Case Study: Dental Clinic Leadership

The personal case study will be developed over the course of the class, with the final paper and narrated video presentation due the last day of class. The final paper will be a minimum of 10 pages, with at least five references other than your textbook and course materials. This case will be created about an organization you are familiar with which would be “Dental Clinic” that has an organizational issue. It is best to research and write from a neutral third-person point of view, so place yourself in the role of a paid consultant hired to resolve the issue chosen. You will describe, analyze and resolve an organizational issue specific to that organization and related to what you are studying in this class.

Topics may include organizational structure, motivation, leadership, conflict, policies – anything that could be made better through the application of your knowledge of organizational behavior. You will pick the issue, describe it and its impacts on the organization, research ways to improve or resolve the issue and then recommend a solution. The paper will be written in APA style.

ANSWER

Introduction

San Benito Health Foundation is a community-based health institution situated in San Benito County area, California. Its dental clinic offers evidence-based preventive and restorative dental care through the employment of digital x-rays, electronic dental records, and digital panoramic imaging. The integration of electronic dental records enables work personnel to provide better services to patients by utilizing their updated medical and drug history (“San Benito Health Foundation”, 2020).   Moreover, the clinic targets to promote preventative care through its participation in community outreach activities in performing comprehensive dental exams on each patient and offering school-based medical and dental screenings. Dental services provided comprise comprehensive exams, pediatric dental care, extractions, and fillings.

Leadership

Leadership skills are progressively becoming a critical constituent of health care practice as the delivery system continually advances and becomes more complex. Yet multiple clinical officials in management positions have limited leadership training (Marks & Mertz, 2012). Dentistry has traditionally been segmented from other medical care disciplines in terms of financing, delivery of care, and education. Overall, the dental health care delivery system experiences numerous challenges, including limited access to delivery of care and insurance, as well as its lagging delivery system that fails to achieve the development of quality metrics, improvement processes, and the significant utilization of information systems. However, several leadership initiatives in California, targeting the development of leadership training among health experts, have been launched to advance medical care and health outcomes, minimize costs and enhance public health. San Benito Health Foundation, alongside other health institutions located in California, also experiences leadership challenges.

Leadership in dentistry is multifaceted as it requires the combination of patient care practices with business practices. Moreover, particular characteristics, including fairness, impartiality, and being approachable, are vital for a good leader. Leaders should possess adequate knowledge of their tasks and work effectively with their teams by considering their opinions and enabling them to maximize their skills. They should also have a clear vision and communicate it to their followers (Morison & McMullan, 2013).  Leadership as a dental professional mainly involves patient communication, whereby trust is developed between the professional and the patient to ensure productive relationships. During team meetings, leaders are required to direct the meetings and participate in professional associations by making contributions to the profession.

Additionally, it constitutes community involvement, whereby the leader engages in community functions. The role of the dental director, for example, should be recognized as evolving and highly administrative. They ensure the efficient operation of a dental clinic by managing a program’s financial viability and ensuring that the dental plan is accessible to all patients. They also control the dental clinic budget and may also contribute to identifying additional sources of funding. However, they should not be limited to dental health issues and should also participate in community projects.

Implementing an appropriate leadership style contributes to effective leadership. The most notable leadership paradigms within the oral health field consist of transformational, entrepreneurial, and clinical supervision. Clinical leadership, particularly in dental care, is associated with positive outcomes and is recognized as a vital component for organizational performance. Dentists are increasingly being challenged to achieve their patients’ needs and to offer quality treatment. They are required to effectively manage their practice and staffing issues while preparing for the profession’s future. Hence, these professionals must be equipped with strong leadership skills that can further advance the field.

Besides, leadership development is regarded as the most significant determinant to improve quality and patient safety (Hill & Brocklehurst, 2015). According to research consulted in Japan, dentist professionals were likely to incorporate transformational leadership. Clinical leadership was regarded at the practice level and underlined the significance of proper treatment and diagnosis (Timofe et.al., 2017). Similar to San Benito Health Foundation that integrates clinical leadership, this study confirmed that this leadership style involves working as a team. Dentists in senior positions ensure that the team is involved in treatment planning and offered guidance. Alternatively, entrepreneurial leadership encompasses the provision of medical care for patients, leading other work personnel, and managing the organization. It includes several aspects of shared leadership that involve having a vision for the dentistry profession.

