dental practice

TIME FLIES WHEN you're having fun. It’s hard to believe that Jolene has already spent 20 years with us at Gorczyca Orthodontics.

A Pillar Of Our Practice

It seems like just yesterday we were interviewing Jolene in our first office back on Lone Tree Way, Antioch, California. Jolene has been a backbone of Gorczyca Orthodontics for 20 years. Jolene is also a 38-year RDA veteran, having worked in pediatric dentistry before coming to orthodontics full-time.

Jolene’s excellence and experience as well as her outstanding customer service and love of her patients has made her a valuable asset to Gorczyca Orthodontics. We are thankful to Jolene for her loyalty and professionalism.
We appreciate all that she does.

Over the past 20 years, Jolene has personally trained more than 38 dental assistants who have gone on to become registered dental assistants (RDAs) in orthodontic practices all over Northern California. For her excellence and commitment to continuing education, Jolene was placed on the advisory board of Diablo Valley College, the college she once attended.

Dr. Gorczyca says “It has been a privilege to work with Jolene all of these years. Jolene is both humble and confident. She has been my right hand person for many years. She is loved by all of her patients. She is always the first to help me, a patient, or another dental assistant. She truly loves what she does, and it shows. She continues to grow and advance in her profession. She always does the right thing at Gorcyzca Orthodontics and she always follows through on every task which she undertakes. She is a true leader. We have been so fortunate to have Jolene with us 20 years at Gorczyca Orthodontics.”

Looking Forward To More Years Together!

Jolene has no intention of retiring. Neither does Dr. Gorczyca. Both plan to keep on creating beautiful smiles for as long as they can.

Thank you Jolene for all you have done for your patients and for all of us at Gorczyca Orthodontics. You are the best person we ever could ever have had for our organization. We are all so fortunate to be able to work with you for 20 years.

Gorczyca Orthodontics, 5201 Deer Valley Road, Suite 1A, Antioch, California 925-757-9000 www.clubbraces.com

I FIRST LEARNED customer service as a child working as salesgirl on my grandmother’s vegetable stand. My grandmother told me to look cute, smile, and make the customers happy. My goal was to make each person feel special by doing a little something extra just for them. So I smiled and delivered an extra cucumber especially for them. My grandmother valued and recognized customer service. And so my education in customer service began.

Exceptional Customer Service Goes A Long Way

As an orthodontic specialist for over twenty-seven years, I've heard some patients talk about their dentist with love, while others say they would never return to a dental office ever again. Yet there are dental patients who will drive hundreds of miles for outstanding customer service from a favorite dental professional.

Individual service and attention breeds dental patient loyalty and makes for a five-star patient experience. Outstanding dental teams know how to deliver at every touch point of the patient's office journey. Their actions attend to every detail of patient comfort and feeling of fulfillment. By doing so, they make the patient feel they are getting high value for their money not only in terms of their dental care, but also with respect to the overall patient experience.

Customer service leaders work well together, delighting patients while producing dental practice success. To some dental professionals, "soft skills" come naturally. For others, customer service tips need to be reviewed for best practices in order to acquire emotional intelligence and service acumen. To those who need to work on their customer service skills, the information in this book will help.

Recognizing Good Service Breeds More Good Service

When I was a student at the Harvard School of Dental Medicine, I had the opportunity to study at the Harvard School of Public Health in the Department of Health Management and Policy. There, I attended my first management lectures and started to understand the importance and broad-reaching effects of customer service within the healthcare service industry, including dentistry.

When I started teaching at the University of the Pacific, Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry, we added a customer service lecture to the business management curriculum. We reviewed the impact of such terms as "my pleasure" versus "no problem." Aiming to remain relevant and memorable, we gave a Customer Service Award to the most service-oriented orthodontic resident. We also give an annual Customer Service Award at Gorczyca Orthodontics. You get what you reward. This is the highest award achievable in the dental office.

Social Media Makes Receiving Customer Feedback Easy!

In the past, dental offices often used questionnaires to obtain patient service metrics. In the age of social media, customer online reviews often take away this administrative task. Social media sites such as Yelp, Facebook, and Google give dentists immediate feedback regarding their service each day. Once service information is collected, compiled, and communicated, corrections can be made in management systems to improve customer service. This requires time, attention, and action by a devoted team working together to produce immediate customer service results.

Dentistry is, after all, a service industry. The definition of a "profession" is that we put others above ourselves. First, last, and always, we are here to serve our patients. This is why outstanding customer service is so central to a successful dental practice.

Five-star customer service is something each of us can deliver. Outstanding customer service is the end that we all wish to achieve, day after day, year after year. This book describes the means to this end.

