Wednesday, 13 June 2018

It is time to make your goals STRONG

It is time to make your goals STRONG!

Most people have heard about having SMART goals and targets, and I think it is time for you to make your goals STRONG.

Many time, I have worked with clients who have set goals and targets and they have even made them SMART and still they haven’t achieved them. They become disheartened and disillusioned, sound familiar?
There is another better way, which is why I have developed the STRONG goals framework

What is something that you would like to achieve?

Ideas could be;

ü  Run a marathon or other sporting challenge
ü  With an award for best young dentist or another prize-winning category
ü  Become a Patient Care Coordinator
ü  Run a clinic for people who don’t have access to routine dental care
ü  Overcome a physical, mental or emotional health situation
ü  Move to a new house or job
ü  Buy or set up your own practice
ü  Double your salary by providing high quality genuinely needed and indicated dentistry
ü  Loose weight
ü  Give up smoking
ü  Start to exercise regularly
ü  Whatever you choose.

Whatever you want the key is to make your goal STRONG and here is an introduction to how to do this.

S = Starting position

Be honest about where you are now. Don’t make the situation better than it is, worse than it is be truthful about your current situation. If you want to run a marathon and don’t own any trainers and can’t run more than 3 steps that is your starting position. If you want to run your own practice and don’t know anything thing about the 12 facet of running a successful practice, acknowledge it. If you want to be a PCO and your boss does not know what one is, and you have not had any training, name it.

What are the positive by-products of your current situation, and which of them do you want to retain?

No deletions, distortions or generalisations about the truth.

T= Target

What is that you want to achieve?

This is the area that I find most people spend insufficient time thinking about and getting clear and specific. Their goals are vague, and their outcomes are even vaguer. If you are determined to achieve your goals, there are some things you must consider and clarify;

ü  Why do you want to achieve this goal?
ü  How is achieving your goal going to serve you and others?
ü  What do you want, not what don’t you want?
ü  How will you know you have achieved your target, what will you and others, see, hear, think and feel?
ü  How long do you want to achieve this goal for?
ü  When do you want it, when don’t you want it?
ü  Who do you want it with, who don’t you want it with?
ü  What will be possible the unintended consequences of achieving your goal?
ü  How does this goal align with your beliefs, values and identity?
ü  How does your goal relate to your human needs, meta programmes and representational systems?

R- Resources

What do you already have and what do you need to support you in achieving your goal?

Things to consider

ü  Resourcefulness
ü  Time and diary organisation
ü  Money
ü  Motivation
ü  Role models
ü  Coaches
ü  Trainers
ü  Mentors
ü  Cheerleaders and motivators
ü  Accountability buddies
ü  Materials, kit and tools
ü  Motivational drive
ü  Reflection and rest
ü  Clear and specific action plan

The most common reasons why Patient Care Coordinators (PCO) don’t succeed are because they are not given an appointment book, a space in the practice or any training. They are given a job title and expected to get on with it. Sound familiar?

Practices fail because enthusiastic dentists believe that having clinical skills is sufficient and they don’t need to invest in learning business, leadership, and management skills.

People don’t maintain a desired weight  because they don’t have both towards and away from strategies.

What do you need to guarantee success?

O = Obstacles

Who and what don’t you need around you if you are going to achieve your dream?

Common obstacles are family and friends who will become energy vampires, because they want you to stay as you are. If you know anyone who has given up drink, drugs or other addictions you will know that success in these areas requires a radical change of friends and companions

Identifying potential obstacles to get over, under, through and beyond will help you identify resources that will serve you in your success.

Remember what does not serve you sabotages you. Again, time to reflect and be honest.

N = Next steps

Create your action plan, break it down in to small achievable steps, because any goal can be achieved if it is broken down into small enough steps
Write your plan down because “The discipline of writing something down is the first step to making it happen.”

Get an accountability buddy and a coach. Who was the last person you saw obtain a gold medal, championship shield or trophy of any kind who didn’t have a coach? A coach is key to your success and in the words of Usain Bolt “My coach is pushing me harder than ever to make sure I stay at a good level.”  Recruit one today and work with them hard and frequently.

G = Going

What do you need to do to keep going?  What will you want and need to support you when the journey to achieving your goal is getting to hard or too easy?

What will you use to start and maintain your progress over the forthcoming, days, months and years?

What can you and can’t you influence?

