CE0911: Inaugural Washington Dental Service
Annual Practice Management CDE -
Communication and Teamwork

Course Chair: Daniel C. N. Chan, DMD, MS, DDS
Speakers: Rhonda Savage, DDS; Sandra Phillips, MPA; Tara Adolfi, CPC, CHCC

Course Description:

Communication is a strong determinant of success in our personal and professional lives. Yet, we all communicate in very different ways, in different styles, and sometimes those style differences can cause conflicts and misunderstanding among us.

This inaugural Washington Dental Service annual Practice Management CDE will start with a hands-on lecture on the Success Signals tool by a team of certified trainer, Ms Sandra Philips, Director of Clinics and Ms Tara Adolfi, Compliance Director, both at the UW SOD. Success Signals has been presented all over the country, and is always very popular. By learning and using the Success Signals tool, employee conflict is minimized, communication becomes much more effective, and overall job performance and satisfaction increases.

The rest of the course is based on the very popular Linda Miles’ course on communication and teamwork. This portion will be presented by Dr. Rhonda Savage, CEO of Linda Miles & Associates. There are two critical areas of management in the dental practice, that determines the daily stress level and the efficiency of the practice management systems. Both of these “management-must-haves” will be enthusiastically outlined in this lecture.

COMMUNICATION from front to back, back to front, doctor to team, team to doctor and all to patients must be effective and congruent. This vital part of daily communication will be presented in an easy to understand format based on Linda Miles’ 1000 plus client consultations. Take-to-the-office-and-use-on-Monday tips will bring immediate and positive results. No more will the dentist shudder wondering how the important communication is handled from one team member to another and to all patients.

TEAMWORK means different things to different people. When teamwork is present, the office runs smoothly. When teamwork is missing, the days seem longer and much more stressful. This lively afternoon outlines the importance of a positive attitude, accountability and leadership at all levels. Learn how to decrease burnout: Be ‘On-Fire’ for your practice of dentistry!

Course Objectives As a result of attending this course, the participant should be able to:

• Discuss communication style, and its importance in building rapport and influence with others
• Recognize their own unique communication style and how to use it most effectively in all situations
• Accurately interpret the style of others and communicate successfully with each style
• Prevent conflicts caused by style and stress
• Develop respect and understanding of each other
• Build self-esteem
• Create a more satisfying personal and professional life
• How to pass the patient from one person to the next with proper communication at each phase
• Improve case acceptance– which words or phrases NOT to use
• Decrease broken appointments and last minute cancellations
• Master fee rebuttals
• Better communicate with 3rd party
• Exercise the “hows” and “whys” of staff meetings–turning good ideas into finished projects
• Identify the three TRUE values of a dental employee
• Describe how vision and accountability go hand in hand

Instructors:

RHONDA SAVAGE began her career in dentistry as a dental assistant in 1976. After 4 years of chair-side assisting, she then took over front office duties for the next two years.

Dr. Savage graduated with a B.S. in Biology, Cum Laude, Seattle University 1985; she then attended the University of Washington School of Dentistry, graduating in 1989 with numerous honors. She was then active duty as a dental officer in the U.S. Navy during Desert Shield/ Desert Storm and was awarded the Navy Achievement Medal, the National Defense Medal and an Expert Pistol Medal.

Dr. Savage has been in private practice for 16 years, has authored many published peer reviewed articles and has lectured internationally. She is active in organized dentistry and is a past President of the Washington State Dental Association. She is an affiliate faculty member of the University of Washington School of Dentistry. In addition, she is a fellow of the Pierre Fauchard Academy, the American College of Dentistry and the International College of Dentists.

Rhonda Savage, DDS is the CEO for Linda L. Miles and Associates, an internationally known practice management and consulting business. She is a member of the National Speakers Association and the Institute of Management Consultants. Dr. Savage is a noted speaker on lectures on practice management, women’s health issues, periodontal disease, communication and marketing, and zoo dentistry.

SANDRA PHILLIPS received her BS and MPA (Master of Public Administration) degrees from the University of Washington. She has been a member of the UW School of Dentistry’s faculty since 1988, and is a Senior Lecturer in Practice Management for the Department of Restorative Dentistry. Currently she is Director of Clinic Operations and has served on the School’s Health and Safety Task force since its inception in 1994. She is also a member of the Coordinated Quality Improvement Committee. Throughout her time at UW, she has developed and improved strategies for minimizing risk in the dental clinic, and dealt with most aspects of practice management. Sandra is a certified trainer for the Success Signals Communication Styles system.

TARA ADOLFI has been working in the health care field for 16 years. She is a Certified Professional Coder and Certified Healthcare Compliance Consultant. Her work experience includes insurance company, private practice and hospital/academic settings. Her roles within The University of Washington have included Radiology Support Services Manager, UW Physicians Assistant Compliance Director, UWMC Compliance Project Manager and School of Dentistry Compliance Director. Tara is a certified trainer for the Success Signals Communication Styles system.

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University of Washington is an ADA CERP Recognized Provider.	The University of Washington is an ACDE member.
ADA CERP is a service of the American Dental Association to assist dental professionals in identifying quality providers of continuing dental education. ADA CERP does not approve or endorse individual courses or instructors, nor does it imply acceptance of credit hours by boards of dentistry.
University of Washington designates this activity for 7 continuing education credits.