The Benefits Of Conference For The Whole Team

There is certainly no shortage of conferences, shows and events for the dental profession and every specialty within it. When time and budgets are under pressure, it is important to consider the real benefits of attending and indeed, who should go.

Dr Michael Cahill runs an award winning practice in Bolton, Lancashire and is a veteran of the dental conference circuit. He says that just as dentistry is changing, these set piece events also need to evolve to be more inclusive. “ Dentistry today is so much more about health, education and prevention and that involves the entire practice team so it’s really important that conferences are aimed at everyone, not just the dentist and that’s where lots of shows and events fall down because they don’t support the whole team.”

Conference and event organisers face a dilemma, partly due to the sense of obligation that drives delegates to attend - the CPD component – rather than a real thirst for knowledge and desire to hear new voices and ideas. Consequently, speakers and their audiences are often stale but they are ‘safe’ while the real challenge is to attract new audiences and begin different conversations about dentistry that cover a wide range of clinical and business issues.

Michael Cahill firmly believes that events aimed at the whole dental team change the dynamic and are far more beneficial to practices and ultimately, patients, “ If you attend as a team, you can decide who’s going to which session and then everyone comes back with something valuable to share - that might be about business and practice management, it could be a new clinical technique but ultimately, it’s how you share and implement knowledge that you’ve gained as a team  and how it ripples through the practice that is most important.”

“Everyone in the team forms key relationships with patients and has a role to play in the health of those patients whether it’s offering advice, providing treatment or running the practice smoothly.  Dentistry is quite rightly no longer about the glory of the dentist, but about overall health so the skill set and CPD required is constantly changing. Good conferences can be immensely valuable in providing that and endorsing the sense of responsibility for keeping abreast of issues that have an impact on your chosen career.”

In March 2012, Michael Cahill will be on the ‘other side’ as Chair of the Aesthetic Dentist Conference at The Dentistry Show which promises to be one of six stimulating and thought provoking education platforms during the two day event which is aimed at the whole dental team.

A former “Employer of the Year’  Michael Cahill is committed to involving his staff in all aspects of the practice, and recognises that beyond the social and bonding side of attending events, there is “… a buzz that I guess you could call empowerment  that gives people a bit of clout!”