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April 8, 2009 | Web Exclusive 

Who needs to know what

Everyone in the office probably doesn’t need the same training, but who learns what, and who needs the most training?

By Noah Levine


Dentists certainly realize the value of training for themselves and their staff members when they invest in a new technology, system or product, but fitting in the training for everyone at the office can be a challenge.

If the training is done at the practice, does the entire office need to be closed down for a day or two while the learning is underway? Who needs to attend the training sessions? Does everyone need to understand every capability of the new system and master the same skills in using the new technology?

Divide for success

When dental consultant Lorne Lavine is working with a practice he encourages the entire staff to be familiar with every product in the office, but said only the people who will actually use each system regularly need to receive intensive training on how it functions. The receptionists should be able to tell existing and potential patients about the practice’s digital radiography system, but they probably don’t need to spend time training on how to take an x-ray.

To accomplish this, Lavine said it is important to keep everyone informed of new investments and the new capabilities they bring to the practice. However, when it comes time for training, decide how the systems will be used and who will need to know what. The receptionists can probably skip training on the charting functions of the practice management software, but if hygienists will be performing any scheduling functions from the operatory, it is important that their training includes those aspects of the system.

“When you’re thinking about training you really have to look at it like there are two parts to the office, the front office and the back office,” Lavine said. “There are ways to do it so that it doesn’t have a huge impact on the productivity of the practice and still gets what you need to have done. The front office staff can be learning management systems while the back office is still seeing patients.”

At least one expert

This division of training can be an efficient process, but Lavine said it also is important to make sure there is some cross training so staff members are prepared to continue using every feature of their systems while a key team member is out sick, on vacation or permanently leaves the practice.

With something as vast and all-encompassing as practice management software, it can be difficult for any one user to become an expert at using every available function, but Matt Singerman, Practice Education Manager for DENTRIX (dentrix.com) said it is important for there to be at least one staff member who understands the capabilities, if not all the intricacies.

“I do believe that there’s value in having someone in the office—perhaps the office manager—who is familiar with all the components, but when it comes to being able to handle some of the advanced features in each component, that’s probably a job role thing,” Singerman said.

Who gets more?

According to the respondents to Dental Products Report’s February 2009 Training/Integration Survey, 60% of dentists receive the same amount of training as their staff members. However, among the population receiving a different amount of training, 98% said the dentist receives more training than the staff.

This makes sense to Jeremy Stroud, National Support Manager for the Patterson Technology Center (www.pattersondental.com) who noted training for certain aspects of a practice management system such as security features and password controls is often provided to a limited audience of just the dentist and occasionally an office manager. Still, Lavine said dentists often skip training on aspects of their investments that will most often be handled by staff members.

“The fact of the matter is the dentist is rarely interfacing with the systems. Someone’s doing the charting, someone’s placing the sensor,” Lavine said.
Both Stroud and Singerman said in their experience it is more common for the staff to receive much more training than the dentist than vice versa. While this shows confidence and trust in the staff, having the person in charge of the practice know the ins and outs of every system will keep him or her more closely connected to what happens in the practice from day to day.

“I think it’s absolutely essential that the dentist attend as much of the training as possible,” Singerman said. “Unfortunately too many dentists miss portions of the training and rely on their staff.”

Patients matter

In the end, it is important to think of how patients will benefit from the training, said Ultradent (ultradent.com) Product Training Manager Karen Phillips. A team-based approach to product education and training keeps the staff involved and knowledgeable about the ins and outs of the products they use while treating patients. As long as the people using the tools know how to use them well, an office should find success with its investments.

“In most cases, it’s the staff that manages the products step-by-step, while the clinician is the one who initially approves the purchase,” she said.

Click here for the training survey article, "Smarten up for success"