What To Look For In A Dental Office Team
If you have the training and knowledge you need to begin looking for employment as a dental assistant, you may have a lot of questions about what to look for in a dental office. While there is a wide variety of dental practices with diverse makeups, and not every dental assistant is suited for every practice, there are some things that you can look for in a dental office team that will make all the difference in the world on a day-to-day basis.
Respect
This is likely the most important thing to keep an eye out for when looking for a team that you would like to be a part of.
Does everyone on the team have genuine respect for the other team members - from the top to the bottom. Does the dentist seem to genuinely respect the hygienists? Do the dental assistants respect and get along with the scheduling coordinators? Does the office manager respect and seek to understand everyone else's job in the office?
This mutual respect for one another (or lack thereof) is what can make or break a dental office. It's what make you love or hate coming to work everyday. It's what makes all the difference for the patients as well.
Teamwork
Along the same lines, you want to do your best to find out whether or not there is a strong sense of team and whether each member of the team seems to understand their own role as well as the roles of the other team members.
When each member of the dental office understands his/her role and how that role relates to each of the other team members, the dental office can run like a finely oiled machine.
When this is not the case, things can quickly get hectic and frustrating and conflict can arise.
Look for an office that you can walk into and see each individual fulfilling a role that contributes to the overall cohesion of the team.
Sense of Humor
This may seem somewhat trivial, but remember that you will be spending many hours working closely with this group of people. If you don't find a group of people that know how to laugh a little, at themselves and at each other, without putting each other down, your workdays will most likely seem very long and tedious.
Passion for the Field
When looking into a particular dental practice, do your best to find a group of folks who is passionate about growing in their expertise and who genuinely cares about people.
One of the great things about a career as a dental assistant is that you are continually learning something new. If you find a team who truly cares about learning and growing and also has a love for people and helping them to better understand oral hygiene and how to care for their teeth, you have found something special.
Stay tuned for more ideas and pointers!
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