Dr Michael Sernik, September 2005 - Do you feel that your clinical skills are underutilized?
Do you have excellent treatment solutions but not enough patients wanting that level of your expertise?
There are GP dentists out there, in low income areas, whose average week consists of several $10,000-$20,000 cases. These practices have loyal patients enrolled in comprehensive preventive programs and very few emergencies.
How were these practices created? Originally these dentists may have taken over from an entirely different style of Dentist. Their patients did not seek out these dentists. They were simply patients of record who qualified for the treatment. Each practice reflects the beliefs and skills of its ‘creator’…the Dentist.
If the Dentist believes that it is their obligation to deliver the highest level of quality dentistry to the patient, then the main variable remaining is the communications skills of the Dentist.
There is a direct relationship with the quality of dentistry delivered and the communications skill of the dentist. The reason for this is the chronic nature of most dental disease. Naturally, most patients do not actively seek out solutions to unperceived problems. If the clinician waits for the patient to demand treatment, a lot of chronic disease will be left untreated.
Communication is a ‘soft skill’.
Several US dental schools (University of the Pacific, Indiana University and Marquette University) now include soft skills training as part of the curriculum.
| Hard Skills |
Soft Skills |
| Technical | Psychological |
| Object oriented | People oriented |
| Requires high IQ | Requires high EQ |
| Clinical skills | Communication skills |
| Leadership | |
| Entrepreneurship |
These soft skills can’t be applied successfully in a piecemeal fashion.
It’s not just what is said that makes it all work. All the communications variables have to be in place.
Communications Variables
| What is said | The words used |
| How its said | The tone |
| Who says things | Dentist / Staff |
| When its said | On phone / at exam / during treatment etc |
| Where its said | Which Room / Décor |
| How its shown | Photos / Models / Drawings etc |
| Who its said to | Patient’s Personality / Patient’s Finances etc |
In fact, if just one variable is poorly applied, the magic is broken and the patient may not choose the optimum solution.
The dentist might have all the necessary soft skills, but what about the team? Many patients remain loyal to the practice because of their relationship with the team, not just the dentist. Have some dentists just got the knack of hiring the right people?
It’s actually the same process as having the right patients. A great team is not simply found. It is created; and the process of creating a great team is another soft skill called leadership.
The soft skills of communications and leadership are learned skills. We are not born with them. They require time and training. The good news for the vast majority of us who weren’t born with natural leadership soft skills can be learned and honed through time and training. Dentists, by and large have well developed technical (hard) skills, but are challenged with mastering soft skills. Part of the problem is that they usually do not realize that these skills are a prerequisite to getting patients to desire comprehensive treatment.
It is time that the profession as a whole fully endorse the need for all clinicians to improve their soft skills as part of their obligation in providing the highest standards of preventive and restorative dental care.
[Published in Australian Dental Practice Magazine, September/October 2005]