You Never Regret A Run

According to the health app on my iphone I took an average of 1,232 fewer steps every day last year than I did in 2018! Over the course of the year that is nearly half a million fewer steps!! 

That seems a huge amount, but I only have myself to blame. In the first half of last year my excuses were reasonable: a combination of work, exam preparation, case presentations led to a loss of free time and as a result cessation of any exercise of running that I usually try to do. However, in the second half of the year my excuses are less robust. I allowed myself to drift along and not regain any focus or motivation in terms of exercising. I basically never really got back on it! 

So, the plan for this year was to hit the ground running, but the combination of a cold over the new year and the bad weather nearly derailed all attempts before they had even begun. But the other week, in the middle of Storm Brendan I took the bull by the horns. I got out there and just did it. It wasn’t anything spectacular, but it was a start. Yes, it was cold, wet and windy. There were even some hailstones! But after I was back, I got the endorphin hit that comes with completing any exercise. You never regret a run; you only regret not doing it. 

Like so many other things it is often easier to not do them. Bad habits are easy to fall into and hard to break. Once the time has been filled by something else it can often be hard to see where you can fit it in. Yesterday was an extremely small dent in the attempt to regain those missing steps, but it’s a start. Maybe I’ll sign up for an event in the summer to add some extra motivation. 

In addition, I have now matched my 2019 blog total! Maybe 2020 will be the year of action after all!!

Stop Focusing On How Stressed You Are And Remember How Blessed You Are.

Keith and I are very different.  I'm the anxious one.  I'm the one who worries about every little thing we do in the practice: our staff; our patients; what new techniques we should offer;  what new equipment we should buy; do we have enough money to buy them; what should our new website look like; should we do a new video for it; what wallpaper should we put up in the waiting room; what training courses we should all go on; it goes on and on.  Keith on the other hand is like the eye in the middle of my storm of worry and indecision.  He's my calm side!

As a result I find myself reading a lot about how to calm this anxiety and worry - mainly just so my brain is distracted from what I'm supposed to be worrying about!  And the thing I keep coming across again and again is thankfulness and gratitude - spending time reflecting on what has happened in a day, what you've achieved and what you have to be thankful for.  

This week in the practice we've launched full steam ahead straight into the New Year.  We're filming on the 24th January with Keith's brother Niall to create some new content for the new website we're planning, so it's been all go for the team and it feels like we're already making big decisions about what's happening for the rest of 2020.  

Perhaps though we need to just take a breath for a moment and reflect on what we've achieved and what we have, so this morning I'm going to do just that, here with you.  Sometimes all we can think about is what we've got on our to do list, what it is we've got to get done, and we forget to stop and think about everything we've achieved.  Things just get accepted and we don't give ourselves the recognition or the thanks we deserve.  That's when it all just starts to feel like a constant cycle of underachievement and insufficient time: the hamster wheel of life.  Take a step off it for a moment with me, find some space and just think.

Photo by João  Jesus

Last year, 2019, what were my greatest achievements and what am I thankful for?

When I think of 2019 I think "Oh man what a stressful year, thank God it's over," but in reality as a team we achieved so much:

• Welcomed 562 new patients to the practice
• Converted and redecorated the upstairs into office and staff space so we finally have a staff room again!
• Converted Mrs Rankin's old kitchen into a room for our Patient Care Coordinator and new CBCT scanner.
• Installed a brand new dental chair in John's surgery
• Installed a brand new Digital Intra Oral Scanner meaning Keith's patients and our Invisalign patients don't need impressions anymore
• Installed a brand new CBCT scanner meaning our implant patients don't need to travel to Glasgow 
• Installed a new reception desk
• Reorganised our staffing, bringing in new team members to create a stable, enthusiastic team with the right people in the right seats on the bus.
• Promoted Jill to Practice Manager and Patient Care Coordinator and developed her role.
• Keith passed his Diploma in Implant Dentistry
• Keith did training to allow us to deliver courses to other dentists
• Trained for a year with Chris Barrow, one of dentistry's top coaches
• Introduced a new facial aesthetics clinic and ran a successful open night.
• Introduced a new sedation referral service with Ainsley our associate dentist.
• Wrote 8 monthly blogs
• Wrote and sent 9 monthly newsletters
• Raised £300 for Cancer Research and donated a trolley of food to Coatbridge Foodbank
• Looked after our thousands of patients every day in the same way as we would like to be treated ourselves.

