Tales from the Complaint Desk
Time:
11:00 AM – 12:30 PM
Course Description:
We work in a high intensity, high anxiety environment made worse by the uncertainties of the recent pandemic. All it takes is a spark of controversy caused by a clinical/clerical error or perceived error for an explosion of emotion to occur and for our patients to be affected. In this seminar you will learn techniques to improve your listening, empathy, trust building and solution seeking skills to prevent problems, the procedures and words necessary to manage them, and the critical follow up necessary to build long term patient relationships or successfully end them. Conflict is universal.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: Understand the unique brain chemistry that controls our reaction to distress and conflict Recognize the basic Pillars of Trust and learn how hard it is to earn trust and how easily trust can be destroyed Master specific techniques and verbiage to minimize damage after a clinical or clerical error Discover the three steps necessary to minimize the chances a patient will take their conflict to the Board of Dentistry, Peer Review, the legal system or on-line review Enhance listening skills to improve understanding and build relationships
CE:
Speaker Information
Kimberly Harms, DDS
With 30-years in clinical dentistry and 21 years as a National Spokesperson for the American Dental Association, Kimberly Harms D.D.S. has seen the importance of positive communication, management of conflict and relationship building firsthand. Her goal is to help untangle problems and support those with grief issues by sharing that accumulated knowledge with seminar attendees. Dr. Harms practiced dentistry as an enlisted officer in the U.S. Public Health Service, as a dental associate, and for most of her career as co-owner of a private practice in Farmington, MN. She developed a pilot project for the State of Minnesota to deliver care to developmentally disabled patients living in group homes which is still going strong 28 years later. Dr. Harms was honored to serve as a Clinical Assistant Professor in the areas of operative and hospital dentistry at Loyola University Medical Center and School of Dentistry. Dr. Harms was the first woman president of the Minnesota Dental Association and served on the American Dental Association's Council on Governmental Affairs representing the 10th District. She was also Chair of the American Dental Association's Council on Communications. Dr. Harms has lectured internationally and has worked with dental schools in Mongolia and Rwanda and women's groups in Georgia and Armenia.
As National Spokesperson and Consumer Advisor for the American Dental Association, Dr Harms has appeared on their behalf on the Today Show, CNN, Fox News, National Public Radio and network affiliates such as CBS, NBC, and ABC. In addition, she has been quoted in The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, USA Today, Chicago Tribune, Consumer's Digest, Buzz Feed, Shape Magazine, Good Housekeeping, Cosmopolitan and numerous other print and internet publications. Her article Keeping out of Harms’ Way: Pearls, Pitfalls and Lurking Perils of a Life in Dentistry received the International College of Dentists Leadership in Journalism Award for 2016.
