When you graduate from dental school, you know how to be a dentist. But dental education doesn’t prepare dentists for the diverse skillsets necessary to become successful small business owners, which most dentists are. The newest program launched by the University of Florida’s Continuing Dental Education Office bridges that gap with the creation of an Executive Practice Management (EPM) Certificate Program for Dentists beginning in October 2012.
The EPM is a comprehensive program that prepares dentists to become business owners and executive managers within their practices. A 13-month curriculum focuses on the critical components of business ownership that are not taught within traditional DMD/DDS programs.
“Core course topics include all aspects of finance, practice operations and compliance, human resources, and sales and marketing,” said James Haddix, D.M.D., an associate professor and assistant dean for Continuing Education at the University of Florida College of Dentistry.
Haddix says that surveys of dentists across the country made it clear that there was a critical need for a practice management program, “Once we began talking about this course, we’ve had an incredible amount of interest and we’re very pleased to be the first to offer a practice management course developed specially for the practicing dentist.”
The program includes monthly weekend face-to-face meetings, plus an online supplemental Webcourse, with a customized goal of increasing dentists’ business acumen and skills. From buying, building or becoming an associate, to debt reduction through overhead control, and wealth accumulation for practice transitions; the program encompasses a business school curriculum customized to executive dental practice ownership. Classes are small, between 15-25 dentists, to enable individual learning, with full support and interaction with instructors.
Topics are divided into 13 modules with modules taught one weekend per month. Instructional methods include lecture, hands-on workshops, guest lectures, and online supplemental learning between meeting dates. Dentists are actively involved in the learning process and develop applicable projects/deliverables that can be implemented into dental practices immediately. Concepts of basic accounting/bookkeeping, practice financials, employment law, social marketing, staffing, sales forecasting, dental leadership, communications, legal compliance and wealth accumulation serve as primary course content.
“Our ultimate goal of this program is for our participants to develop the business skills they need to increase their practice’s efficiencies and create solid financial growth and stability so that, ultimately, they can focus on serving their patient’s needs,” Haddix said.
Accepted enrollees must be practicing, actively-licensed dentists, newly graduated dentists, or graduating dentists in dental school, and be accepted to this program by the University of Florida College of Dentistry.
For more information, or to apply to the program:
Visit the UF College of Dentistry’s Continuing Dental Education website at http://www.epmfordentists.com
Call us at 888–550-4590
Email us: mhopkins@dental.ufl.edu.