Receptions Duties

Hi Denise, in response to your e-mail l really think this new PM is expected to do too much in order for her to do the job efficiently.  Although being a fully private practice they may have very long appointments which would ease the stress, to be honest, l really think Andre her dentist should at least employ a nurse to free this new PM to go on proper training courses to guide her so that she will be confident and professional at all times.  Yes a PM has to be flexible and able to turn her hand to all the various jobs within the practice but if she is expected to run the place single-handed then she will end up hating her job and becoming a nervous wreck.  Some principals in practice really have no idea what a PM needs to know and carry out in order for the business to be successful.  I also think he needs to spend a few bob on a cleaner for goodness sake, those days are gone.  She sounds very confident and so enthusiastic which is great, l wish her the very best.

I would personally delegate this course to another dental nurse in the practice.  Practice management takes up a lot of time and really with this qualification under your wing, when would time allow you to take radiographs? Not only that but it would tie you into the nursing role when what you need is PM training.  Delegating this to another dental nurse in the practice would free you up at difficult times, and also avoid you unnecessarily being interrupted to take radiographs. I have a nurse doing the course at the moment.

Here are some task sheets prepared by some PMs that may be useful

Reception tasks to be done daily

• Purchase newspaper and milk (flowers on a Monday morning £10.00)
• Open up surgery at 8.45am
• Turn off alarm
• Switch off answer phone
• Take out petty cash tin
• Have spreadsheet ready for the day
• Have PC and Receipt envelope ready for the day
• Have receipt book at hand for payments
• Make sure all auxiliary staff have signed their time sheets
• Make sure all the day sheets and cards are ready and pulled
• Make sure that on the days that X works she is given a stock record report to chart sales of sundries – Place this with her cards for the day
• Confirm all appointments for the following day – If you have to leave a message try again later in the day
• Liaise with labs regarding deliveries or collections (on instruction of the dentist)
• Make sure all lab work is written up on lab book and that it is signed for on collection and delivery
• Open up the post – separate the junk mail from statements and invoices, file the bills in alphabetical order either current or past.  This must be done methodically to avoid loss of invoices.  Letters of importance must be placed in an envelope for principal’ attention
• Do recalls on a daily basis – Do not file any cards that require recalls
• Check all patients information with them regarding address and phone numbers
• Do the filing daily to avoid piles of cards laying around
• Make sure that petty cash expenditure balances at the end of the day with the daily spreadsheets turnover for the day – Update the petty cash report on excel daily
• At the end of the day add up all the takings and cross check the totals make sure that they balance – Update spreadsheet on excel daily.
• Float to be put back to £40.00
• Lock petty cash tin and mobile away for safekeeping.  Place the key in the agreed spot
• Print end of day bank reconciliation off streamline terminal and place in envelope with petty cash and credit card receipts for filing
• Place daily spreadsheet in weekly envelope and file for safe keeping with the above envelope attached to spreadsheet
• Turn on answer machine
• Check that all plugs, lights and machinery is turned off (This includes the compressor switch in the surgery)
• Close the blinds in all rooms
• Set alarm

Reception tasks to be done weekly

• Purchase flowers on Monday morning – budget £10
• Make sure that the nurses have removed the yellow clinical waste bags from the bin on the balcony – Tied them up and placed them in the spare surgery ready for collection on Monday mornings make sure that the driver signs the collection report and that the information is correct regarding collection items
• Go through current draw and follow up outstanding treatment.  Call patients to book appointments (when the practice is quiet)
• Go through the dormant cards and follow up recalls that pts have not responded to – if pts have been sent several recalls but have not responded within a 2 year period place records into archives.
• When a dentist does not have any patients and a nurse is spare she is to go through the archived records and shred files older than 11 years.  All staples must be removed to avoid damaging the shredder.
• Banking is to be done at the end of Thursday evening (Thursday to Thursday) baring month end when the final deposit will include the last days taking. (i.e. Thursday to Tuesday)
• Bank deposit book must be filled in correctly
• Petty cash must be calculated weekly – PC expenditure must balance with weekly turnover. (takings, minus expenditure = deposit)
• Bank deposit report must be filled in weekly to avoid queries at month end
• Staff time sheets must be added up weekly Monday to Friday (Can do on Monday morning of the following week)
• Weekly practice monitor report must be done Monday to Friday and handed to X on Monday during the course of the day
• Surgery spot checks must be done by X and handed to in on a Friday afternoon ready for X on a Monday morning