There's enough people talking about COVID and lockdown 3.0 right now so I thought I'd offer a little reprieve from that and introduce you all to Tristan, the latest dentist to join our team at Lindley Dental.
Whilst it’s sad to see an old face go, it’s always exciting when someone new starts. It’s an opportunity for us to have a fresh look at what we do and why we do it. New faces often bring new ideas and different ways of looking at things.
Tristan had certainly done this in our practice. His eagerness to learn and develop was evident from the first time I spoke to him several months before he started working with us in October.
It’s often not a great idea to come in to a new work place and immediately start suggesting new ways of doing things, however I think Tristan realised early on that, like himself, we are always looking for ways to improve our care for our patients.
Sometimes this means changing our admin processes, such as the way we store our photos which have been allowing the computers down. Sometimes it’s a new opinion on how we stick white filings in which will improve how long these filings last for our patients.
Is often not possible to have such a fresh perspective from within an organisation. New ideas or even just the opportunity to explain the rationale for your current systems facilitates growth and development for everyone involved.
As Matthew Syed expands on the concept of diversity in his book Rebel Ideas, this effect is amplified if you can engage with someone from a different culture or background from your own life. Someone who does not carry the same inherent biases as you with them.
Whilst it can’t really be argued that Tristan brings a significantly different demographic to the team, he has been warmly received by everyone, staff and patients alike. All of my patients that he’s helped in his few short months at the practice have certainly given positive feedback.
Periods of change always bring challenges and opportunity, whether it's a new face or a new set of lockdown rules, by working together we will continue to grow and find ways to help our patients better.
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