Had the most wonderful conversation with a doctor last week. He is building a 7 operatory practice in the southeastern part of the US. He’s been working as an associate with one of “those” corporations and had finally had enough. After we talked about efficiency systems and implementation, he asked if Reboot Training was available to docs who didn’t purchase dental equipment from Ergonomic Products or do any design work with Design Ergonomics.
“Absolutely!” I said.
Our discussion started with the Sterilization process. He had 12 linear feet to work with. I told him he only needed 9 feet in his Sterilization design. “You can do more with less,” I said. He wanted to learn more; to stay within the confines of a strict budget. He wanted to make investments in processes and systems and forget about the granite. I think I sat up a little straighter in my chair after that; I liked the way this guy was thinking. I wanted to learn about him, where he came from and what brought him to this point. I really wanted to say, “Your momma raised you right to have that kind of common sense.”
9 ft Sterlization, with 12 ft Resupply and RapidCart bay below counter
I digress. This young go-getter had a great analogy I thought I’d share:
Corporate Dental Companies and Theater Companies
Let me be the first to tell you, I know nothing about theaters. In Northeast Ohio, we know sports and sports was what we did. I had to read about theaters in books. But the analogy is a good one:
“Theater Companies are good at building theaters. They’re able to negotiate the lowest rate for drawings, contractors and materials because the plan is to build about 10 more in the next five years. While the shell is being constructed, the owners of the theater bargain with manufacturers for seating, sound systems, a stage and interior designers. They’re focused on appearance (if not quality). The more fluff the better, as long as it’s cheap. “People will come from all over the nation to see our theater. It’s a beauty - a real showpiece.” Then they hire actors. When audiences start to show up, they have no idea where to go. They’ve been waiting for tickets for hours. When they get to their seats, they wait again; this time for the show to start, but showtime has come and past. When the actors are on stage and the curtains are finally drawn, no one knows their lines. The actors are walking around the stage aimlessly.
What good is a gorgeous theater when the show sucks? Where was the choreography? Where was the director? The actors just start doing what they’ve always done before, improvise.”
Tell me how you really feel, doc!
Some dental corporations, DSO’s, DMO’s may do a good job putting together a structure and getting “pretty” equipment at the lowest cost; but when the doors open, it’s a free for all! Dental suppliers have sold them a bunch of nonsense, but hey, they got the best price. Is it useful? What good is something if it does not add value to the finished product?
People are running all over the practice. There is some head honcho (who is not a dentist) trying to keep things in line by reminding the team about “the book” with all the systems in it. It’s a dental office, we treat patients, right? Where is the practice culture? Do they even care? Dental staff are going through the motions for reasons unknown. Improvising as usual. At the end of the day, you have a flustered team, flustered doctors and flustered patients. It doesn’t take long before looking for new staff starts to become the new company standard. In a corporate setting, hiring new staff includes doctors. I promise I won’t get into quality of care. That’s a whole other blog; no, it’s a biography-turned-documentary.
I asked this doctor what his goals for his dental office design were. He said he actually loved treating patients and tried to be accountable to them and his team. It was a lost cause in his old corporate world, he said. The management group didn’t care about them, so why should he? He wanted something of his own no matter how scary it was to start; he wanted to deliver quality dentistry to his community who deserved optimum dental care. He wanted to have control of his business, treating his patients and providing his team with safety, security and systems. He’s been relying on the information he had access to on Facebook and Dentaltown. I said, “that’s a lot of information. How do you filter it?” He said, “That is the million dollar question.”
I applaud my new friend and private practice owner. He will open his 7 operatory practice early next year while equipping 3 to start. His passion wasn’t just to go through the motions and collect a paycheck at the end of the week. He wants to help people. Hold up, what did he say? Isn’t that why you get into this profession? Now, he is in control of his destiny. Culture starts from the ground up. If you can’t fix them, beat them.
For a complete reference to every step of starting a new practice, check out the Dental Start-Up Guide. In this book, Dr. David J. Ahearn and our team at Design Ergonomics— the nation’s leading independent dental office designers—share how you can transition from being an employee to leading your own successful practice.
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