And we have so much to be thankful for. That our team are all healthy, enthusiastic and caring.  That our building work didn't take too long  😬.  That our patients are so loyal that they recommend us to their friends and family and write us lovely reviews online.  That we have the energy and drive to always be moving forwards and a desire to always be the best we can be.

Looking back like this allows me to think "2019, what a year!  Our best so far!  Bring on 2020!".  I feel a sense of achievement and gratefulness and I'm excited to see what this year coming will bring.  

Go on try it, you'll realise just how much you have and how much you've achieved.

Go On Take A Step Out of Your Comfort Zone!

Earlier this year, I found myself taking a dip in the North Sea. This was my way of celebrating passing my Diploma in Implant Dentistry, awarded by the Royal College of Surgeons. 

It was a process that began nearly 3 years ago. In dentistry, as with many things in life, it is easy to keep well within the safe, stable environment of your comfort zone. However, sometimes you decide to take a chance and break out.

It started with a 6-page application form and a gigantic leap of faith. I thought I was well prepared: a few trips away over a couple of years along with the odd assignment and a few patient cases. What I hadn’t anticipated was the volume of work; the long days flying to London; the transfers from airport to hotels; trips to Germany, Spain and Italy but not seeing anything beyond a few lecture rooms and a couple of clinical areas; the work and time required to complete the assignments; the time required to identify, write up, treat and present patient cases; the stress of the build up to an exam; the exam itself and of course the waiting for the result; not to mention the financial investment as well as the time away from my family. At many times through the process I questioned what I was doing.

However, looking back now, the positives and the gains well outweigh the stress and sacrifice. In applying to do the course I knew I’d learn a bit about implants. What I hadn’t anticipated were the many other positives that I would gain: new friends, colleagues and contacts; increased knowledge and understanding in all aspects of dentistry, not just implants; an ability to balance and juggle work, course and family commitments (sometimes more successfully than others!); new skills such as critical reading and assignment writing as well as the sense of accomplishment that comes with setting yourself a seemingly improbable task and then achieving it.  

So, looking back, am I glad I stepped out of my comfort zone? Of course! Ultimately, I have ended up where I thought I would, but I have gained so much more along the way. 

Every day I meet new patients who, by coming to see us are stepping well outside their comfort zone. Whether it is embarrassment about the condition of their teeth; the belief that nothing can be done or the anxiety or fear of coming to the dentist, by making that first step they are taking their own gigantic leap of faith. However, by doing so, as I found with my diploma course, they often gain much more than what they were originally hoping for. It goes beyond just fixing teeth, providing patients with increased confidence and self-esteem, not to mention the smile they have always wanted!

Why Keith is the Best Husband! (Well this week anyway!)

This month I really need to give Keith a massive pat on the back and a big thank you!  I've been saving up with my friends from uni for the last 6 years to do a big trip to celebrate our 40th's.  It's only taken us a year and a half to organise it - none of us are 40 anymore - but last Saturday we finally headed off.  We had an amazing time - Statue of Liberty, Central Park, Rockefeller, Tiffany's, The High Line, Greenwich Village and a show - we did it all in just 4 days!

But I have to say I was just a little nervous on the plane home thinking about how Keith would have coped working and looking after the kids, cooking and washing and tidying up!  I had envisioned spending the next week catching up on everything and explaining to the teachers why the kids hadn't done their homework/hadn't made it to gymnastics/dancing last week!  But when I got back he'd done an amazing job of seeing patients, running the kids around, helping with homework, doing the washing!  I did also notice a strategically placed pile of my clothes ironed and left on the floor of our bedroom that I tripped over as I walked into it - I suspect placed there just in case I hadn't noticed he'd done the ironing too!!

He also wallpapered and finished painting our sitting room which we've been trying to get done for weeks! (And because he's a dentist and has great attention to detail it was pretty damn perfect too!)

So I've decided that clearly I'm just a hindrance to him and perhaps I should go away more often...😜

Why “I don’t know how to do that” is never the right answer.

I had an experience today that no customer ever should have.  