The continuance of training for employees alongside the search for opportunities for professional development is identified as a leadership behavior that results in higher staff retention. Furthermore, it motivates employees to be accountable for the practice, whereas the inclusion of dentists in local commissioning decisions enhances the quality of care delivered. Leadership involves the integration of participative-decision making processes that are also recognized as leadership behaviors that contribute towards the creation of team identity. Staff also feel empowered and valued because their input and opinions are considered. Leadership within an organization ensures the management of conflicts. Conflict-management mechanisms, in combination with open communication, promote dental practice.

Additionally, leadership is essential for the development of influential leaders within the profession who possess the capability of advancing the dental care profession and achieving high quality. Through the inclusion of leadership training, dentists are enabled to achieve conformity on how leadership should be represented in the job to enhance collaboration among dental professionals across diverse institutions. Further, through training, leaders within the profession can identify approaches they can utilize to advance efficient leadership training programs that underline almost similar aspects.

San Benito Health Foundation Leadership

San Benito Health Foundation leadership is essential to employee motivation and organizational performance. It targets to offer optimal patient services and enhance its quality of service delivery (San Benito Health Foundation, 2020). However, its leadership is challenged by various individual and organizational barriers. The lack of effective communication between leader and employees constitute some of the individual obstacles. On the other hand, organizational challenges include the lack of leadership opportunities, limited funds, and limited institutional support that interfere with the clinic’s leadership development. Lack of funds primarily due to the reduction of staffing levels through voluntary redundancies increases the burden on these leaders who have to ensure that the delivery of care is maintained to a similar number of patients with limited work personnel (Morison & McMullan,2013).

With limited funds, it is also difficult for leaders to manage resources and retain staff. Particular research identified that dental directors spend most of their time on administrative responsibilities, which implies that less amount of time is spent on other activities, including community outreach, a similar situation to San Benito Health Foundation dental clinic. Whereas this dental clinic is a community-based centre, it is not regularly involved in community developments. Its leaders may need to prioritize their leadership in the nearby community. The lack of comprehension of the significance of dental care within the community impedes the complete development of leadership in the organization, making it challenging to recruit and manage dental staff appropriately.

In turn, access to dental services is hindered. Yet another leadership challenge in this setting is the fact that several leaders lack adequate people skills, perhaps due to traditional dental education and training they received that focused exclusively on the clinical aspects of dentistry. These leaders are not adequately prepared for management responsibilities associated with senior positions such as the dental director role. The dental leaders are occupied with administrative tasks making it difficult for them to assist in optimizing the skills of each team member. The restructuring of patient services and the inability to recruit and develop new leaders are other notable challenges.

How to resolve the issue

Dental graduates will require to be empowered with the knowledge and skills necessary for their adaptation to the shifting dental care environment. While the traditional curriculum defines leadership in the context of scientific and technical proficiency, formal leadership is centered on empowering students to become team leaders with a decision –making and problem-solving skills and effective communication (Wali, 2018). The competency approach in dental education advocates for team building, critical thinking, and self-awareness that are essential elements of leadership development. San Benito Health Foundation can integrate this concept to ensure that its leaders are aware of the essential skills of leadership they should possess.

Moreover, those assuming leadership positions in the clinic should ensure that they are well-versed with the responsibilities of the role. They should be able to identify the common challenges of dental clinics, including dental practice patterns, shifts in the prevalence of oral diseases, the role of electronic health records, and cultural competence (Fontana et.al., 2017). The course can further include topics that allow trainees the capability of exploring the divergences between leadership and practice management as well as comprehend the challenges of the dental profession experienced by dental directors and other leaders at a practice level. The various types of leadership, such as transformational leadership, clinical, and entrepreneurial leadership, should also be taught.

The concept of networking may further contribute to leadership development within the profession. Whilst traditionally, dental professionals have been accustomed to working autonomously, this concept provides a different perception of authority and influence. Several studies affirm that leadership has the probability of transcending organizational barriers since the role is concerned with the connection of diverse parts of systems (Willcocks, 2016). The clinic can incorporate this concept to enhance its leadership capabilities. To further develop leadership in San Benito Health Foundation, the dentists can learn to the network to steer the profession. Through effective networks involving inter-agency interactions, leaders in the clinic can learn new concepts of leadership that they can integrate for better organizational performance. Besides, they can presume roles at the interface between the dental practice, organization, and the whole community.