To My Grandmother, Babcie, delighter of customers. Thank you for everything you taught me.

About the Author

Dr. Ann Marie Gorczyca speaks on practice management topics including marketing, teamwork, treatment coordination, customer service, management systems and human resource management. She was a speaker at the 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017 American Association of Orthodontists (AAO) Annual Sessions. She has received teaching awards from UCSF and University of the Pacific Dental Schools. She is author of the books, “It All Starts with Marketing-201 Marketing Tips for Growing a Dental Practice” and “Beyond the Morning Huddle-HR Management for a Successful Dental Practice” She is an orthodontist at Gorczyca Orthodontics in Antioch, CA. This is her third book.

WHAT COMES TO YOUR MIND when you think about YouTube?

If you’re like most people, the first thing you probably think is, “The place for funny, viral videos.” But did you know that YouTube is now the #2 search engine on the web? That’s right. People love watching videos—not just for entertainment, but also to better digest the information they’re looking for.

On our practice’s YouTube channel, we try to create, and/or aggregate, some of the very best thinking in orthodontics today. We do that so you can reference a hub of useful, relevant information about your oral health, your dental comfort, and your appearance.

And sometimes, we just like to have a little fun too.

So take a moment to browse the videos on our YouTube channel. We go out and collect a lot of the best thinking on the web so you don’t have to spend hours searching, or wondering about the credibility of what you’re watching.

You can see our channel by clicking on the link below:

And as always, THANKS for the trust you place in our practice, and for being our valued patient.

I FIRST OBSERVED HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT (HRM) FROM MY MOTHER, an elementary school principal for over 32 years. I remember her daily, weekly, and annual preparation of HRM tasks. She meticulously reviewed performance and praised achievements, as well as set goals and areas of improvement for her teachers. She held team meetings at our home, and her school was recognized as a national school of excellence. Regarding one teacher whose performance was substandard, there was a well-planned legal termination. This wasn't easy—but it was necessary. Such may be the case for you, in your dental practice.

Human Resource Management Is Very Important In The Healthcare Industry

When I meet fellow dentists and ask “How are you?” we frequently discuss practice personnel issues. There is no aspect of dental practice management as difficult and daunting as human resource management (HRM). Challenging and emotionally charged, HRM may be something dentists wish to avoid, but cannot.

HRM is critical to the effective running of a dental practice, management of the team, and effective leadership capability of the doctor.

When I was a student at the Harvard School of Dental Medicine, I had the opportunity to study at the Harvard School of Public Health in the Department of Health Policy and Management. There, I attended my first management lectures and started to understand the unique psychological and legal aspects of HRM. After 25 years of my own Office Manual updates and close work with HR and legal professionals, I've learned recruitment, integration, scheduling, reviews, termination, and distribution of employee resources.

HRM takes courage, communication, and candor. It requires an understanding of good work behaviors versus dysfunctional behaviors. HRM is the ability to direct performance towards the vision and goals of the dental office. This perspective is valuable to all dental professionals, in the management of their business, the dental practice.

I Hope My Book Makes A Difference

My new book, Beyond the Morning Huddle: HR Management for a Successful Dental Practice, is a collection of HR policy and procedure tips, employment law review, and case study solutions which have been critical to the running of my practice during the past twenty-five years. I hope that these insights will be helpful to readers, especially those dentists just starting out who need understanding of employment law, encouragement, a useful HR reference, or just an "It's O.K. to be the boss" cheer to make them feel empowered to persevere. I hope this book is also useful to those who have been in practice for several years; those looking to update HR regulations, effectively coach a high performance team, or sharpen their leadership saw.

You Will Feel Great!

My mother was one of the best HR managers I have ever known. Once you spend less time putting out HRM fires and more time focused on HRM excellence, you will have moved closer to your own personal happiness. What great HR managers know is that people don't change that much. Once you eliminate undesirable behaviors, you will be peaceful, fulfilled, and looking forward to another great day at the dental office. You will feel great!

Ultimately, all business owners take the HR lead. For me personally, this book will not only be the story of HR management at Gorczyca Orthodontics and within my dental community but a personal journey towards creating my own workplace paradise.

To my mother, Stasia. She understood people and how to bring out the best in them.

About the Author

Dr. Ann Marie Gorczyca speaks on practice management topics including marketing, teamwork, treatment coordination, customer service, management systems and human resource management. She was a speaker at the 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015 American Association of Orthodontists (AAO) Annual Sessions and will speak again in 2016. She has received teaching awards from UCSF and University of the Pacific Dental Schools. She is author of the book, "It All Starts with Marketing-201 Marketing Tips for Growing a Dental Practice." She is an orthodontist at Gorczyca Orthodontics in Antioch, CA. This is her second book.