What are the “dog days” of summer anyway?

Is it just me or are we smack in the middle of those “dog days” of summer? What does that even mean anyway? All I know is that it is relentlessly hot, my grass is “crunchy” and almost all of my client doctors are off on vacation which mean one thing… their teams are actively completing their OSHA and HIPAA compliance training.

Obviously one of the advantages of our online learning system is that you can train anywhere and at any time. When I was an assistant for many years as a client of Smart Training, I used to complete my training when patients cancelled or rescheduled short notice, while performing maintenance on Fridays (yes, Friday was free of patients most the time) or when my doctor was on a well-earned vacation.

Yes, the “dog days” of summer might as well be the “training days of summer.”

What was that password again?

I can’t speak for the other compliance advisors on my team, but I always know when my doctors are out of the office because I’ll have one or two team members who contact me to reset their passwords. My favorite is when one of them will say that something is wrong on my end since they logged in yesterday and it was fine… I can only assume they are unaware that our team can see their last login, last training completed and how much time they spent on Instagram.

Okay, so maybe not all those items are true, I’ll leave you to guess which one. Anyway, when I reset their password or login information, I always like to remind them to begin their training with “Bloodborne Pathogens and Sharps Management” and our “HIPAA 101” courses. The reason I always like users to lead off with those modules is straightforward.

• Bloodborne Pathogens and Sharps Management – The most common exposure incidents in dental practices are needle sticks so it makes sense to start there!
• HIPAA 101 – From day one, team members work with patients PHI and MUST know how to handle that responsibility. Perfect place to begin!

For team members, this just makes sense. For practice owners, not only does it make sense, but it helps to begin covering the practice’s responsibilities in many arenas. I don’t know how many times non-clients have contacted us because they’ve run afoul with the Department of Labor and need to resolve a violation that stemmed from an exposure incident.

Where do we go from here?

Now that training has begun, it is tempting to keep working your way through it at a steady pace. While I admire the commitment of many of our successful clients (judging success as having their teams reliably complete training year after year), moderation is key if you hope to absorb the material and apply it in practice.

With that said, take advantage of the potential “dog days” (if the practice is quiet), and complete training, view your written safety programs and have a scavenger hunt for your emergency medical supplies (AED, spill kit, eyewash, fire extinguishers, etc.) and extra points for those who know where the electrical panels are! It might be wise to check those expiration dates as well!

While you are doing all that, we will be here ready to reset your password, revise your login credentials and see what you’ve been up to on Instagram.