The dental leaders at San Benito Health Foundation can employ the extreme delegation concept to enhance their leadership capabilities and their ability to assist their followers in maximizing their potential. Therefore, they can make adjustments to their schedules and incorporate new systems for patient financial management and case presentation. Productive work personnel are capable of providing patient care; thus, these leaders can exploit this advantage by delegating tasks to such staff. Administrative functions that may interfere with the managers’ capability to effectively lead may be delegated to other staff. All non-clinical activities that constitute a large fraction of what the dental directors handle should be delegated. This will ensure that the leader performs more efficiently.

Currently, the dental market has undergone shifts from an oligopoly whereby it was once controlled by the supplier, who, in this case, is the dental professional to an oligopsony whereby the market is controlled by those demanding the services. Consequently, the value of leadership development has become more significant, especially for the implications it has on leaders’ efficiency in clinical contexts. This realization can help San Benito Health Foundation to improve its leadership strategies enabling its leaders to be prepared for periods of financial uncertainty. They can select more leaders with people skills who can establish partnerships, networks, and maintain the organization’s consumer base.

Moreover, even the selected leaders can receive consistent training and be equipped with management and leadership skills to assert that they succeed in attracting patients and maintain their existing clients. Since management correlates with improved delivery of care, dentists at San Benito Health Foundation can address any limitations that limit leadership development. Basic requirements for leadership and particular characteristics of leadership and competencies can be considered before selecting those in leadership positions. Leadership courses, in combination with business management concepts, can be taught to instill management skills. Effective management of patients will foster good patient-practitioner relationships and encourage patients to frequently the follow-up of their dental health (Roig, Kalenderian & Pinilla, 2015). With management skills, leaders will further be able to detect the outcomes of particular procedures alongside the organization’s performance.

Recommendations

Whereas San Benito Health Foundation has an established leadership structure, there are still several components of leadership that remain unaddressed or lack complete implementation. Thus, the clinic should implement a strategic direction that is centered on the development of all critical elements that affect their performance, quality, and outcomes. First, it should incorporate multitask-leadership. In current society, leaders are required to resolve numerous problems all at once in complex environments that have more demanding stakeholders and increased competition for resources (Tudor, 2014). Leaders at San Benito Health Foundation should, therefore, aim to develop competitive teams, enhance opportunities to motivate their staff as well as develop incentives. They should realize that more is required of them, considering the increasing complexity of the organization with time, and must be aware that they should maintain their focus on external stakeholders by strengthening partnerships and endorsing ideas that advocate for change.

Further, since dental services only constitute approximately a 1/3 of California’s community health safety-net organizations, San Benito Health Foundation should implement new regulations that target to expand the dental capacity and increase its funding to foster leadership development and training. Adequate funds should be allocated for dental infrastructure and the development of the profession. Funds should also be utilized for leadership training among dental students to impart them with leadership skills relevant in contemporary society.

Strategic leadership should be prioritized to aid in positioning dental clinics for future success. Hence, the dental component of community health organizations should anticipate multiple challenges, especially as the health personnel transit into the post–health care reform period that necessitates accountability for organizational performance and quality.  Performance should be integral, and leaders of this clinic should be accountable, transparent, and useful. Considering that the competition for resources is currently greater than it was before, the San Benito Health Foundation should transform into one that not only targets organizational performance but also focuses on employee motivation.

Customer focus is integral to organizational success. Leaders at San Benito Health Foundation should be informed and empowered on the importance of prioritizing customer focus. Leaders should realize the role of patients in the success of their organizations. Thus leadership should extend to ensuring that patients’ needs are met, and they are actively included. It should also advocate for customer focus by targeting improved patient outcomes and patient safety. Although customer-centricity has continually been prioritized in San Benito Health Foundation, it is still a significant challenge, primarily because the definite implication of the concept is also shifting whereby the consumers are increasingly becoming stakeholders.

