786: Why Every Practice Needs a Clinical Leader – Rachel Wall

Every practice needs a clinical leader. But being a clinical leader doesn't mean being a clinical dictator. To explain how to be a strong, collaborative leader that sets the best standards of care, Kirk Behrendt brings back Rachel Wall, CEO and founder of Inspired Hygiene, to share her best practices for becoming an effective leader. To learn how to elevate your practice with clinical leadership, listen to Episode 786 of The Best Practices Show!

Learn More About Rachel:

• Send Rachel an email: clients@inspiredhygiene.com 
• Join Inspired Hygiene on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/InspiredHygiene
• Follow Inspired Hygiene on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/inspiredhygiene
• Learn more about Inspired Hygiene: https://inspiredhygiene.com
• Book your Discovery Meeting with Inspired Hygiene: https://inspiredhygiene.com/talk/#meet-now
• Get your free copy of Inspired Hygiene’s Standard of Care Worksheet: https://inspiredhygiene.com/standard-of-care-worksheet

More Helpful Links for a Better Practice & a Better Life:

• Subscribe to The Best Practices Show: https://the-best-practices-show.captivate.fm/listen
• Join The Best Practices Association: https://www.actdental.com/bpa
• Join ACT’s To The Top Study Club: https://www.actdental.com/ttt
• See the ACT Dental/BPA Live Event Schedule: https://www.actdental.com/event
• Get The Best Practices Magazine for free: https://www.actdental.com/magazine
• Please leave us a review on the podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-best-practices-show-with-kirk-behrendt/id1223838218

Episode Resources:

• Watch the video version of Episode 786: https://www.youtube.com/@actdental/videos

Main Takeaways:

• Every practice needs to have a clinical leader. It is a non-negotiable.
• A clinical leader is not a clinical dictator. Get buy-in from the team.
• Clinical leaders set standards, but it needs to be collaborative.
• Having clear, written standards will reduce decision fatigue.
• You cannot abdicate the role of being a clinical leader.
• Revisit your standards of care at least once a year.
• Establish your core values and vision as a team.

Snippets:

0:00 Introduction.

1:37 Rachel’s background.

3:30 Why every practice needs a clinical leader.

9:41 Get your teams calibrated and aligned.

14:04 Calibrate through documents.

16:17 Can you abdicate the role of clinical leadership?

19:21 How often should you update clinical standards of care?

21:00 Advantages of having a strong clinical leader.

23:27 The secret to getting doctors in the hygiene room faster.

27:12 Having a framework reduces decision-fatigue.

28:09 Have conversations with the people you're leading.

32:08 Final thoughts.

35:05 More about Inspired Hygiene and how to get in touch.

Rachel Wall, RDH, Bio:

Rachel Wall, RDH, BS, coaches dental teams to build highly productive hygiene departments by implementing systems for high-quality periodontal care, enrolling restorative care through hygiene and letting go of negative mindsets and old beliefs while managing the logistics of a high-performance hygiene department.

Drawing from her 20-plus years of experience as a hygienist and practice administrator, Rachel delivers to-the-point clinical speaking presentations around the country. Her interactive teaching style coupled with a workshop environment creates a learning space where dentists and team members are compelled to get to the heart of what’s held them back and are inspired to reach for more for themselves and their practices.