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Not yet but as I am considering making some changes in my staff now would be a good time to talk about this.
Let's Buy a Dental Practice
Started by The Hammer
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Not yet but as I am considering making some changes in my staff now would be a good time to talk about this.
OK I its time to discuss how to find and hire good employees. I'll talk about the different ways to find, attract and hire good employees, then I'll give a breakdown of how I hire people and what has worked or not worked for me. And finally I'll talk about how to find the elusive good Office Manager.
In the dental office the employment positions basically breakdown into four catagories:
1. Front Desk/ Financial (Office Manager, Receptionist, Treatment Co-Ordinator etc)
2. Assistance to the Dentist (Dental Assistant, Expanded Function Auxillary etc)
3. Dental Hygiene
4. The Dentist
And when looking at hiring someone new to your office you can even simplify it more and seperate the applicants into just two catagories:
1. Those with dental experience
2. Those with no dental experience
The first two catagories can be hired whether or not they have dental office experience. The last two obviously have to have some training at a accredited program before they can be hired. So I am going to talk about the first two catagories first.
So what are the pros and cons of hiring people who have experience in a dental office?
Pros
1. They already know and understand the job that you are hiring them for.
2. Very little lag time as they start to work for you.
3. Hopefully they will be familiar with the Dental Management software that you are using
4. You can assess their skill level with a "working interview".
5. Already have the appropriate license if their position requires one.
Cons
1. Will want a higher salary at the start
2. Might have to unlearn bad habits
3. Why are they looking for a new office? Were they fired from the old one?
4. Might be resistant to learn how things are done at the new office
To be honest I have had good luck hiring people with experience and people with no experience. In fact if I were to be totally honest some of my best employees were ones that had no dental experience and that I trained myself. I don't recommend this for everyone as it requires a lot of patience and follow through but for me it has worked well.
My next post I'll walk through the hiring process that I have used from start to finish. And as always if anyone has any questions just post them and I'll try to answer them as best as I can👍
In the dental office the employment positions basically breakdown into four catagories:
1. Front Desk/ Financial (Office Manager, Receptionist, Treatment Co-Ordinator etc)
2. Assistance to the Dentist (Dental Assistant, Expanded Function Auxillary etc)
3. Dental Hygiene
4. The Dentist
And when looking at hiring someone new to your office you can even simplify it more and seperate the applicants into just two catagories:
1. Those with dental experience
2. Those with no dental experience
The first two catagories can be hired whether or not they have dental office experience. The last two obviously have to have some training at a accredited program before they can be hired. So I am going to talk about the first two catagories first.
So what are the pros and cons of hiring people who have experience in a dental office?
Pros
1. They already know and understand the job that you are hiring them for.
2. Very little lag time as they start to work for you.
3. Hopefully they will be familiar with the Dental Management software that you are using
4. You can assess their skill level with a "working interview".
5. Already have the appropriate license if their position requires one.
Cons
1. Will want a higher salary at the start
2. Might have to unlearn bad habits
3. Why are they looking for a new office? Were they fired from the old one?
4. Might be resistant to learn how things are done at the new office
To be honest I have had good luck hiring people with experience and people with no experience. In fact if I were to be totally honest some of my best employees were ones that had no dental experience and that I trained myself. I don't recommend this for everyone as it requires a lot of patience and follow through but for me it has worked well.
My next post I'll walk through the hiring process that I have used from start to finish. And as always if anyone has any questions just post them and I'll try to answer them as best as I can👍
👍
I'm in the process of hiring employees as well. I have seen offices (mostly at mills) where they hired assistants without a contract, so their roles and benefits were all defined verbally, and they are still with the office after many years. Doesn't this make DA's job security always on the edge?
In the current economic situation, I think experienced DA's know they are competing with a lot of no experience DA's who are accepting a much lower salary, and doctor's are doing anything to keep their employee payroll cost down. So perhaps experienced DA's are now more open to offers they usually would not accept, as long as it is reasonable.
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I was driving on a trip to the east coast recently. When I passed through Wheeling, WV, I saw a billboard for a dental office. It said, "We Cater to Cowards. Conscious Sedation Available." I just did a google search and saw that this is a motto used at a lot of practices, but it is not something to which I would sign my name.
