Client interview, September 2015 - Interview with Dr Mark Hopkins - Principal Dentist at Port Lincoln Dental Clinic

How were you introduced to Prime Practice?

I did do a course in Perth a long time ago with Phillip (Dr Phillip Palmer) and Michael (Dr Michael Sernik) presenting. It was an introductory course to Prime Practice and I was really impressed by what they had to say and the depth of their knowledge, especially with regards to communication and the Primespeak concept. At the time, I was a partner in the practice but going through a buy-out process with an existing partner. I had a good chat to Phillip at that time and he gave me some great advice and invited me to join Prime Practice at some stage. I felt aligned with Prime from then and signed up with Prime Practice soon after. I have been working with them for 3-3.5 years, have graduated from the Management Program and am now in their Masters Program.

What was the motivation?

I had bought into my practice back in 1997 and gradually the senior partners moved on or retired and in 2007, I found myself as the sole owner of quite a large dental practice. I was feeling pretty overwhelmed. The concept Prime was pitching to me of having a self-managed team was really appealing, but I realised that first I needed to improve where we were and our communication as a team. I wanted to put my own stamp on the business and at the time I thought Prime would be a good avenue to help me achieve my goals. We have 4 dentists, 2 hygienists, 1 OHT, 2 front office, a Practice Manager and 6-7 rotating DAs, so I wanted some support with keeping everyone on track.

Have you grown since Prime Practice were engaged to help?

In the intervening years, we have had steady progress and grown. We have bettered and refined our systems and improved the way we control our appointment book and how we communicate. We are also looking to have another dentist and perhaps hygienist join us. We are in a healthy position now and are currently in the process of building some exciting, long awaited practice renovations.

Prime and my coach have made the concept of something like a renovation much less intimidating. When you structure it, build it into your annual plan, analyse the finances appropriately and have someone to support you, you become less wary about growing.

How else has your coach helped you?

My coach has helped me improve my leadership skills and the confidence to put everything in place with my team.

I have a great relationship with my coach. He has a good understanding of how I work and can objectively point things out to me that I don’t see. He can support me through the tricky things that come up along the way and makes sure I am always on track to achieve my goals and don’t procrastinate.

What is the most important thing that Prime has taught you?

I was talking to one of my associate dentists the other day and I said that when I first embarked on the program, there were all these different concepts which were foreign, but then by the end of the Program, you have really rewired the way you think. And the best thing is that these messages are constantly reinforced in the team workshops, so we are all on the same page.

One of the key things I have learnt and has been reinforced is that empathy is a powerful tool. I am generally pretty impulsive, so now when I am faced with tricky situations, I always try and understand where other people are coming from. We have instilled this in our team too- and I feel this is a really important step for team cohesion.

The team workshops have been fantastic. We have learnt and grown so much as a team. Hearing the way the team talk to each other, the growth is evident… and this tone is passed on to our patients in the way we communicate with them. And patients can really feel that.

As a matter of fact, all of the Prime Practice workshops have been great. The entire Prime team are so well-trained in the Prime concepts so all workshops are easy to digest and take back to the practice. Another great thing about workshops is that you come into contact with other like-minded dental practitioners which has allowed us to build solid friendships and share stories and learn from other practices which has been rewarding and motivational.

Are you achieving your goals?

I feel confident that I have a great team in place and can go away and the practice will remain focussed. To a large extent I have comfort that my team focus on the common good. There are always little things to improve, but we are definitely getting there.

But there is still potential and room to grow. At our last workshop we did an exercise called Shark Tank and I was so proud of the team. The energy, ideas and drive they all have to improve the practice and the motivation we got from the workshop gave us many ideas to take back to the practice.

I initially engaged Prime Practice to see what I could achieve from the Management Program. We achieved a lot and I have stayed on board with the Masters Program for the ongoing support for the team and the business in helping us continue moving forward and keep us on track.

Prime has so many great tools available. And while our practice is growing, Prime is growing too. It is obvious that Prime is always changing things so they can better support us. There is now Recruitment and Marketing. There always seems to be new things available to us, which is pleasing as a client.