Additionally, more focus should be directed to the cultivation of personal values and the development of an organizational culture that advances service to others. Several leadership aspects may be cultivated through clinical training, for example, integrity, self-confidence, and emotional intelligence. Conversely, a developmental transition may be required when adopting particular attributes associated with leadership in clinical settings. Some of the qualities may not be effectively transposed into leadership, including problem-solving and communication skills. San Benito Health Foundation should, therefore, exclusively focus on leadership training in as much as it may be included in clinical practice during undergraduate.

Before selecting an eligible candidate for the senior positions, these candidates should be assessed for leadership competence to ascertain that they are most compatible with the post. They should be trained on emotional intelligence, whereby they will have the ability to evaluate their feelings and emotions and that of others as well so that they can learn to regulate their behaviors and thoughts, and manage effectively. Since psychological empowerment is a determinant of team performance, such leaders should be equipped with the skill.

Leaders with a high level of psychological empowerment can conduct their tasks professionally, and their contributions provide positive organizational outcomes. Furthermore, its effects are linked to increased employee motivation and the development of a collective belief among employees, on how tasks should be executed (Craven, 2017). As aforementioned, employee engagement is fostered at the dental clinic; however, leaders have to continually motivate their employees to ascertain job satisfaction, increased job performance, and enhance organizational commitment.

Conclusion

Conclusively, leadership in dentistry has multiple aspects that are significant in all stages of professional development, improved quality, and patient outcomes. Taking into account the current actualities of the medical care industry, dental care experiences significant challenges in assuming a leadership role and in meeting the anticipations and demands of shifting systems. Leadership qualities should be taught early by including leadership courses in the core curriculum. With the consistent training of dental professionals, effective leaders will be nurtured.

Leadership development is crucial in dentistry, and there is a need for training dentists to become influential leaders. San Benito Health Foundation requires leadership development, especially in the dental care unit, to assert that the requirements of information systems are attained, there is increased employee motivation and professional advancement. The prospective of integrating leadership training in this clinic will aid in the preparation of skilled dentists relevant to the current demands in dental care, who can further advance the profession.

References

Craven, S. H. (2017). Dentists as Clinician Managers: Leadership Influences on Dental Team Empowerment and Engagement.

Fontana, M., González-Cabezas, C., de Peralta, T., & Johnsen, D. C. (2017). Dental education required for the changing health care environment. Journal of dental education, 81(8), eS153-eS161.

Hill, H., & Brocklehurst, P. (2015). Leadership in dentistry: findings from new tool to measure clinical leadership. Journal of healthcare leadership, 7, 13.

Marks, A., & Mertz, E. (2012). Leadership Development: A Critical Need in the Dental Safety Net. Retrieved from            https://healthforce.ucsf.edu/sites/healthforce.ucsf.edu/files/publication- pdf/4.%20Dental%20Director%20Issue%20Brief_FINAL.pdf

Morison, S., & McMullan, C. (2013). Preparing for the future: challenges and opportunities for management and leadership skills. British dental journal, 214(1), E2-E2.

 Roig, P., Kalenderian, E. & Pinilla, J., 2015. The Importance of leadership and management skills in dental practices to attract and retain patients in periods of economic recession. [online] Available at:          <https://www.researchgate.net/publication/283569223_The_Importance_of_leadership_a            nd_management_skills_in_dental_practices_to_attract_and_retain_patients_in_periods_o            f_economic_recession> [Accessed 28 August 2020].

San Benito Health Foundation. (2020). Retrieved 28 August 2020, from http://www.sanbenitohealth.org/medicaldepartment.php

San Benito Health Foundation. (2020). Retrieved 28 August 2020, from http://www.sanbenitohealth.org/dentaldepartment.php

Timofe, M. P., Ungureanu, M. I., Cetean, A., Mocean, F., & Albu, S. (2017). Leadership practices and perceptions in oral healthcare: a scoping review. Oral Health Dent Manag, 16(1), 1-7.

 Tudor, T. (2014). Contemporary Business Education: a Solution forGlobal Leadership Challenges. Retrieved from https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/168864/1/aej-v16- i37-p0885.pdf

Wali, O. (2018). LEADERSHIP SKILLS IN DENTAL CURRICULUM-A REVIEW. JOURNAL OF EVOLUTION OF MEDICAL AND DENTAL SCIENCES-JEMDS, 7(42), 5384-+.

Willcocks, S. G. (2016). Exploring leadership in the context of dentistry in the UK. Leadership in Health Services.

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