I agree. I want my patients to know that I will go to great lengths to make them comfortable but I expect them to act like an adult. The more compliant they are the better work that I can do. I suspect that using an ad that say "we cater to cowards" or "we service the nervous" might attract people who have more involved emotional problems that simple dental phobia.👍
🙂Docs, I am humbly asking for opinions about different kinds of dental managment software and digital sensors out there. I am looking for a reliable and reasonable priced software and senor. Any ideas out there? I just talked to the Dentrix rep, and it was just ferking expensive. No biased opinions please!
How does Dentrix vs Eaglesoft vs ACE Dental vs Easy Dental? What about sensor brands? Schick?
Bottom line is, I think paperless working enviroment is the way to go but it is an important investment up front.
Any constructive opinions would be appreciated
thanks
How does Dentrix vs Eaglesoft vs ACE Dental vs Easy Dental? What about sensor brands? Schick?
Bottom line is, I think paperless working enviroment is the way to go but it is an important investment up front.
Any constructive opinions would be appreciated
thanks
I've been using Dentrix since 1995. I would definitely go with either Dentrix or Eaglesoft. They'll do everything you want them to and they will be around for a long time.
As for digital if you want to get into digital without the expense consider using ScanX phosphorous plates and a ScanX scanner. They're cheap, easy to use with very little learning curve and the resolution is excellent.👍
100% agree with all of this. The phosphorous plates are awesome.
Docs, can you elaborate on "phosophorous plates" what are these and where can i get them from? Are they a special type of scanner that scan the traditional x ray films into the software? thanks
I looked this up online and do you guys know how much this system will cost? Is this system manageable? I mean storing it and retrieve it whenever you need it?
Also, I have heard that ADA has proposed to mandate all X rays to be digital by the year of 2014, that means, you can no longer use traditional films except dental schools maybe, is this a rumor or it is coming?
Kodak had a spacial promotion the end of last year. So I got the Kodak Software practice management with 10 user-licenses for 10 computers at my office for free (usually worth about around $8k+ for the package) with my Kodak order. It's reliable and easy-to-use. And they're flexible enough to adapt to all my diagnostic needs.
Although Softdent or any other practice management have been around for sometime now, they all pretty much have very similar bells and whistles. For me, I still prefer to do paper charts, and I only use the Softdent for radiographs, intra-oral camera pics, accounting and scheduling purposes only. Taking progress notes and charting are far easier and faster to do it on paper than type numbers on a keyboard. For me this is a more efficient way to go, and best of both worlds.
The Hammer
I was wondering what you thought of a new ds graduate with about $300k in loans - is it financially feasible to pay all that off? The dentist I met (who has been in practice for 11 years) says she is struggling to get by. She insists that there isn't a shortage of dentists and that all those loans make dentistry not a good choice. I know there's the message, "do what you love to do", but if you are struggling to pay off your bills and living costs then how can you be happy?
I also asked her if there were a lot of dentists similar to her in her financial state, and she said yes and the unfortunate result is that many commit suicide and many go bankrupt.. How true is that statement? Is it common for dentists to be in financial misery?
Thanks for your insight
I was wondering what you thought of a new ds graduate with about $300k in loans - is it financially feasible to pay all that off? The dentist I met (who has been in practice for 11 years) says she is struggling to get by. She insists that there isn't a shortage of dentists and that all those loans make dentistry not a good choice. I know there's the message, "do what you love to do", but if you are struggling to pay off your bills and living costs then how can you be happy?
I also asked her if there were a lot of dentists similar to her in her financial state, and she said yes and the unfortunate result is that many commit suicide and many go bankrupt.. How true is that statement? Is it common for dentists to be in financial misery?
Thanks for your insight
A new ScanX scanner will run about $10k, more with accessories. For the same cost or less, you can get brand new size 1 and 2 sensors with imaging software.
One obvious negative aspect of ScanX and similar systems is that you do have to expend staff time and energy to scan phosphor plates. I would make the point that the cost savings in phosphor plate systems is negated over time due to the extra "labor" involved with the scanning process versus direct capture from sensors. Plus, there are no supplies for digital sensors, besides disposable covers used for each patient (which supplier usually provides for free). On the other hand, there are associated costs for ScanX supplies; mutliple plates, eraser, etc.
