Open Dental Software includes a built-in Certifications tool that allows you to monitor employee advancement as they familiarize themselves with Open Dental. This allows you to ensure proper processes are followed in your practice and that you are getting the most out of Open Dental.
In this post, we’ll discuss how to customize Certifications for your practice using the Open Dental Wiki, Webinars, and manual.
Part 1: Update your Wiki Pages
The Certification tool is a blank canvas for practices to create their own learning program. This ensures staff are familiar not just with Open Dental, but how Open Dental integrates with the specific practice flow.
To begin, start by setting up a wiki page for each area you wish to cover. These can organized by job title, daily routines, Open Dental modules, or any other way that works for you. Here are some examples:
- By Job Title: Front Office Processes, Back Office Processes, Office Manager Daily Duties, etc.
- Daily Routines: Confirming Appointments, Operatory Cleaning Checklist, Fish Tank Care, etc.
- Open Dental Modules: Treatment Planning, Scanning Images, Scheduling Appointments, etc.
On each page, write up how you use Open Dental for your practice. Link to appropriate resources (see below), and include any notes you find important.
How you determine a certification has been met is up to you. Typically an office will consider an employee certified if they have met a checklist of criteria (e.g., watched all webinars in a playlist, read certain manual pages, etc.), or they have completed a quiz created for the information.
Remember, the Wiki is an incredible resource to have all of your daily processes, office policies, employment policies, emergency preparedness, and more in one spot. This will help make sure all employees are following the same workflow and ensure a consistently pleasant experience for patients. It also makes training new employees a breeze when they can reference steps and policies quickly without interrupting patient appointments.
Part 2: Review Additional Resources
When creating your wiki pages, remember to include links to official Open Dental resources. We recommend reviewing pages on the Open Dental manual and linking to Open Dental webinar playlists.
Notes:
- We recommend linking to playlists, and not to individual videos. Since our videos are routinely updated, a link can break at any time. By linking to a playlist, you can be sure the link never breaks and employees always have access to the latest webinar videos.
- We do not recommend linking to individual blog posts, as they are not as routinely updated as videos or manual pages. Instead, consider making the Open Dental blog part of your weekly routine to keep up on the latest news and posts.
Part 3: Set up the Certifications Tool
1. Create Certification Categories in Setup > Definitions > Certification Categories. These are used to organize each certification.
2. Add employees in Lists > Employees. This should already be done if using Open Dental for time cards.
3. Create each of the certifications in Tools > Certifications > Setup.
Create each certification needed for your practice. In general, these should have a wiki page associated with each certification. When writing in the wiki page name, include two brackets (e.g., [[Wiki Name]]). This way, you can right-click the wiki name to quickly open it.
Part 4: Notate Certifications as they are Completed
When an employee completes a certification, mark off the date completed so you can track employee progress.
Highlight the employee on the left, double-click the certification, then enter the date completed. Add any notes as needed, such as who confirmed the certification.
Now, you have a thorough training process for employees! By standardizing the training process and having an easy-to-search guide of processes and policies on the wiki, you can ensure an improved and consistent experience for patients.
If you need help with this or any other feature in Open Dental, reach out to Support. Quick questions can be answered right away with online chat. If you’d like us to get connected, please call.