After graduation I spent a few weeks in an associate run private office (a story for another day), which lead to a position in a corporate office. Here’s a Dental Nachos inspired rant about a random Wednesday at 2:00 pm (not a real conversation, but my general experience in one of the offices where I was employed).
Office Manger (OM): Dr. Bodini, how is your day going?
Me: Pretty good.
OM: Would you follow me to the back office?
Me: Oh sure.
OM: Dr. Bodini, have you noticed this 52″ flat screen?
Me: Yes, it’s rather large and bright.
OM: Dr. Bodini, do you see your name among these charts and grafts?
Me: Oh yes, there I am (point to screen).
OM: Doctor, according to this screen, you have only produced $1,100 dollars today.
Me: Hm…is that bad?
OM: Well Dr. Bodini, it’s not necessarily bad, but it’s not good either. You see, your name is at the bottom of the list. Do you know what that means?
Me: Well, I’m not entirely sure.
OM: Doctor…you’re in last place.
Me: So this is a competition?
OM: No, no, of course not. But, if it was a competition, you should know that you would be in last place.
Me: So just to be clear, it’s not a competition?
OM: Absolutely not. But you should be well aware of where you stand in comparison to your fellow doctors. What can we do to help you consistently move from the bottom of this list, to the top of this list?
Me: I’m not entirely sure, maybe we can review the charts from today’s exams.
OM: That’s a good idea. It looks like you did a few fillings, a crown, and some periodic exams for some of our pediatric patients. It does not look like you diagnosed any treatment for these patients. Why is that?
Me: Well, the exams were unremarkable.
OM: Did any of these patients need a night guard?
Me: They were children in mixed dentition.
OM: These are missed opportunities doctor.
