DCA Career Academy Expands the Team and Offerings

Abby Frey, LDA, CDA, Field Training Specialist, works directly with new and existing employees and fi eld leadership to develop and deliver engaging training content that aligns with business needs. Abby assesses responsibilities and training needs for all positions. She works in collaboration with the team to ensure quality content development needs are met and eff ectiveness is proven. Abby is a subject matter expert in dental assisting as a Licensed Dental Assistant by the Minnesota State Board of Dentistry and nationally certifi ed by the Dental Assisting National Board. With experience in leading and managing, she models, delivers and encourages employees to deliver exceptional customer service. Abby has been with Dental Care Alliance since December 2018 through the affi liation with Lake Minnetonka Dental, where she worked for 10.5 years. She lives in the Twin Cities area with her husband and her two children, Jameson and Jordyn. In her spare time, Abby enjoys spending time with her family, running and refurbishing anything vintage. Welcome to the team, Abby.

CALLING ALL DENTAL ASSISTANTS!

The DCA Career Academy launched the fi rst Dental Assistant Workshop, The Role of the Dental Assistant in Delivering “World Class” Dentistry on Saturday, November 2, 2019. Abby Frey, new Regional Training Specialist, facilitated this workshop. The purpose of the workshop was to assist dental assistants to unleash their potential by leveraging their clinical strengths, interpersonal skills and share best practices. Some of the topics covered included the following skills essential to success as a dental assistant:

COMMUNICATION

Use interpersonal skills to communicate eff ectively and increase engagement with the patients, providers, manager and team members.

ANTICIPATION / PRO-ACTIVENESS

Understand the needs of provider(s) and patients to aid in increasing offi ce productivity and patient satisfaction.

PREPAREDNESS

Establish consistency in developing procedure effi ciencies and in maintaining a low-stress environment.

CHAIRSIDE SKILLS

Create value for patient care by demonstrating professionalism in the delivery of patient services.

A unique aspect of the workshop was an on-the-job component that supported the attending dental assistants to integrate learned skills into their day-to-day work. The participating dental assistants had an opportunity to create an action plan and return to the workplace ready for action. Furthermore, dental assistants left the program feeling empowered, engaged and inspired to have a greater impact on the patients, provider(s) and team.

The practice will benefi t from having a dental assistant that has a heightened awareness of his/her role in increasing offi ce productivity, patient satisfaction and procedural effi ciencies.

We are excited to be off ering this workshop in a region near you starting in 2020!

A NEW PLATFORM FOR CE CREDITS: DCA PARTNERS WITH VIVA LEARNING

We are proud to announce a new partnership with Viva Learning. Our partnership with Viva Learning will enable our team members to continue to grow and excel in their roles and to provide exceptional patient care.

What is Viva Learning?

Viva Learning is an online dental specific continuing education (CE) platform that delivers live, interactive and self-study accredited content. A variety of courses are prepared and presented by today’s most respected clinicians, speakers and dental educators. These courses prepare our dental health care professionals for industry change and innovation with a self-learning approach to continuous improvement.

Viva Learning is committed to providing online access to high quality, clinicallyrelevant presentations, both interactive and on-demand, with the goal to help improve the way we practice dentistry.

Viva Learning currently offers over 1600 courses and is constantly adding more. Below are a few featured programs:

Managing Pain in Era of the Opioid Crisis Dental Stem Cells - Prep Patients for Future Are You Ready for Laser Technology Protect Your Practice against Infection Mandibular Blocks: Reasons for Failure and Methods for Success Become that Extraordinary Dental Assistant Increasing Your Case Acceptance with Accelerated Orthodontics

CE Records with One Click

Viva Learning allows you to keep a record of all courses taken on the site. From the main page, you can view the “CE Quick Glance”. With one click, you can send yourself a CE Report.

How to access the Viva Learning Platform

Every Dental Care Alliance employee has access to the Viva Learning portal. New Employees are uploaded every other week. Below is the log in information to access this platform.

Website: dcalearning.com Username: dca.[yourkronosusername] Temporary Password: onlinece

Follow the steps below to begin using this system: Step 1: Visit dcalearning.com Step 2: Select Login on the top right of page Step 3: Login using the above information Step 4: Use the search functions to find a course

Contact the Training Team if you have any questions: Train@ dentalcarealliance.com