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Keith McFarlanelooks back at how one course proved to be the best investment he ever made
Meeting the demands of a mixed dental practice
about Paul’s courses through friends who either knew somebody who had benefited from the course or who had read his articles in the dental press. So, I felt at ease knowing that both he and the course came highly recommended. I was about six years qualified
A
when I joined the Tipton Training Restorative Course. I was a relative- ly new VDP trainer at the time and had just moved to a new dental prac- tice. After just a few months at this new practice, I could see that there was demand to deliver more complex cases than I had been used to. Slightly overwhelmed, I decided it was time to further my skills and knowledge. So, I signed myself up for a place on Tipton Training’s One Year Restorative course. My friend had been on the same course the pre- vious year and said it had been really helpful in bridging the gap between VT training and working full-time in a mixed practice, building practical- ly on what we had already learnt in dental school, but with a real commercial edge. After a brief introduction and meet and greet, Paul and his faculty quickly got the course off to a great start. We got stuck straight into exploring the topic of occlu- sion. Even though it was a topic I felt familiar with, I remember being surprised to leave that day feeling I had just been presented with a mound full of new insights and
s I stepped into Dr Paul Tipton’s lecture room for the first time I didn’t really know what to expect. I’d heard a lot
knowledge... and this was just the first day! As the course progressed I could see the positive impact it was having on the way I worked, by improving my standards. Even minor changes were having an impact. For instance, by making small changes in my restorative techniques I found I was able to reduce post-op sensitivity. That meant I could reduce the chance of problems for patients and me occurring after treatment. I started to feel much more confi- dent and began implementing the new skills into my work. I became accustomed with new impression and temporisation techniques. These allowed me to strive for better results. I realised the importance of commu- nication and impression quality for improving the results from my tech- nician. It was then I began to realise my potential.
One of the best elements of the
course was Paul’s personal input. By the end of the course I had built up a bank of knowledge from all the tips and techniques that he had described and demonstrated throughout the course. What was great is that all of these could easily fit into my working practice, so I didn’t need to alter the way I did things or learn new skills to see positive results.
By picking and choosing the elements that worked best for me I could see that I was able to make my patients even just that little bit better
Scottish Dental magazine 69
“I realised the impor- tance of communica- tion and impression quality for improving the results from my technician. It was then I began to realise my potential”
instantly. Consequently, I achieved better results more consistently and had happier patients. The helpful structure of the course
was instrumental in guiding my learning. The mix of theory and prac- tical allowed me to strike a perfect balance between understanding and performing. The practicals were a great way to see the theory come to life and really challenged me to con- sider why I was performing each step, what the most appropriate choice was, and why a certain treatment plan might be more suitable for a case. All the information given to us was
backed up by theory and scientific studies, which gave me the confi- dence when discussing treatment with patients and colleagues. Having this extra confidence enabled me to demonstrate my knowledge and capabilities more effectively in the workplace and allowed me to take on more complex work. I was able to start charging more for my work, which really opened my eyes to what was possible. It was gradually becoming the most profitable and successful investment I had ever made! The change to a new practice with
more private work was a slow pro- gression, but the course really helped speed things along and ease my tran- sition. I am really pleased I did the course when I was younger as it definitely changed the way I looked at dentistry. As a VDP trainer, even now, I refer to the same studies and literature that Dr Tipton intro- duced me to.
® Keith McFarlane
completed Tipton Training’s
Restorative Level 1
and Level 2 (Phantom Head) Courses in 2004 and 2008.
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