As you may have noticed in our waiting room we have a TV screen which gives mouth hygiene advice, fun facts and information about the services we provide.  We have some great new before and after photos of patients we’ve treated and some new patient experience videos that I wanted to share with all our patients on the screen.  Theoretically this should be a straightforward thing to do – go into the programme, upload the files and voila - new photos and testimonials for the waiting room.  Unfortunately, as we all know, technology more often than not doesn’t play the game and I spent an hour trying to make the system do something it clearly didn’t want to. 

It’s all OK though I thought, I’ll call the support line.  Now I have to say that in the past I’ve had a pretty good experience with this company, Medivision.  They’ve always been quick to answer the phone and helpful with advice.  Today, however, was a whole different kettle of fish.  

“Em, actually I’m not that familiar with this system, I’ve been working with our new system PicBox , which is so much more user friendly.”  Was the initial response accompanied by a little self-indulgent chortle. 

“OK, is there anyone there who does know this system?” (bearing in mind that I’d only upgraded to this version about 18 months ago)  

“Um no, it’s just me that’s here.”

“OK.”

“I suppose I could go onto your system remotely and see if I can work it out.”

“Well that would be helpful.”  I replied.

And so it went on, 15 minutes of I’m not really sure what to do here, I’m not really sure why it’s not doing that, perhaps this will work, oh no it didn’t.

Talk about frustrating!! It wasn’t really what I expect when I call a company’s support line.  When it seemed like we really weren’t getting anywhere and at the point where I would have expected him to say : “Can you leave this with me and I’ll find out for you and call you back to solve the problem”, he turned around and said “ You should really just upgrade to our new system, it’s much better.”

I was so angry!! Here’s a great marketing strategy, lets make our support so unhelpful that it forces people to pay to upgrade to our newest system.  No, that is not a way to win business!  In fact it’s a downright turn off!    Can you guess what I’ve just spent the last half hour doing – that’s right researching other companies that provide the same service – I have a face–to–face meeting with Veronica from one of them in 2 days.

What Medivision have failed to realise is that the way to keep your existing customers is to provide a service that is second-to- none.  Make yourself incomparable and indispensable.  It’s only once you do that that you create a bond of trust with your customer.  As a customer it’s only when you have that trust in a company that you invest in their new techniques and propositions.

It’s the same in any business and thinking about it it’s exactly the same in dentistry.  We, as a business and healthcare provider need to work hard constantly to support and help our patients in order to build a bond that means when we offer new services and treatments they trust us that we have their best interests at heart.  It’s all very well bringing in new technology and new services that we know will make our patients’ experiences easier and improve their oral health but if we haven’t cultivated this bond with them in the first place then they’ll never trust us enough to try new services which will ultimately benefit them and then we’ve created a lose-lose situation. 

If I’m honest it’s only really as I’ve been writing this that I see how much this really applies in dentistry and to our practice.  Keith and I are in the process of the 2 biggest equipment purchases for the practice we’ve ever made.  We know that the advantages they are going to bring to our patients are huge and I’m hopeful that the relationships our team have and continue to build with our patients, will mean that our patients will really benefit from the new techniques this equipment will allow us to share.

New job, new challenge, 1st blog!

This months blog is brought to you by Jill Reid, our new practice manager and Patient Care Coordinator.  You should have seen her face when I asked her to write it!  But she's done a grand job!  Here she shares her thoughts on becoming a new practice manager.

Becoming practice manager. Wow where do I even begin! It has been an absolute whirlwind of an experience ever since announcing to all the staff at the beginning of this year. I have learned so much about myself and how far I can be pushed before (the ice woman as some would call me) is broken and crushed, or in my case ended up with shingles!  

Seriously though I am extremely grateful to work for such a forward thinking, highly motivated and ambitious couple! I am honoured that Gillian and Keith see the potential in my abilities to not only run the practice but to help drive it forward to be the best possible.  Trust me that is always my goal in life to be the best...at everything... which becomes a problem for Keith and Gillian, as you can imagine I want to do it all, and most of the time right now. 

I started my career in dentistry as a Dental Nurse in 2013 which came as a shock to most as I have always been extremely nervous about my own dental treatment. I absolutely love Dental Nursing and find everything dentistry so exciting! Soon after I completed my dental nursing, I did an Oral Health Education course to further my career to become an OHE. This wasn’t the career path I ended up on however has given me endless information on how best I can advise patients on caring for their smiles.  

