EXPLORATORY STUDY OF PRACTICE MANAGEMENT STYLES THAT YIELD MATERIAL AND PERSONAL REWARDS FOR MALE AND FEMALE ORTHODONTISTS

Abstract

Practicing orthodontists frequently state that the most difficult aspect of their career is running the practice and managing the staff members. To combat this challenge, some residency programs, including Temple's, offer practice management courses. Residents commonly learn practice management skills from male orthodontists, as they typically make up the majority of the orthodontic faculty. Due to the innate personality and interpersonal relationship differences between females and males, what a male orthodontist teaches may not be true, or effective, for the female orthodontist. The aim of this pilot study was to determine how practice management styles lead to personal and professional success. With the aid of qualitative research protocol, this study assessed: 1. practice management skills and deficiencies exhibited by male and female orthodontists, 2. practice management challenges male and female orthodontists face. The study explored the management styles of male and female orthodontists. The goal of the study was to define if male and female orthodontists exhibit different practice management strengths, weaknesses, challenges, and styles. Based on the study results, the following conclusions have been drawn: 1. Several factors play a role in the orthodontist's personal success: the most important factors being family and happy staff members. 2. Male orthodontists report that their career has a negative effect on their families due to job stresses. In contrast, female orthodontists view their career as having a positive effect on their families due to increased flexibility and reduced burden on their husbands. 3. Male orthodontists have well-defined business goals and aggressively pursue their goals, whereas, female orthodontists are content with their current success and less driven to achieve more. 4. All orthodontists believe their staff members are happy; female orthodontists have longer standing staff members and a more open relationship with their employees. 5. Male orthodontists utilize nearly every orthodontic technology. Interestingly, newer technologies are all but absent from female owned orthodontic offices.