On the lookout

I find myself frequently working under cover as I travel around the UK, looking for new examples of great customer service, I can share with the dental teams I work with.
I am constantly on the look out because it reminds me what I am trying to achieve, and reminds me of the ideal I am trying to help teams create.
Recently I found myself living out of a hotel bag for just over a week and over that period I travelled a great deal of miles and was really struggling........... Struggling to find any sort of experience to share with the team I was about to work with in London. I kept looking and felt a little bit like Indiana Jones on a crusade by the end of day two. Nothing was remarkable and there was nothing to remark upon. Lots of people doing enough and sufficient, but nothing more

Then suddenly it happened, there I was standing on Petersfield railway platform along with several hundred other people (I stupidly booked the busiest train that happened to be going to Wimbledon on the day that Andy Murray was in the quarter finals). I was a part of a huge number of tennis fans wanting to board the next train. A coffee was required then I would be prepared to join the challenge of finding a space and if I was lucky a seat!

On the platform there was a chap selling coffee from a portable stall, I now know this to be Java Java coffee stand. This stand was nothing to look at, nothing flashy and I only know its name because it was on my cup. All the customers were referring to the chap on the stall as Rooey, and Rooey had a moment with each of his customers, every one of them felt special for that one moment, he had a smile and a chat for each of them. He wasn't just making coffee.
Then it was my turn, I ordered and the coffee was made. I clearly had the look of a woman who had dragged several bags of luggage from a hotel some 1/2 mile away and was about to do battle with the entire audience off Centre Court. Rooey had a few words with me, we discussed lack of understanding as to the appeal of tennis. Rooey then told me to wait nearby so he could help me onto the train when it came into the station. I was completely blown away and will remember him and the way he made me feel for a very long time. His story will travel with me.

The flip side of this story was my breakfast experience at the Holiday Inn, London. A very smart 4* hotel. I arrived at breakfast and at the dining room door was a large sign saying" Please wait here you will be seated by the next smile". What a great sign I thought, really clever, I was looking forward to meeting my smile, I had been away from home for a few days, a bit lonely, missing my family, probably like many of the other sad business soles frequenting this type of hotel. My smile did not arrive... they completely over promised and under delivered. Perhaps no one had got discussed this customer service promise with the people supposedly delivering "the smile". This experience will also stay with me.

Are you under delivering and over promising, or are you doing a Rooey?

Emma

Absolute Nurses

These "Gems" are a very important part of the Absolute Team- usually very over looked- they are vital to the smooth running and functioning of our Dental Practice.

Our Dental Nurses, Denise, Hatty, Rachel, Di and Fliss are a huge asset to our practice, they have studied and trained for at least 2 years full time and now qualified are required to keep all their skills and knowledge learnt up-to-date through a programme of Continual Professional Development.

Our Nurses act as a go between to the Dentists, Hygienists and the patients offering a kind and supportive role to all patients whether nervous or not. They are discreet and caring and of course the are the "captains" of the treatment room making sure that everything is in its place, scrupulous clean and hygienically kept with regards to all instrument and materials and last but not least assisting the Clinician, while caring for patients.

Other duties including answering the telephone, dealing with paperwork, collecting and taking payment, stock control and being the face of the practice.

Our dental nurses are a vital part of the Absolute Team because the practice would not function without them- so I say again- very rare "Gems"

Sarah

Absolute Success!

I passed!

After 6 months of hard work and study, I got my results through saying I had passed the National Certificate for Dental Nurses.

Having sat a 2hour written exam paper which included Multiple choice, short answer questions, Diagrams, Charting & 3 Essays,Then talked for 13 minutes (much harder then you think, when 3 strangers are staring at you and making lots of notes!) mixed a cement that I have never seen before and a spotter test where I had to identify 20 instruments in 4 minutes and all in just one day!

It is an understatement to say I am relieved to not have to go through it all again, but I will miss my sessions of Nerve Supply Bingo with Di!

Now I am able to register with the General Dental Council and become a fully fledged Registered Dental Nurse! Being more confident, able and up to date with knowledge, it will not only benefit myself, but the Dentists I work with, other staff members at the practice and our patients.

The exam is designed to asses my depth of knowledge and understanding- I have proved that I have both!

I'm looking forward to the next challenge!

Hatty

With news of Hatty passing her National Certificate in Dental Nursing hot off the press this morning, I feel in high spirits – a fitting end to a fortnight of challenges (and hopefully triumphs!) for me.

On June 23rd, I accompanied Emma to an event organised by College Street Dental in Petersfield, where she had been invited as the guest speaker for an evening event. The assembled group represented all areas of the dental team and we were asked to speak to them on the importance of the patient journey.

Whilst Emma concentrated on one of her many areas of expertise – the front desk team – I spoke from the dental nurses point of view, describing for the group my perception of what both good and bad dental nursing look like, and how the dental nurse plays a vital role within the dental team, and what attributes a dental nurse in a modern, forward thinking dental practise needs to demonstrate.

My emphasis was for the dental nurses to consider their actions from the patients’ perspective, emphasising continuity from the front desk team and helping to raise the profile of the dental nurse in the patient’s mind. Knowing that we were presenting to a group that consisted of dentists, hygienists, nurses practice managers and sales representatives was very daunting for me – to say the least!!!

Emma has a background of speaking nationally to large groups of professionals – whereas I don’t – yet!! But the group were very receptive – even if it was 6.30pm on one of the hottest days of the year so far!! More to the point – I really enjoyed it! I enjoyed being able to offer some practical advice that I hope enabled those present to improve the way in which they work to the benefit of the patient, and also to enable them to get more satisfaction from their role.
Hot on the heels of the Petersfield presentation, we were back in Devon and presenting to the Plymouth DCP group on Saturday morning to a dedicated (and they must be dedicated – devoting a Saturday morning to CPD!!) group of mainly dental nurses. The presentation had been tailored to suit our briefing for the group and was titled “Dental Care Professionals – Why First Impressions Really Do Count”.

Again, Emma looked at this from a front desk/practice managers point of view, and I emphasised the dental nurses role. Still daunted by this large group, but encouraged by the sight of a few familiar faces in the audience, I began to relax and enjoy this presentation a little bit more. This time I had the knowledge of one success under my belt and I knew I needed to build on it, and the feedback received suggests we did just that.

I read in a magazine this week an excellent quote from a sports psychologist at Cardiff Metropolitan University; at first I only thought of applying it to my training for the 10k, but then I realised that it applies to so many other things in my life at the moment:

“If you’re feeling lethargic, weak or sick before a big event, challenge yourself to quit – this strategy transforms anxiety into anger. Imagine how you’d feel having thrown away all that training and this chance to prove yourself, and you’ll savour the challenge ahead” Sheldon Hanton

So, my final thought for this blog is to do something each day that scares you – the rewards can be amazing!