Pair your new dentist with your best assistant.

I realize that in many cases, the professional bond an established dentist feels with his or her assistant makes this seem like an almost impossible accommodation to make. Why not let the new dentist develop their own relationship with their own assistant and grow together the way you have with yours?

But if you are serious about doing what is best for the associate – and ultimately, what is best for your patients and the practice – this tactical staffing maneuver is one of the most important things you can do to ensure your new associate has every chance of success. After all, if you are that committed to your assistant and confident in her abilities, it's all the more reason to give her the important assignment of supporting the practice's new dentist. And it doesn't have to be forever; just having her spend the first three to six months with the associate should be enough to get the right momentum going.

There are several reasons for this. First of all, pairing the new person with your most efficient veteran staffer is the quickest way to get the newcomer up to speed with the systems you've built in the practice. You don't want a new dentist, who already has enough to deal with on a clinical level, trying to figure out the ins and outs of your practice protocol at the same time. Having a steady hand there to deal with the routine stuff lets the dentist focus on being a dentist.

This also maintains continuity in the eyes of the patients. No patient wants to feel like they are being relegated to the "second string" team. Having that long time assistant in the room means patients will still be seeing a familiar face, and that is an important psychological factor in accepting change.

New associates can often feel like outsiders with little influence in the practice. By providing this kind of experienced assistance to your new dentist you ensure they have a valuable and influential ally in the practice who will see to it that their interests are never overlooked.  In that sense, assigning your best assistant to them sends a strong message to the new dentist that you are serious about enabling their success.


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