By Lisa Weber, RDH — The $600K RDH, GG12 Certified Coach & Marketing Strategist
start worrying about what they should be doing during downtime, we should start training them to think like owners and not like employees. Take every opportunity you can to educate the team. Share stats with your team, like what your practice overhead is, and how much a one-hour opening in hygiene or in the Doctor’s schedule per day actually costs the practice. Of course, after we’ve done this, we are still going to see openings. What then? As our country continues to struggle economically, it is no surprise that many patients are still watching their finances carefully. They have less discretionary income and are often putting dentistry at the bottom of their to-do list. In some areas of the country, we’re doing really well, while in others, Dentists are finding it difficult to keep their schedules filled during normal work hours. One thing that has proven to be effective in many practices and in all areas of the country is offering more hygiene time during peak hours (7–10 a.m. and 4–8 p.m.) and eliminating or reducing hygiene appointments during the middle of the day when most no-shows or cancellations occur (what Dr. Orent refers to as the “Donut Hole” schedule).
Patients are much less likely to take off from work for a hygiene appointment than they used to be. Offering convenient before- and after-work appointments, as well as Saturday (and even Sunday!) appointments, will help keep your schedule full. Whenever there are holes in the schedule — or downtime of any kind — every staff member (not just Hygienists) should be expected to help with duties that might be outside their normal job description, regardless of how they are paid: hourly, salary, daily, or commission of any type. Nobody is excluded. We are a team and there is no such thing as “that’s not my job.” Downtime should be productive time for everyone. This includes business staff, dental assistants, and Hygienists. Below are recommendations for how the Hygienist should be spending downtime. Note, dental assistants and business team members can also do many of these duties when they have downtime.
Many of our members are fortunate to have amazing Hygienists. We are often asked what Hygienists can and/or should do when there's "downtime." Let’s say a patient doesn’t show up or calls with a last-minute cancellation. What next? Lisa Weber, RDH, GG12 Certified Coach, sat down one day and answered the question ... and then some!
Enjoy!
Hardly a week goes by without a Doctor or office manager asking me, “What is my Hygienist supposed to be doing during downtime … when there is a hole in their schedule due to a broken appointment, a last-minute cancellation, or if the time just couldn’t be filled?” That’s a great question. It would be amazing if we all had team members who had "ownership mentality” instead of “worker bee mentality.” I would say long before we
Downtime Duties
1. The first thing the Hygienist should do is get on the phone and try to get the patient who no-showed to come in, even if you can only accomplish the exam and films. Try to get them in for the remainder of the appointment. This will give you the opportunity to diagnose any needed dentistry and possibly fill a hole
“We are a team and there is no such thing as ‘that’s not my job.’”
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