By Ellen Curnow, Accountant at Hive Business

As soon as something is made regulatory, or it becomes compulsory, it is instantly less appealing. As accountants (and I’m sure dentists will have been there too), our CPD can be made up of seminars, webinars, research or wider reading, and when you’re only doing it to get your hours up, it feels like a pain, and really doesn’t develop you as a professional in the way that it is intended. These obvious methods of doing your CPD serve their basic purpose but lack the human element which can make all the difference in how you benefit from the information.

When it’s done really well, you can get a lot more from CPD than just ticking the compulsory boxes. I recently attended Mark Durnall’s CPD day as part of my role and was amazed to see Jo Russell talking about ‘Infection Prevention’ for an hour, and having a room full of dental practice staff laughing out loud about washing your hands! As associates or principals, a well organised day can give you the opportunity to get out of the surgery, have a decent conversation with a fellow dentist, and actually have a giggle while you’re there.

Dentistry can be a lonely little hamster wheel so these opportunities are invaluable when it comes to networking, getting an idea of how your experience might compare with others’ in the industry, and developing you as a professional. Mark and the Pure Dental team put on these CPD days on a regular basis, and are gaining momentum in providing an enjoyable (and actually worthwhile) way of ticking CPD boxes.

Hive Business and Finecompany offer a range of CPD accredited courses that will help you develop you and your team, from leadership to treatment coordinator role development. We can help you to learn valuable skills that they don’t teach you at dental school!

Your CPD is compulsory, so when you do it, you may as well do it well. If you’re looking for a way to up your hours without falling asleep, get in touch.