In this episode, Duckett Ladd’s own Bill and Jared speak with David Roux of Accelerated Dental Assisting Academy to discuss how his company has revolutionized the way that dental practices recruit new assistants and provide on the job training for them. As labor shortages affect nearly every industry, having the means to quickly add qualified people to your team is essential.
David and the Academy’s team offer a solution to this relevant issue in the dental industry. Here are some quick facts that you should know if you are struggling to hire the right people for your own practice.
What is the Accelerated Dental Assisting Academy?
As David says, Accelerated Dental Assisting Academy was conceived out of the need to solve a problem that many dental practices face. With large numbers of assistants, high turnover can interrupt business continuity when you are constantly facing the need to hire, onboard, and train new staff.
Accelerated Dental Assisting Academy was developed to provide a 10-week on the job training program for dental assistants. The primary goal is to provide dental practices with qualified new candidates that have been trained using a leased patient room on-site. With this type of program, dentists are able to form professional relationships with potential candidates and witness their skills develop as they progress through the training.
As the program proved successful, the Academy decided to share this innovation with the rest of the nation. Now, the Academy’s training program is available in multiple states and continues to expand at a rapid rate.
How Does This Model Work with Dental Practices?
Accelerated Dental Assisting Academy partners with dental practices to rent their office, hold on the job training courses at the practice, and manage the operations. The practice owner does not have to spend time managing and overseeing the daily tasks and can focus more on providing an excellent level of patient care.
Who Benefits Most from the Academy’s Program?
The Accelerated Dental Assisting Academy model is designed to benefit doctors that prioritize an excellent professional culture in their practice. Key benefits of an Academy partnership include:
Completely Hands-Off
Accelerated Dental Assisting Academy provides a program that requires no additional involvement from the dentist that owns the practice. Instead, you can spend more time dedicated to other parts of your business without experiencing traditional obstacles and interruptions to continuity that come with turnover, hiring, and training.
More Qualified Candidates
Candidates that undergo the Academy’s program are trained by other qualified dental assistants at your practice. As you observe their progress, you can determine which assistants-in-training would best align with your work requirements, company values, and culture.
A Better Work Culture
Great people make for incredible company culture at your practice. When everyone shares the same mission, vision, and values, you can better protect your business from many of the operational pitfalls that are associated with dysfunctions in work culture.
How the Academy Model Works
David and the rest of the Academy’s team strive to provide a seamless, frictionless, and simplified experience that benefits the dental practices that collaborate with them. It begins with what they call “the meeting of the minds.”
The Meeting of the Minds
First, the Academy team connects with the dentist to explore opportunities. If both parties decide an Academy installation at the practice will be mutually beneficial, they proceed to the next step: recruiting instructors.
Recruiting Instructors
Depending on the size and internal capacity of the practice, recruiting instructors can happen through one of two methods. If there are a number of current employees that want to teach new hires, the Academy can utilize them as an educational resource. If the team would appreciate further assistance, one of the Academy’s regional managers can train the practice staff to become instructors for new hires.
Carrying Out the Curriculum
The trained instructors provide a guided curriculum to new hires. The program is designed for dental assistants to teach other aspiring assistants rather than from an educator’s perspective. After receiving the lesson, the trainees are then able to put their new knowledge into practice in a hands-on environment. Instructors also receive additional compensation from the Academy for their time teaching.
Build a Better Dental Practice Today
Dental practices often struggle to grow, scale, and expand when they are isolated. That’s why our team at Duckett Ladd is committed to providing you with the resources and knowledge to help you overcome these challenges as a true strategic partner in your business. To learn more, check out some of our other podcast episodes for more actionable insights or contact us today to speak with someone from our team.
