-after.
Leading a practice and a team is a huge challenge. To succeed, it’s vital to set a clear vision for the practice together with the practice owner(s) and main practice stakeholders. Once you all define and agree on the vision, it’s important not to ‘set and forget’. You must also be the constant champion of that vision – delegating responsibilities, developing your team with training and support, and managing them to achieve this vision collectively.
The business of dentistry is
no longer just about having exceptional clinical skills; in that sense, dentistry is dentistry is dentistry. It’s about delivering outstanding care and service to patients. It’s providing this extraordinary patient experience that will make loyal raving fans of your patients and give you that all-important competitive edge. That’s why an effective practice manager must put in place a robust patient-care service strategy, be a steadfast evangelist for that strategy, and ensure that the whole team is involved – and invested – in its delivery.
Managing compliance covers two areas. First, it’s about ensuring a safe environment for your practice and your patients. Second, it means making sure your practice complies with policies and procedures in the face of a regulatory audit so you avoid any reputational damage or worse, closure of the practice. Practice managers must take charge of compliance and be the chief advocate for it. This includes making certain that policies and protocols are in place for such factors as risk management, work health and safety (WHS), infection control, sterilisation, and more.
Practice Managers
1 day
Up to 7 hours
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