Moving to Coatbridge Family Dental Care has been my best career move so far, allowing me to assist Keith with even cooler dental treatment such as implants and not only learning about Invisalign but having this done for my wedding last year. This was also the best move ever, cI an't recommend Invisalign enough for straightening teeth, but I'm sure I can write another blog on that!  

So back to practice management, I'm not going to lie, I am winging it! I start my course the middle of September which will help with all the regulation etc and Gillian has been a huge help teaching me everything I know so far. I have to say a huge thank you to our team for their patience and understanding but I am learning as I go along, I won't always get it right first time but that’s ok, I am a quick learner. Our staff have done extremely well over the past few months - a lot of changes have happened with new computer systems, practice inspections, new staff members and performing CPR on a team member which I'm glad to say all ended well.  

This has been a completely new experience for me in management but one I look forward to, and I have a newfound respect for Gillian having done this role for the last 10 years, it's definitely not as easy as I first thought. As well as Practice Manager I will take on the role of Patient Care Coordinator at the practice. This will allow me to be there every step of the way for our patients' dental journeys and only a phone call away to answer all your dental queries.   

So here I am 500 words later, and another learning curve, I am rubbish at short and sweet blogs, I do apologise I obviously like to blab a lot. But I suppose the short and sweet version is I love a challenge, and this certainly ticks all the boxes to keep me on my toes! 

Can you Improve Yourself with a Book?

I'm obsessed with books - I absolutely love to read.   Unfortunately nowadays it takes me a lot longer to get through a book than it used to as the only time I have a chance to read is just before I go to sleep at night.  It's usually a sure sign that I need an early night when I re-read the same page of my book for the 4th night in a row and fall asleep halfway through it!  I'm sure a lot of you are the same - maybe you don't even have time for half a page.

In recent years I've become captivated by self improvement books.  As someone who struggles with anxiety and running a business in equal measure - I find myself drawn to books about confidence, psychology, leadership and business management.  I discover books via: Facebook; friends' recommendations; Amazon and dental business coaches, and read every one dreaming that I'll find the golden key to ridding myself of my anxiety and self-doubt or becoming the perfect leader.  Of course deep down I know that will never truly happen but I do always pick up a little tip or 2 out of each book and try to bring them into my daily life.

Like my favourite from "How To Win Friends and Influence People".  When you would like someone to do something for you: "Action springs out of what we fundamentally desire... First, arouse in the other person an eager want.  He who can do this has the whole world with him..." Which basically means when you are asking someone to do something for you, find out first of all what is in it for them - and tell them that if they do this thing for you, this is what it will mean for them. Ultimately people only do things which will benefit themselves.  I love the fact that a book that was first published in 1936 - nearly 75 years ago is still relevant today.

Then there's my most recent purchase "The Worry Trick" where David Carbonell, a renowned clinical psychologist recommends setting up an appointment with worry. It's amazing how when you actually sit down and allow yourself to worry about things for 10 minutes you eventually run out of things to worry about!  And speaking the worries out in front of a mirror really makes you see how silly some of them really are.

And just today, after spending the last few weeks in a constant battle with our 12 year old  trying to get her to do what she's asked and not sit and stare at the screen of a phone, I picked up a book I bought when she was just 7 called "How to Talk So Kids Will Listen and Listen so Kids Will Talk".  Given that I'm only managing a page a night at the moment maybe I'll just give it to her to read and she can tell me where I'm going wrong - she's very good at that.

The best thing though I rediscovered in the last year or so was audiobooks and Audible.  I fondly remember listening to Enid Blyton audio cassettes as a child on long journeys and I'm sure I even had some 12" audio books I used to play on my Get Along Gang record player.  Oh and not forgetting all the Harry Potter books that Keith and I listened to travelling through the red centre of Australia - there's nothing quite like dreaming about being at Hogwarts!  My journey to work is about 40 mins and it's perfect for listening to a self improvement audio book - at least it means I get through more than a page at a time.  I sometimes even listen to them when I go for a run - I run a bit slower but I come back with loads of great ideas to bore Keith with!

So for me - and I know there's many who will disagree- I love self improvement books and the great ideas I get from them. And try an audio book on your next car journey - it's awesome! And at least if you're driving you won't fall asleep after the first page - hopefully!