By Hollie A. Bryant
In today’s dental practice, is it OK for team members to limit their workload to the job description they were given on their date of hire (DOH)? Is it a reasonable request to ask team members to do whatever it takes to get the job done?
It is my observation that there are two kinds of employees:
- Employees who are driven by their passion for dentistry.
- Employees who are driven by a paycheck.
Passion-driven employees will see something in the practice that needs attending to and do it without hesitation. These employees will undertake any challenge that they are faced with. These employees give 100% all the time and are driven by their desires for respectable dentistry, patient care, and results.
Paycheck-driven employees will point out when something needs to be done. They will cry out for assistance when it is not defined in their job description. The desire for a dental-related job is that it is accommodating to their personal lifestyle and fits into everything else in their life. The pay is nice, the benefits are good, and the people are pleasant.
Which one of these employees are you? Are you the employee who goes out of his or her way to make sure that patients are taken care of? Are you eager to learn new techniques, and are you on board with the changes associated with the growth of the practice? Are you the one who finds someone else to blame when a job isn’t being taken care of? When new products and changes are presented in the practice, are you the first to complain?
If you are a paycheck-driven employee, it is time to evaluate why you are in the dental field. If this is not what you are passionate about, you should not be holding others back from growth. It’s time to ask yourself: “Why do I go to work every day? Why did I choose dentistry? Where do I see myself in five years?”
Dare to become a reflection of that first employee who is driven by a passion for patients, products, and production in the field of his or her dreams. Make dentistry your ultimate career desire. The opportunities for dental assistants to grow and flourish in this industry are numerous and beyond belief. Each day more awareness is being brought to our field. Opportunities to reach out and grow are being made available, and the first step is in your practice — challenge yourself and your teammates to raise the bar. Create the ultimate challenge by learning and leading internally, and then step out into your community and state to reach out to your fellow assistants. The power of passionate people travels fast.
Dare to be passionate.
Author bio
Hollie Bryant is a graduate of Bowman Gray Dental Assisting Program and is the former chairside assistant for Dr. Ross Nash and clinical instructor and treatment coordinator at the Nash Institute. She is currently a member of the American Academy of Dental Office Managers, American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry, North Carolina Dental Association, Academy of Comprehensive Esthetics, and the American Dental Assistants Association. She is the former editor-in-chief of Contemporary Dental Assistant magazine and currently serves on the Advisory Board for DentalCompare. She is on the editorial board of Dental Assisting Digest™ and Contemporary Product Solutions, and is a consultant for various dental manufacturers. She has authored numerous manuscripts on clinical assisting and practice-management topics. Hollie lectures for the NICHE Practice Seminars nationally on clinical and management topics, while she travels for her independent consulting firm from practice to practice working with teams to increase customer service, profit, and implement effective systems. You may reach Hollie Bryant at [email protected].
