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Chapter 3 |
To a large
extent, the quality of our working lives depend on our own conduct---its “what
we do!”
This level
of Agreements defines our goals for our own daily conduct as it relates to
those who share our working day.
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ithin the Apollonia Family, each of us has a variety of responsibilities, and limited resources of time, talent, an money to achieve them. These conduct Agreements should help you understand and join the team as we all try to help each other achieve our common goals.
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Chapter key § Learning and Coaching § Forward Planning § Time Management § Safety § Presentation § Care § Schedule |
As your experience grows, you will find that each team member is busy doing things that you maybe didn’t even know had to be done! This collection of Agreements represent promises that we all make to each other, so that we can all comfortably and confidently predict what the other team members will do without being asked!
These Agreements come from challenges met in the past. Your daily experiences can help the team if you make your suggestions known!
§ If we don’t know, we can learn. If we do know, we can coach.
§ We will know our team position descriptions, and will identify areas where we need coaching. We will help seek coaching from our appropriate coaches.
A life worth living is a life worth recording. |
§ We will maintain a log of our notes, reminders, lists, instructions, activities and progress, and will keep it with us at all times during our work day.
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When we coach another team member, we will use a “Tell-
Show-Do-Redirect-Practice-Present-Log” method of instruction and
documentation.
§ We will use a “hands on” method of learning whenever possible.
§ We will spend at least one hour for each working day, developing our individual talents, developing the talents of others, or organizing our own work. We will make a log of our activities and progress.
§ We will spend at least 6 hours each week (the equivalent of one hour less television each day) on personal development, as guided by our closest coach.
§ We will take seriously our obligation to learn and follow established protocols.
§ We will identify lab cases due at least two days ahead of time, and will handle them today!
§ Everything (soiled) goes into the sterilizer in time to be ready for the beginning of the next team’s work day.
§ We will write down financial arrangements in the Dentrix chart under “Patient Notes” so that others can be free to schedule appointments from their work spaces.
§ Patient Care Coordinators will assume that their Team Coordinator is on the phone or with a patient 100% of the time, and will try to handle their needs from their own workplace. This avoids a “time bottleneck” up front that can stall your whole day.
§ We will schedule periodontal procedures in the Periodontal Therapy Centers.
Make time your ally, by planning ahead for when you are short! |
§ When short on time, we will clear a treatment room quickly by tossing everything (except open sharps and trash) into a “crash bucket”, and will clean up later, before we leave for the day.
§ We will each maintain a “downtime list” of productive things we can do on our own, and will use our spare minutes productively.
§ We will double book only exams against any planned procedure.
§ We will store hazardous chemicals on lower shelves and with the lids securely on.
§ We will avoid bringing soiled or potentially infectious gloves, instruments, dentures, or other materials exposed to a patient’s oral environment outside a treatment room unless contained within an appropriate container or barrier covering.
§ We will be careful to leave sharps in plain view until properly disposed of, to avoid others accidentally “finding” them.
§ We will place sharps in the sharps bins FIRST, when cleaning up our work areas.
§ We will use universal barrier techniques to avoid cross exposure between our own germs and those of our patients.
§ We will wear appropriate face masks when we think we may come to work infectious with minor colds or other nuisance illnesses.
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In the year 249 A.D., in the city of Alexandria in what
is now Egypt, a young girl named Apollonia was subjected to having her
front teeth heartlessly knocked out. Some say that she was being
persecuted for her faith, others contend that she was defending her
virtue. Nonetheless, all historic accounts agree that she found the
trauma so unbearable that she flung herself into a bonfire to escape
her tormentors and to end her suffering.
From that day forward, many legends have surrounded Apollonia’s misfortune, and people of many faiths have prayed to her for relief of toothache pain. The Apollonia Dental Centers provide practicing dentists with facilities, staffing, services and support. Relieved of the day-to-day distractions of running an office, affiliated dentists are encouraged to concentrate their skills and attention to better alleviate the pain and suffering of those afflicted with dental disease. Your dentist has chosen to affiliate with Apollonia Dental Centers out of a desire to seek continual improvement in the delivery of dental care services, for today and tomorrow. |
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The Apollonia Dental Centers story is based on an ancient historical account verified as true from a number of independent contemporary accounts. It is included on many of our promotional materials, and you should be familiar with it. |
§ We will present an image of ourselves that is consistently positive, confident, friendly, capable, and sensitive.
§ We will answer the phone with enthusiasm and confidence.
§ We will reassure each patient that they have made the right choice.
We will make the difference obvious! |
§ We will make eye contact with each patient.
§ We will avoid placing “scary things” in the view of patients.
§ We will avoid judgmental remarks.
§ We will avoid any negative comment, always finding the good side.
§ We will NEVER show, discuss, or acknowledge a problem (“challenge”) in visual or auditory range of a patient.
§ We will reinforce good patient behavior with praise.
§ We will redirect poor patient behavior with better questions.
§ When handling patient challenges will use “I understand how you FEEL, others have FELT that way, and many have FOUND…….”
§ When we “make a mess” we will “clean it up”
§ When we make a mistake, we will say “I’m sorry”
§ We will see the good side of everybody.
§ We will avoid surprising people with increased fees when plans change.
We will avoid hurting people! |
§ We will place a priority on planning for predictability.
§ We will not do things we can’t be sure will work.
§ We will present reasonable alternatives without judgment.
§ We will use every trick in the book to make a patient want what is good.
§ We will do only what the patient wants.
§ We will set our fees to produce abundance, according to the time needed.
§ We will not schedule what has not been paid for (by agreement or in fact).