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This month, Tracie Barnett shares her guide to ensuring a TCO (treatment coordinator) role is well-structured and effective. Treatment coordinators (TCOs) are becoming more popular in the modern day we live in. As a TCO, your primary objective is to ensure that patients receive the best possible treatment while optimising the practice’s efficiency and productivity.…
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Tracie Barnett shares the key principles treatment coordinators should uphold to maintain high ethical standards when ‘selling’. As dental treatment coordinators we play a crucial role in bridging the gap between patients and the dental care they need. Ethical selling is an essential part of our role, ensuring that patients receive the best possible advice…
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Tracie Barnett explains how to juggle aspects of multiple roles from dental nurse to receptionist as a treatment coordinator. As treatment coordinators, we often find ourselves juggling various responsibilities, sometimes stepping into the shoes of a dental nurse or receptionist. This flexibility can be both a testament to our versatility and a source of significant…
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This month, Tracie Barnett shares her tips and tricks for managing and optimising time effectively, and explains why this is a pivotal part of being a treatment coordinator. As a treatment coordinator (TCO), we play a pivotal role in ensuring the smooth operation of the dental practice while providing exceptional care and service to our…
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This month, Tracie Barnett shares her six top tips for mastering the role of the treatment coordinator. Congratulations on your new role as a treatment coordinator (TCO)! And what an amazing role it is! Over seven years ago, I became a TCO, after twenty-three years of dental nursing and feeling that I needed a change.…
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Tracie Barnett explains how treatment coordinators (TCOs) can make subtle tweaks to the patient experience to create that wow effect. As a dental practice, creating a welcoming and memorable experience for your patients is paramount, particularly considering the current cost of living crisis and the strain on NHS dental services. In times of financial uncertainty,…
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This month, Tracie Barnett explores the DISC personality model, and how it can unlock effective communication both within teams and between dental professionals and patients. In the dynamic field of dentistry, effective communication is the cornerstone of successful patient care and team collaboration. Understanding and adapting to different personality types can significantly enhance interactions with…
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Treatment coordinator Tracie Barnett discusses how to create an effective follow-up system, and why they are ‘crucial’ for patients and the success of the practice. Acting as a liaison between patients and dental practitioners, treatment coordinators (TCOs) play a pivotal role in ensuring patients receive optimal care and guidance throughout their treatment journey. One of…
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Tracie Barnett discusses how a mentor can boost the confidence of treatment coordinators as a valuable resource for skill development. When I first became a treatment coordination six years ago, I had to rely on my practice principal to show me the ropes of my new role. However, this was a new role for us…
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This month, Tracie Barnett discusses how the strategic use of unique selling points (USPs) can make your dental practice stand out from the crowd. In today’s competitive dental industry, it’s more important than ever to distinguish your dental practice from others in order to attract and retain patients. One effective way to accomplish this is…
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Tracie Barnett discusses why an intraoral scanner is an integral piece of equipment for your dental practice. Intraoral scanning is a digital technology that allows dentists and their teams to take highly accurate 3D scans of their patients’ mouths. This technology can greatly enhance communication with dental patients in several ways. However, I have seen…
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Tracie Barnett discusses why the support and collaboration of the whole dental team is key to the success of a treatment coordinator. The treatment coordinator (TCO) role can seem very isolated as often most dental practices only have one team member with this title. As a dental nurse for 23 years, I felt very much…
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This month, Tracie Barnett discusses her top tips for effective communication and offers eight reasons why it’s so important for treatment coordinators (TCOs). Effective communication is about more than just exchanging information. It’s about understanding the emotion and intentions behind the information. As well as being able to clearly convey a message, you need to…
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This month Tracie Barnett shares her top five reasons why systems are so important in a practice and the importance of getting your whole dental team on board. The role of a treatment coordinator (TCO) comes with lots of organisation and planning. When I speak to dental practice owners thinking of implementing a TCO, I…
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Tracie Barnett offers a treatment coordinator’s perspective on imposter syndrome – what is it, how does it affect us and what can we do about it? What is imposter syndrome and how does it affect us? Imposter syndrome is a psychological phenomenon where individuals doubt their own abilities and talents and feel like they are…
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In her latest article, Tracie Barnett considers why becoming a treatment coordinator could be a good step for dental nurses. Recent studies show that many dental nurses are leaving the profession. Feedback shows this is due to feeling unappreciated, overworked and under paid, the ‘high’ retention fee and the added stress of having to complete…
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Tracie Barnett details the three most common mistakes of a treatment coordinator and why these are actually the most important bits to get right. Having a treatment coordinator can be a massive asset to your practice, but in some cases their communication skills can let your practice and your patients down. An efficient TCO should…
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Tracie Barnett details why employing a treatment coordinator should be one of the first things you do in 2023. A recent BBC investigation found that nine in 10 NHS dental practices across the UK are not accepting new adult patients for treatment under the health service. The only way is on a private basis. The…