Thanks Hammer for taking the time and effort to share your insights and personal experience over the years. I've been ready the entire thread over the last couple of days. It's sort of like ready a mini-book filled with dental adventures 😀 . I'm a fourth year getting ready to graduate and I found the information you posted to be very helpful. I sort of stopped posting on SDN since I got into dental school. Like everything and everyone else in life, the internet has its own ups and downs, but I hope you'll continue to share more of your personal experience.
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Agreed. Shell out the additional for a sensor. We have 4 docs, 4 hygienists and 2 sensors, works out fine. Make sure you get the warranty, these guys can and will go down from time to time.
This is absolutely not true. Are their Dentists that are struggling? Yes. Are there dentists that are miserable? Yes. But I would bet there are a lot more that are doing great. Ask her hoe many days a week she is working? I am guessing 4. How many other professions can you work 4 days a week and make 6 figures? Not to mention the stability of the job, which you dont have in business or another profession. The problem with Dentists that are new is that they come out of dental school thinking everything is going to be easy and you are going to be making a lot of money. We talk to dental school teachers who are making a lot, they keep telling us how great it is to be in dentistry. The MD's talk about how much we make, etc that we come out with skewed perceptions. I have friends that started making that 100K and the first thing they did was buy that Mercedes, get bottle service at the club, etc. Am I saying we cant live comfortably, absolutely not, but you have to be smart about it. Remember most new dentists start around 100K and the average dentist (even 10 years out) is taking home around 175-200K. When you know that, you can budget appropriately and do just fine. We also think hey we dont have to deal with medicaid patients anymore so it will be so much easier. Everyone wants to be the high end cosmetic dentist. Well in private practice you have as much headache with insurance patients and FFS patients as medicaid patients, and I have heard a lot of dentists tell me their medicaid practices (aside from the no shows) are their lowest stress practices. Finally, there is a huge shortage of dentists. The problem is the shortage is in the rural areas, where young dentists dont want to live. Most young people want to live near the city. Thus there are a million dentists in the city all fighting for patients, while you could go into some of the rural areas and there isnt a single dentist for hours. That is the same thing that happened in Medicine, hence why PA's took over, and its slowly happening to dentistry in states like Minnesota, Maine, etc.
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You make some valid points. I've done both and I can tell you that whatever time you might save using a digital scanner is greatly offset trying to get the damn thing in the patients mouth.😀 Also if you have two sensors and a busy practice you will always have someone waiting to use them whereas with the phosphor plates they are cheap and you can buy several.
And if you have a patient who freaks out when you put the digital sensor in their mouth (like children for instance) and they decide to pull the sensor out by its cord (which they will) you are out a $5000-7500 sensor (hopefully you bought the sensor insurance). Unless you have a spare sensor you are also SOL if you want to take anymore x-rays
Also what other expenses are you talking about with Scan X? Other than the disposable covers there aren't any.
Digital sensors are great as is the ScanX system but they both have their pros and cons. If I was an endodontist I would use nothing but the digital sensors, if I were a pedodontist I would prefer the ScanX.
I know plenty of docs who use sensors and plenty who use ScanX and they all seem to be pretty happy with them at the moment.
At the moment I don't think that either has an obvious advantage over the other. I think in time however we will see the digital sensors get smaller and cheaper and then I don't think there will be an argument about their superiority. I just don't think they are there yet.
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Well I have more than twice that debt and I'm doing ok at the moment so I'll say "yes". If your friend is "struggling" to get by and has been out 11 years then there is something else that is keeping her from being profitable.
Also the idea that dentists have a higher suicide rate is a myth and has been disproven
http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1588/what-occupation-has-the-highest-suicide-rate
http://jada.ada.org/cgi/content/full/132/6/786
And once again bankruptcy among dentists is low. I tried to find some data about this but couldn't but I didn't have time to search the ADA database. Your first couple of years might be lean but 11 years later you should be cruising. Just always remember to make more money than you spend and life will be good.
Wow, if Scan X system costs about $10k, then, I would rather to use digital sensors cause it is not any cheaper it seems. I guess there are things that you can't save.....god!
