From Conflict to Collaboration: Mediation Skills for Addressing Patient Concerns

About This Course

Learn how to effectively handle complaints with our comprehensive course. Topics include communication strategies, mediation techniques, legal responsibilities, and quality improvement. Practical case studies included.

Why Take This Course?

The course addresses a common challenge that UK dental professionals face, which is effectively handling patient complaints. Dental professionals often have to deal with dissatisfied patients and it is important to have the skills and knowledge to handle these complaints in a professional and effective manner. The course provides valuable information on communication strategies, mediation process and techniques, legal and regulatory aspects, and quality improvement in complaints handling. It also helps dental professionals understand the psychology behind complaints and provides practical solutions for patient-centered care. The course is a valuable resource for dental professionals who want to improve their complaint handling skills and ensure the best possible patient outcomes.

This course is beneficial because it covers all aspects of complaints handling, including communication strategies, legal and regulatory aspects, and quality improvement. It also includes practical application through case studies and scenario analyses. Understanding the psychology behind complaints and using patient-centered solutions can improve customer satisfaction and resolve conflicts effectively. Legal responsibilities and steps for improvement ensure compliance and continuous improvement of the complaints handling process.

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How This Course Supports GDC Enhanced Dental CPD

“Dental professionals have a duty to keep their knowledge and skills up to date. A primary qualification is only the first step in their education and development which should last throughout their professional life” General Dental Council

Learning Objectives	Anticipated Outcomes
1: By the end of this course, learners will be able to understand and implement the Root Cause Analysis process in a dental practice setting.	1: Upon completion of the course, participants are expected to effectively apply Root Cause Analysis in a dental practice setting to enhance operational efficiency and patient satisfaction.
2: Upon completion, learners will have the capacity to identify a variety of complaint types in a dental setting and distinguish the surface issues from the underlying root causes.	2: As a result of this course, learners will likely contribute to a decrease in patient waiting times and complaints in their respective practices and the wider dental community.
3: Participants will demonstrate their ability to use RCA techniques such as the “5 Whys” method, Fishbone Diagrams, or Process Mapping effectively.	3: The course should lead to an improved understanding and capacity in learners to distinguish between surface issues and deep-rooted causes in practice management scenarios.
4: By the final session, learners will have mastered the ability to apply Root Cause Analysis to real-world complaints and issues within dental practice, leading to strategic solutions.	4: In the wider context, the course aims to contribute to ongoing efforts to improve the standard of dental care and practice management by empowering dental professionals to identify and rectify systemic problems.
5: At the course’s conclusion, attendees will have developed the competency in complaint management, enhancing patient satisfaction and improving practice standards by addressing systemic issues identified through RCA.	5: Following the course, the expectation is that attendees will employ a more comprehensive and strategic approach to problem-solving in their dental practice by prioritizing root cause analysis over symptomatic treatment of issues.

Regulatory Standards

GDC	CQC
✅ A – Effective Communication ✅ B – Effective Management ✅ C – Maintenance in Field of Practice ✅ D – Maintenance in Patient Confidence	✅ Caring ✅ Effective ✅ Leadership ✅ Responsive ✅ Safe

🕐 90 minutes of Enhanced Dental CPD

Course Description

The course covers understanding complaints, communication strategies, mediation process and techniques, legal and regulatory aspects, and ensuring quality improvement in complaints handling. Topics covered include the psychology behind complaints, positive language, patient-centered solutions, legal responsibilities, and steps for improvement. Case studies and scenario analyses are included for practical application.

Course Outline

Section 1

Section 1 of the course covers understanding complaints, including their nature, the role of empathy, and decoding unspoken concerns. It also delves into the psychology behind complaints and provides a case study on navigating a complex patient complaint. Communication strategies are discussed, including listening and responding to complaints, positive language, and maintaining professionalism during difficult conversations. The mediation process and techniques are explored, including principles of mediation in healthcare, facilitating patient-clinician discussions, and creating a safe space for dialogue. Legal and regulatory aspects are covered, including understanding legal responsibilities, dental regulatory bodies in the UK, documentation and disclosure, and implications of complaints on dental practice insurance. Finally, ensuring quality improvement is discussed, including learning from complaints, developing a patient-centred practice culture, the role of leadership, and engaging staff in improvement strategies.

Section 2

This section of the course covers understanding the nature of complaints, the role of empathy in complaints handling, decoding the unspoken concerns, the psychology behind complaints, effective communication strategies in complaints handling, principles of mediation in healthcare, legal and regulatory responsibilities, ensuring quality improvement, and the role of leadership in complaints handling.

Section 3

Section 3 of the course covers understanding complaints, communication strategies, mediation process and techniques, legal and regulatory aspects, and ensuring quality improvement in healthcare, with a focus on dental practice. The section includes case studies, scenario analysis, and role-playing to help learners effectively handle complaints, facilitate patient-clinician discussions, understand legal responsibilities, and develop a patient-centered practice culture.

Section 4

Section 4 of this course covers legal and regulatory aspects related to complaints handling, including understanding legal responsibilities, the role of dental regulatory bodies in the UK, documentation and disclosure requirements, implications of complaints on dental practice insurance, and case studies on legal and regulatory handling of dental complaints.

Section 5

Section 5 of this course covers how to ensure quality improvement in complaints handling. This includes learning from complaints, developing a patient-centered practice culture, the role of leadership in complaints handling, and engaging staff in improvement strategies. The section concludes with a course summary and key takeaways for participants.

Course Reviews

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
I found the course to be incredibly informative, especially in terms of understanding the psychology behind complaints and how to effectively communicate with patients. The practical case studies were particularly helpful in solidifying my understanding.

✅ Met Course Objectives

✅ Met Course Outcomes

✅ Would Recommend

✅ Had Positive Impact

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
The course provided useful insights on the legal and regulatory aspects of complaints handling, which I found to be crucial knowledge. Additionally, the focus on patient-centered solutions and quality improvement will definitely help me improve my practice.

✅ Met Course Objectives

✅ Met Course Outcomes

✅ Would Recommend

✅ Had Positive Impact

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
I highly recommend this course for any dental professional looking to improve their complaints handling skills. The mediation process and techniques taught in the course are extremely valuable and applicable in real-life scenarios. Overall, a great investment in my professional development.

✅ Met Course Objectives

✅ Met Course Outcomes

✅ Would Recommend

✅ Had Positive Impact

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