I recently chatted with an office manager at a local dental practice who “came out of retirement” when she was asked to join the practice. It caused me to wonder, why would they seek her out? What made her more desirable than someone else looking for a job? What set her apart from the others and made her a valuable asset to that practice?
What are the qualities of a valuable dental assistant? What are the qualities that will ensure that you and I keep our jobs, especially in these tight economic times? What qualities would set me above the others when looking for a job? A phrase that describes this in the business world is "value added," so as it applies to us, what does it mean to bring value to the practice? What does that look like?
At a recent ADAA Roundtable, a group of students, clinical assistants, educators, military, and business assistants talked about this very issue. The consensus was that there are several things that assistants can do to set themselves apart, whether looking for that first job or looking for a change — or even keeping themselves a cut above the rest. Here are some of their comments:
Learn — In education, it's called being a lifelong learner, and it's an attitude that stems from having an interest in and wanting to excel at what you do.
- Be a member of your professional organization.
- Attend meetings — continuing education/professional meetings.
- Stay current with the newest techniques and materials.
- Maintain a license or credential even if your state doesn’t require it.
Educate — How willing are you, and how good are you at sharing what you know with others?
- Look for ways to teach oral health care to your patients.
- Participate in community service.
- Share your knowledge and expertise with others in the practice.
Initiative — You want the best for and care about the patients and practice.
- Show up on time.
- Be willing to work past quitting time — do not be a clock-watcher.
- Come up with new solutions.
Attitude — This is the most important thing. I've been told that very seldom is an assistant let go because of poor hard skills (taking a good X-ray, impression, etc.). It's usually a lack of soft skills.
- Be a team player.
- Get along with coworkers.
- Have a good work ethic.
- Leave your problems at home.
- Take responsibility for your actions.
- Be cooperative, not competitive.
So, how do you stack up against this list? What area could you improve upon? And of course, the things that you are doing is the value that you do bring (or could bring) to the practice — making you more than just a dental assistant, but a huge value to your patients and practice.
Claudia Pohl, CDA, RDA, FADAA, BVEd
President, American Dental Assistants Association
The people who make dental assisting a profession