So, which senor brand has the best reputation for its durability and image quality? Schick? Dexis? Anyone has any recommandations? It seems that my sales rep is trying to sell me the most expensive one. Any opinions needed.
thanks
I agreed. I think these young guys/girls don't want compromise. I mean, I joined the military after I graduate and got sent overseas in the middle of nowhere. Nothing is easy. In Los angeles/OC, everyone is trying to be the high end cosmetic dentist and charges high but there is a lot of competition which kills everyone I think. Even the rich people nowadays are trying to nickle and dime on their dental treatments. What can I say? But I guess it is personal choice to live in big metro area making less or go to rural areas.
Just out of curiosity, what is a typical overhead percentage break down for a practice?
At UOP we have both schick and dexis. the sales reps have been here a number of times talking up how great schick is and that they should be the best since they invented the technology. the clarity is great and they are used to find all those subtle-yet-ideal boards lesions, but they are UNCOMFORTABLE! imagine a size 2 film that has rigid corners and is completely flat. the sales rep tries to overcome that by saying you need to take fewer shots, but i would much rather take two shots than have my patient feel like i'm sticking a square peg into a round hole and wondering how comfortable they'll be in your chair if they're this miserable just taking x-rays.
dexis is smaller, has rounded corners, but is bulkier/thicker. i much much much prefer dexis to the schicks and so do the patients i've worked with.
we use the phosphor plates in the pedo clinic and i got to use them assisting in a private office, and they are my preference. sure there's no instant feedback and the labor to cover/uncover and scan them, but they seem to be the most comfortable by far, are easier to position, and the resolution is just as good.
i would fork over the extra labor and costs to make sure my patients don't question my sincerity when i tell them i want them to be comfortable but the most painful thing i do to them is take x-rays. plus, replacing a few phosphor plates is much easier than replacing a broken sensor.
Nothing worse when you are doing endo, wait for that film to be developed, and you miss the apex. Rarely do we have patients complain about discomfort. The time saved is huge. A good warranty will allow a broken sensor's temporary replacement overnight.
How about overlap when a hygienist takes their bitewings? Nothing like seeing it seconds after you take the radiograph, and shooting another one. Im sorry, the patients "minor" discomfort is not a big enough factor in my opinion.
Yeah, H S rep also claimed that Dexis senors are more comfortable for patients which I never used them myself before. However, how much does Dexis cost? More like 12000 dollars or something?I think Schick is only about 7500. Well, every dollar counts I guess. I was looking over Scan X and found that you have to spend time to scan them which is costly time wise. So, I stick to the digital sensors but I am kinda struggling between Dexis vs Schick and Dentrix vs Eaglesoft. Damn they are expensive.
I was wondering if anyone could give some feedback specifically regarding setting up an ortho practice. A few questions for starters...please feel free to add any other thoughts/ideas!
Is it any more difficult than setting up any other specialty practice?
What are some of the common obstacles in setting up an ortho practice, as opposed to other specialties (if any)?
Is it true that urban centers are becoming saturated with orthodontists, while at the same time, rural areas have low demand for them, thus making ortho a less desirable specialty to go into?
Is it any more difficult than setting up any other specialty practice?
What are some of the common obstacles in setting up an ortho practice, as opposed to other specialties (if any)?
Is it true that urban centers are becoming saturated with orthodontists, while at the same time, rural areas have low demand for them, thus making ortho a less desirable specialty to go into?
1) You have to take care of your referral base (I'm guessing it would be pediatric and general dentists). Take the time to visit their offices and get to know them. Never act superior to them- without their referrals you won't last long. 2) Communicate with the referring doctor. Send them periodic updates on their patient's status. If you do these two things, you will do well.