Who can help, support and encourage you when things are tough, and you are feeling vulnerable or want to give up?

How will you measure, acknowledge and celebrate you progress?

What are your mile-stones?

Are you ready to start to make you goals STRONG and achieve them?

If this article has raised any questions or you recognise you would like some coaching support or guidance contact us today, on 07989 757 884 or

Friday, 8 June 2018

Would your clinical notes stand up under scrutiny?

I have recently been approached by a number of dentists who have experienced patient complaints or feedback from their defense organization that has caused the dentist concerned to question the quality if their notes. Another dentist has also been asking questions about how to implement a record keeping audit.

I am sure that if any of use were to go back and audit our notes we would find that they could be improved. In this world of increased litigation, I am sure that you want to make sure that your notes give you as much protection as possible.
I have recently developed a full -day training that I run in-house with dental practices so that all members of the team understand what is required and their responsibility.

For those of you who follow my work will know that I use mnemonics to help you remember the frameworks, making it easier to implement.

The mnemonic for record keeping is CLEAR NOTES.
From this I would like to share with you a small part of the final S which reminds you to structure your notes.

Again, we have another mnemonic HEAD DROID

H = History. What is the history of your patients’ complaint, pain dental history, etc
E = Examination. When you do an extra oral and intra oral examination, what did you find that was normal and abnormal?
A = Aids to diagnosis. What further tests and special investigations did you do and what were the results?
D = Diagnosis.  What is your differential, provision or definitive diagnosis?

D = Discussion. What did you discuss with your patient, what questions did they ask, what was their understanding of the conversation,
R= Robust consent. Have you obtained consent following a robust process, more than just a signature?
O = Organise your treatment plan. Organise and document your treatment plan into number, order of appointments, including appointment length and intervals between appointments etc.
I = Implement. Implement your treatment plan so anyone wo looks at your notes knows precisely what was done, why any post-operative instructions and what is the next stage.
D = Double check. Make sure you have a system to make sure all actions such as referrals and other action points have been completed and nothing can fall through the cracks.

If you would like more information about how you and your team can use the CLEAR NOTES and HEAD DROID framework to ensure your notes are clear and safe, contact me on 07989757884 or email

Tuesday, 5 June 2018

How to use your patient care coordinator (PCC) to get rid of unwanted patients.

Have you ever had a heart-sink patient join your practice? 

You know that patient, who when you see their name on your list your heart and mood sinks, you don’t bring the best out in them and they bring out the worst side of you. Appointments often become stressful and treatment never seems to run smoothly.

For many practices patients are heart sink patients because their values, ethos and expectations about you your practice and team are out of kilter with your values and ethos. For example, you may be passionate about developing long term relationships with patients working together saving teeth and creating health beautiful mouths, and you have a heart sink patient who only turns up once in a blue-moon and wants extractions on demand.

Your practice may be focused on minimally invasive dentistry with a strong emphasis on education and prevention and yet you have a patient who has made it clear that they have no interest in brushing their teeth twice daily, let alone flossing and they are determined to continue to eat a sugar rich diet and they ‘just’ want you to fix their teeth. They do not believe that the health of their teeth and gums is their responsibility.

You may have a patient who has a high caries and perio incidence and wants ear to ear veneers within the month and does not want to listen to any advice on disease stabilization.
Alternatively, the patient may have a cavalier attitude to time keeping, attending appointments, paying bills on time, and treating your team and colleagues with respect and dignity

You get the picture.

When practices and patient have divergent attitudes and philosophies to dental care and treatment, it can lead to strained relationships, complaints or solicitor’s letters.

Your Patient Care Coordinator (PCC) has a vital role to play in preventing these stressful situations.

Routinely offering all new patients a complimentary appointment with a PCC prior to an examination with the dentist, allows your PCC to discover and discuss your patient’s health belief model and their anticipated outcomes for treatment long and short term. Your PCC will also be able to share the values, ethos and philosophy of your practice and what that means in terms of patient care and treatment.

If there is a wide divide in expectations, your PCC can suggest to the patient that your practice is probably not going to best serve their needs and expectations and suggest another practice that is more appropriate for them.

Providing this service, the patient has not wasted any money, they will have had an exceptional level of service and moving forward there will be space in your appointment book for those patients who have the same philosophy to dentistry as you and want to be part of your practice.

For more information about introducing a Patient Care Coordinator to your practice call us today on 07989 757 884