Continuing education (CE) is an essential part of dentistry that should be viewed as enhancing both the clinical and the business sides of the practice. Strategizing a CE plan each year allows dentists to identify the key areas for improving their and the dental team’s personal knowledge and skills, all with the goal of enhancing the practice and patient care.
Make a plan. Planning allows you to accomplish important goals more effectively with much greater odds of successful completion. Regarding CE, sit down each December and consider the following questions as you think through your goals for the following year:
- Do you want to improve aesthetic dentistry? Do you want to achieve a fellowship or masters in an organization?
- Do you want to attend a certain clinical institute to improve quality of care?
- Is there a technology available that will make clinical care better or the clinical process faster?
Don’t view CE as “a box to check.” Don’t think of CE as simply a way to accommodate licensure requirements. The time, effort, and expense of CE can be put to wonderful use to improve practice quality, return on investment, staff speed, and doctor satisfaction. Furthermore, CE can help dentists develop a new level of excitement that will keep practicing dentistry fun and fulfilling throughout their entire careers.
Dr. Roger P. Levin is CEO of Levin Group, a leading practice management and marketing consulting firm. To contact him or to join the 40,000 dental professionals who receive his Practice Production Tip of the Day, visit LevinGroup.com or email [email protected].
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