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Hi Hammer,
I just started reading this forumn and found it very informative. I practice dentistry for a couple of years now and I just started working in an office that resemble your gold mine one. However, I find that the patients are not coming back to the office. The situation is that the former owner died of cancer and so the last year he was practicing, he was doing patch work dentistry. Even before he was diagnose with cancer he was kind of old and was doing patch work dentistry as well. I seen few of the patient that came back and was surprise of what he didn't do. Teeth that needs endo, he just open and med it only when the patient is in pain. Crowns that need replacing he just took it off and put a temporary on it and left it there for years. I don't know your office exact situation, but the office was closed for 6 months after he died. The new owner bought the practice but she isn't practicing much due to her health. So my question is, did your office turn out what you expected? Most of the patient here is very old and been with the practice for many decades. I too am looking to buy a practice and see how to classify the different kind of offices whether it is a shiny trap or a gold mine. I feel that the office I am working at became a trap, but an inexpensive one
I just started reading this forumn and found it very informative. I practice dentistry for a couple of years now and I just started working in an office that resemble your gold mine one. However, I find that the patients are not coming back to the office. The situation is that the former owner died of cancer and so the last year he was practicing, he was doing patch work dentistry. Even before he was diagnose with cancer he was kind of old and was doing patch work dentistry as well. I seen few of the patient that came back and was surprise of what he didn't do. Teeth that needs endo, he just open and med it only when the patient is in pain. Crowns that need replacing he just took it off and put a temporary on it and left it there for years. I don't know your office exact situation, but the office was closed for 6 months after he died. The new owner bought the practice but she isn't practicing much due to her health. So my question is, did your office turn out what you expected? Most of the patient here is very old and been with the practice for many decades. I too am looking to buy a practice and see how to classify the different kind of offices whether it is a shiny trap or a gold mine. I feel that the office I am working at became a trap, but an inexpensive one
I think that the big difference between the office I bought and the one that you are describing is that I was able to keep the older doc on as my associate to make the transition for patients easier. I have had a much easier time getting patients to accept treatment since he is still in the office.
The situation that you are describe sounds like the original dentist died, someone else bought the practice 6 months later and you are working for her. If that is the case then for all intents and purposes it is just like you have opened a new practice. I have heard that if the original owner dies that within 6 months the practice is only worth the value of the equipment because the majority of the patients will move on.
I don't necessarily think that this office is a "trap" I would just consider it a new practice and not expect to retain any of the old patients. You actually will retain some of them but you are going to have to do some sort of marketing to recruit new patients to keep your chairs full.
Just depending on the price and how comfortable you are at starting a practice from scratch would be the deciding factors in whether or not this is a good practice for you. good luck👍
Hi Hammer,
Great awesome thread! Can you give us some practical advice about the strategies for the day-to-day transition from the old hand to the new, when a dental practice is sold?
For example, ideally, how would you like have the transition handled? Current owner introduces new owner, says he'll be conferring on your treatment and doing the actual work? Are existing patients introduced to the new doc while sitting in the dental chair? Are they given an option in advance to stick with the old doc?
What are the things to do and things to avoid during this critical phase of taking over an existing practice?
Thanks!!
Great awesome thread! Can you give us some practical advice about the strategies for the day-to-day transition from the old hand to the new, when a dental practice is sold?
For example, ideally, how would you like have the transition handled? Current owner introduces new owner, says he'll be conferring on your treatment and doing the actual work? Are existing patients introduced to the new doc while sitting in the dental chair? Are they given an option in advance to stick with the old doc?
What are the things to do and things to avoid during this critical phase of taking over an existing practice?
Thanks!!
Hey hammer, absolutely love the thread. I am heading to school starting in the fall and am so glad to have some direction and a viable end game plan. I actually took all your advice and organized it and you're pushing 60 pages. you should def write a book. pm me and ill send you the organized collection so far. as for the quote are you going to continue that?
Yeah I'll start writing again especially about the hiring process. Thanks for collecting that stuff for me, I have been meaning to do it but I just haven't had the time to. What I think I might do is organize it like a book and add some more stuff to it and put it online as a pdf so anyone can have it
If you can get along with the current owner it is always to your advantage to keep them around for a transitional period. The patient has confidence in the current doctor so if the old dentist shows confidence in you this will help the patients to have confidence in you.
Usually it is customary to ask for the old owner to stick around for a 6 month transitional phase. This is to help you to ease into the practice and the old doctor can make you money while you are getting your schedule filled.
Having the old doctor around for a while to introduce you to patients is a must. The easiest way is to have him introduce you at the patient's hygiene appointment.
Also make sure that for the first year you do all of the hygiene checks and any work that you diagnosis goes on your schedule ( this is VERY IMPORTANT).
Having the old doctor around also helps if you have questions about the day to day runnings of the office, need someone to cover for you if you need to be out of the office or just want a second opinion on a patient.
