January 2008

Working as a good team

by Dr. Robert Schiffman

I have been in practice for a long time, and have seen the best try and fail. Here are a few pointers that will help your practice increase the work flow and patient longevity.

One of the most important procedures you can have in your office, and an excellent way of increasing patient longevity, is having a working team. A working team is group of people who work and communicate with each other almost seamlessly. Your team would consist of you, the doctor, and your staff members.

Your CAs need to have interaction with you, and need training in order to produce good team work. There are programs that build a good camaraderie between doctor and CA, but what's needed is to introduce a program that will build a good team.

Let me list some things that will help you to start building that good team, and producing excellent teamwork.

Some of the benefits will usually be on the group level while you're building a good team. One key to building it is to make sure you communicate well with your staff. It's also important that staff members like each other. If someone has a problem with another person, you'll never have an effective team.

One of the major points is to respect each other. You as the doctor have been through training and will continue to train, so your staff must value you as the doctor. This also leads to the other end of respect.

Staff members are the ones who see patients first, so remember they are there to help you in your practice, and they deserve respect as well. Remember that you are (or should be) working toward a common goal, that of seeing people healed through the vehicle of chiropractic.

When a team works together and uses these points, their work is productive and better than that of those who don't try. The absolute best way to train a good team is to train individuals in a way that helps each person communicate better, deal with his or her co‑workers better, and like and respect other staff members better. This helps the whole group line up individual goals with the goals for your practice. And, if the training is fun and interactive participants tend to learn much faster and the training tends to be more valuable.

You should design a productive atmosphere, which will benefit your practice and produce results. Among other things, it will dramatically reduce employee turnover, lessen the duplication of work and rework, improve morale, create greater efficiencies in processes, lessen office miscommunication and increase greater profitability and patient longevity.

This is considered the 'team culture.' Your team's efficiency can be improved by trying to open the lines of communication, and identifying the team's characteristics, along with individual actions and how they affect the group.

As a team there are things to remember when it comes to your patients. These points will also help you maintain a patient increase and produce patient longevity. You and your office staff must make a favorable first impression on patients because patients almost always look at the appearance and attitude first. Then they will look to see how efficient you are and how well you're able to service them. The need for respect mentioned earlier includes staff always introducing the doctor correctly and respectfully. This validates the respect the staff has for the doctor and helps build that in patients.

There are a few things that can be done at your patients' first visit that will instill a sense of safety and friendliness so they'll be at ease and not fearful. As a team, you want to work together to produce this type of atmosphere for patients. Remember to always be ready to understand patients' needs. Address patients with a smile, and pronounce names correctly (don't be afraid to ask for the spelling). Be interested and friendly and shake hands firmly with sincerity. Always remember to look at who referred them to your office and acknowledge them. Be empathetic with patients so they'll know and feel you're sincere and do care about them and their condition. Be a good listener. Patients know when they're being sold or influenced.

As noted before, patients notice the appearance of things and that first impression is vital. How does your office look or smell? How does the staff look and behave? How are patients being approached, and what type of treatment are they receiving?

Of course, as a team member, the CA must always back up the doctor. But the whole team is a good team if all of its members communicate, respect one another, and work well together.

(Studying under CS Gonstead ignited Dr. Robert Schiffman's passion for chiropractic. The Life University graduate's career accomplishments have won him much recognition, and he is one of the most sought‑after speakers in chiropractic today. Dr. Schiffman ‑‑ founder of the Principled Revolution, Get the Big Idea! Seminars and Coaching Programs ‑‑ continues to maintain one of the world's largest volume practices. Contact him by calling 877‑251‑0181, or visit online at www.getthebigidea.com .)