Dear Sharyn
One of my hygienists just gave me one-week notice. I suspected something was up when she asked to re-schedule her performance review. She’s worked with me for 6 years. I’m thinking of not replacing her and instead get out of 2 insurance plans so that I don’t have triple hygiene days. What do you think?
M.S. Kansas
Dear M.S.,
There’s a lot to unpack here. First, I would want to know why this hygienist grew so disenchanted with your practice. This means you need to lead an exit interview and potentially also initiate honest conversations with the rest of your team to see if there is universal discontent. Next, getting out of insurance may indeed be a good way to reduce your patient load, but that won’t be a quick solution. As hard as it may be to find a hygienist right now, I would advise you to replace her so that your patients get some continuity of treatment. Alternatively, you could look into hiring a hygiene assistant to reduce the load on your current team. Then, we can get out of your worst plans through a planful process. And finally, we need to look at your overall goals so that we can develop a practice where you feel balanced and productive.