After that 6 month phase I would have it written in the contract that you can fire the old doctor at any time. There are a couple of reasons that this is a good idea because:
1. Even though the old doctor may be happy at first to sell you their practice that may change with time. If the relationship sours you want to be able to get rid of the old doctor as fast as possible so make sure that you have an escape clause written in your contract.
2. There may not be enough work for both of you or:
3. The patients may still want to see the old doctor so your schedule never gets filled.
This is more common with a young doctor just out of dental school. The patients might consider the old doctor to have more experience so they will schedule with the old doctor.
Or you may find that the front office schedules the old doctor first and you second. In this case you can advised the front office staff that their responsibility is to fill your schedule first and then the other doctors and if they can't seem to do this you will let them go and hire someone who can.
Of the two practices that I have bought I have had a really good relationship with the dentists that I bought out but this is not always the case.
You do not want to be seen as the "young hotshot who bought Dr. Goldtooth's office and then kicked him out". Keep the old doctor around to introduce you for at least one cycle of hygiene patients (6-8 months) and then see how it goes from there.
Just always remember "if you pay the note then you drive the boat" and don't you ever forget that.👍
Hi Hammer,
Thanks for your reply! If I may, can I drill down (pardon the pun!) on your answer and ask you to elaborate just a little bit more?
For example, would it be typical for the old doc's office to send out a letter a few months in advance to all patients indicating that Dr. New will be joining the practice, etc. and in the letter provide a kind of testimonial to Dr. New's background & skills, etc.?
Here's why I ask this question: My dermatologist's office had sent out a notice that Dr. X would be joining the practice, etc. All well and good, until I showed up for an appointment a few weeks later and found the office had slotted me in with the new doc. No heads-up notice in advance. (I had called the office setting up a regular routine appt. with my old doc - the office had 3 derms - and no word was said to me at that time). As a consumer of medical services, I felt a 'bait & switch" had been pulled on me, and I made a mental note to never do this to anyone in the future when I became a dentist.
Perhaps if my derm had spoken to me at my prior appt. and told me that Dr. New would be transitioning in and that he - my old derm -would still be available for any questions, etc.
Of course, this might not be completely practical as some patients only see the dentist every 6-8 months... Your thoughts on all this? I don't mean to make mountain out of a molehole, but it seems to me a good transitioning strategy can make a HUGE difference in how many patients get retained.
Thanks for your reply! If I may, can I drill down (pardon the pun!) on your answer and ask you to elaborate just a little bit more?
For example, would it be typical for the old doc's office to send out a letter a few months in advance to all patients indicating that Dr. New will be joining the practice, etc. and in the letter provide a kind of testimonial to Dr. New's background & skills, etc.?
Here's why I ask this question: My dermatologist's office had sent out a notice that Dr. X would be joining the practice, etc. All well and good, until I showed up for an appointment a few weeks later and found the office had slotted me in with the new doc. No heads-up notice in advance. (I had called the office setting up a regular routine appt. with my old doc - the office had 3 derms - and no word was said to me at that time). As a consumer of medical services, I felt a 'bait & switch" had been pulled on me, and I made a mental note to never do this to anyone in the future when I became a dentist.
Perhaps if my derm had spoken to me at my prior appt. and told me that Dr. New would be transitioning in and that he - my old derm -would still be available for any questions, etc.
Of course, this might not be completely practical as some patients only see the dentist every 6-8 months... Your thoughts on all this? I don't mean to make mountain out of a molehole, but it seems to me a good transitioning strategy can make a HUGE difference in how many patients get retained.
You make a very very good point and I'll tell you how I've dealt with it in the past and how I deal with it currently. Here's what I did when I bought my current practice:
1. About a month before I started to see patients the old doc sent out a letter to all of the active patients telling them that I would be joining the practice. The letter gave a short bio about where I was from, discussed my educational history and my experience in private practice.
It concluded with the old doc saying that he wasn't leaving, just turning the business side of the practice over to me and that he had the highest confidence in me and my clinical skills and that the patients would be in very good hands.
About that same time he took an ad out in the paper welcoming me to the practice and I took out an ad stating that I was back in practice and open for business.
