J. Breck McGill, DDS

You can do hard things! 

You were admitted to dental school.  Worked your way through mounds of information and honed your didactic skills.  Passed National and regional board exams.  Now all you need to do is just practice dentistry, right?  

Until it hit you that you are responsible for hiring staff, managing staff, training staff, accounts receivable, accounts payable, supplies, marketing & advertising, continuing education, quality control, insurance submission, insurance plan review, equipment purchase & maintenance, payroll, quarterly tax preparation, facility management and the list goes on.  

Now add to that some common concerns; when do I remodel, expand my facility, add an associate.  What is fair compensation for the people that help me accomplish all of this?  Add to this all of the other hats that you might be wearing in your public and private life.  The final straw might be that you are working on all of the above while you are determined to give your clients the best treatment and treatment experience they have ever had.   It isn't surprising that there can be stress in the life of a dental practitioner. 

Sometimes we dentists are so absorbed in providing quality dentistry to our patients that we don't stop and evaluate what it is we are doing.  Outstanding entrepreneurs realize the importance of monitoring and evaluating their business systems and practices.  

Dentistry is no different.

Take some time to evaluate where it is you want to go.  If you don't have a destination, you will never know when you've arrived.  The current buzz word is "vision".  Vision is an excellent descriptor because if you can't see where you want to go the chances of obtaining your goal are diminished.   Work with experienced professionals to focus your vision and provide an objective analysis of where you are and where you want to go.  Then you can see clearly what needs to occur in a prioritized manner.  

In dental terms you and I would say, "seek a comprehensive exam for your practice and establish an excellent treatment plan".  It makes sense for our patients...it makes sense for our practice.