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Balancing clinical care with practice leadership

Smiling doctor in office

Running a dental practice requires you to be a talented medical professional while also managing a business and being a strong leader for your team. Achieving success requires striking a balance between clinical care and all your other responsibilities. Here are a few tips to help elevate your practice leadership while maintaining your focus on patient care.

Patient care is multi-faceted

Understanding that patient care takes place both before and after the doctor enters the operatory is an important step toward seeing the full impact leadership can have on the patient experience and treatment outcomes. Working on practice leadership shouldn’t be seen as a task that takes time away from delivering treatments, but instead as an integral part of putting your team in a position to deliver great patient care.

Don’t skimp on leadership training

Setting aside time and resources for leadership development is important for becoming a better leader. From conferences to online courses, books and dedicated leadership training modules, find the professional development medium that works for you. Be open to recognizing your leadership weaknesses and working on getting better. As your leadership acumen improves, you will find it takes less time and effort to manage your practice than ever before.

Learn to trust your team

Great leaders are great delegators. There is no better way to take work off your plate and free up time for clinical care than handing responsibilities off to capable employees.

Take care of yourself

Putting in overtime is the opposite of achieving balance, as you are trading balance in your professional life for an imbalance in your personal life. Failing to prioritize self-care can end in burnout. Make sure you get enough sleep and schedule in time for exercise, relaxation, leisure and time off.

Leadership and care go hand in hand

Avoid thinking management tasks take away from your ability to practice dentistry. Being a successful leader improves patient care and outcomes just as much as adding to your skill set in the operatory.

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