When the front office schedules patients, the patients are asked if they would prefer to see the old doc or me. You are absolutely correct when you say that patients don't appreciate the "bait and switch when they come in for their appointments. If they are expecting to see the old doc and you walk in to do their treatment they will feel like you are trying to deceive them and you can forget about gaining their trust.
I do all of the hygiene checks and the patients aren't asked who they would prefer to be checked by but the old doc usually steps in to introduce me before I do the exam.
I'm really glad that you brought this topic up because it is very important and a pretty common mistake that can have devastating consequences.
Thanks! Good job!🙂
I totally agree with you. Just the other day, I told the assistant that it seems like this office is turning as if it is a new office. They are trying to market the office, since the office is located in a dental complex, unlikely to be seen from passer by. It's amazing how much you know that you didn't express in the forumn yet. I myself want to buy a practice soon. I feel I won't progress as a dentist if I keep working for someone else.
OK is anyone still interested in a step by step of how I hire employees for my dental office? It looks like I will have some time this weekend to go over it if anyone is still interested in reading about it. As always I will answer any and all questions and anyone with experience in hiring people (even in non-dental situations) please by all means chime in on your experiences. Addition input is always greatly appreciated.👍
I would love to read your input on employees.
OK now I'm going to write about how to find and hire employees. There are a million different ways to do this so I am just going to talk about what has worked for me in the past.
If anyone has had experience with hiring people, whether or not it was for a dental office, please post about your experiences. It is always good to hear several different viewpoints on a subject like this.
I would like to start with the process I go through to hire someone who does not need special training like a dental assistant or hygienist. After we go over this then I will talk about how to hire someone for a specific dental job.
OK first a few facts:
1. The city that my last practice was in had a population of 5,264 and the county had a population of 53,508
2. The city that my practice is currently in has a population of 27,638 and the county's population is 74,849
The first thing that I do is place an ad in the county paper's "Want Ads" section. I run this ad for about 3 weeks on Monday and Friday. The ad reads something like this:
"Busy Roane County Dental office seeks professional receptionist. Must be motivated, team oriented and a people person. No previous experience necessary. No weekends or holidays EVER! Deadline to apply is (insert a date here) Please send resume' with work references to Box B-1 c/o Roane County News etc etc
I always have the candidates send their resumes' to a mail box at the newspaper rather than my office. The reason is I don't want anyone looking for a job just stopping my the office. Also any patients or people that I know in the community who want to apply but aren't people that I want to hire won't know which office is doing the hiring so they won't take it personally if I don't respond to their resume'.
Once the resumes' start coming in, I start opening them and sorting them into four piles. (BTW I usually got between 300-500 resumes' when I did this). The four piles were the A,B,C and S piles and I broke them down as follows:
1. A Pile: the people who were the most promising when I first glanced at their resume'. People who had previous receptionist experience at a medical, dental or vet clinic or who had managerial positions in retail etc.
2. B Pile: People who didn't necessarily have the experience that I listed above but still show promise. An example would be a bank teller, retail experience like a cashier or someone who had to deal with the public.
3. C Pile: People who had good resumes' but also had something that needed to be explained on their resume' like an extended unemployed period or a job that only lasted a couple of months.
4. S Pile: S is for shredder. These are the resumes' that go immediately into the shredder. Resumes' that have multiply typos, are written by hand on notebook paper etc. I actually do pile these up and go over them a second time but once I am sure that my initial impression is correct, into the shredder they go.
After I have made my first pass over all of the resumes' I will go over them again more carefully and I will also have my office manager go over them with me. On the second pass I will make sure that the resumes' are in their correct pile and if anymore need shredding they get shredded.
The next step after this is to call the applicants. I'll talk more about this in my new post.🙂
If anyone has had experience with hiring people, whether or not it was for a dental office, please post about your experiences. It is always good to hear several different viewpoints on a subject like this.
I would like to start with the process I go through to hire someone who does not need special training like a dental assistant or hygienist. After we go over this then I will talk about how to hire someone for a specific dental job.
OK first a few facts:
1. The city that my last practice was in had a population of 5,264 and the county had a population of 53,508
2. The city that my practice is currently in has a population of 27,638 and the county's population is 74,849
The first thing that I do is place an ad in the county paper's "Want Ads" section. I run this ad for about 3 weeks on Monday and Friday. The ad reads something like this:
"Busy Roane County Dental office seeks professional receptionist. Must be motivated, team oriented and a people person. No previous experience necessary. No weekends or holidays EVER! Deadline to apply is (insert a date here) Please send resume' with work references to Box B-1 c/o Roane County News etc etc
I always have the candidates send their resumes' to a mail box at the newspaper rather than my office. The reason is I don't want anyone looking for a job just stopping my the office. Also any patients or people that I know in the community who want to apply but aren't people that I want to hire won't know which office is doing the hiring so they won't take it personally if I don't respond to their resume'.
Once the resumes' start coming in, I start opening them and sorting them into four piles. (BTW I usually got between 300-500 resumes' when I did this). The four piles were the A,B,C and S piles and I broke them down as follows:
1. A Pile: the people who were the most promising when I first glanced at their resume'. People who had previous receptionist experience at a medical, dental or vet clinic or who had managerial positions in retail etc.
2. B Pile: People who didn't necessarily have the experience that I listed above but still show promise. An example would be a bank teller, retail experience like a cashier or someone who had to deal with the public.
3. C Pile: People who had good resumes' but also had something that needed to be explained on their resume' like an extended unemployed period or a job that only lasted a couple of months.
4. S Pile: S is for shredder. These are the resumes' that go immediately into the shredder. Resumes' that have multiply typos, are written by hand on notebook paper etc. I actually do pile these up and go over them a second time but once I am sure that my initial impression is correct, into the shredder they go.
After I have made my first pass over all of the resumes' I will go over them again more carefully and I will also have my office manager go over them with me. On the second pass I will make sure that the resumes' are in their correct pile and if anymore need shredding they get shredded.
The next step after this is to call the applicants. I'll talk more about this in my new post.🙂
Would it be wise to use websites such as Craigslist as opposed to the local paper? I know that many newspapers are having tough time right now, and an increasing number of people aren't subscribing.
Craiglist is GREAT! I meant to mention it but I forgot. Thanks for the reminder.
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This is so great, you should write a book! Joking! I think by this time enough people have already commented on how much you're helping us that that it would be an injustice if you did not consider it!
I have an off topic question...sorry...my husband and I are considering buying a perio practice in a couple of months. He is a periodontist and I'm a GP. We have been getting so discouraged hearing that the trend now is having Perio come into GPs offices and that perio is a dying field. Any thoughts on the subject anyone?
It is so awful hearing this after watching my husband go through 3 years of extensive, strenuous training and now GPs are places all their implants!!!
I have an off topic question...sorry...my husband and I are considering buying a perio practice in a couple of months. He is a periodontist and I'm a GP. We have been getting so discouraged hearing that the trend now is having Perio come into GPs offices and that perio is a dying field. Any thoughts on the subject anyone?
It is so awful hearing this after watching my husband go through 3 years of extensive, strenuous training and now GPs are places all their implants!!!
Let's hear it doc.
As a GP, I would avoid referring patients to a periodontist whose spouse is a GP working in the same office. Not that I refer implants though.
I think that there will still be a need for perio in the years to come. Yes there is a trend of GP's placing implants but there are still plenty of GP's who don't (myself included) and on a more complicated case requiring sinus lifts and grafting some of the implant placing GP's will want to refer out.
I think that Monreal brings up what I would consider the more likely problem which is GP's not wanting to refer to a perio whose wife is a GP working in the same office. I would be concerned that some GPs might be afraid that you would steal their patients once their perio treatment was finished.
In my last office I had an orthodontist work a few days every month in my office for years. It never really caused a problem with the other GP's in the area but I had been in practice several years and other dentists in the area had already been referring denture cases and other more complex cases so . I already had a reputation for sending patients back to the referring dentist when I was finished with them. In fact the only person who really got pissed off at me was another orthodontist in a neighboring town. He had been the only orthodontist in the county and two other adjoining counties since the 70's and had a lock on the ortho since then. In fact it was because of his more than caustic bedside manner and the complaints that I had received from my patients that caused me to seek out another ortho to come to my office in the first place.
I'm not really sure what an effective solution to this would be outside of you limiting your practice to one field like prosthodontics, endo etc. I would love to hear some other opinions on what other dentist have done in this situation.
