Stop Blaming Your Patients: Lead by Example and Become a Better Communicator
An ACDE Series Webinar

Course Description:

In clinical practice, we are constantly met with patients who don’t “get it”, whether their home oral hygiene behaviors never change or they resist accepting treatment. Our automatic reaction may be to blame them. But what about us? In the age of social media, the dental team is constantly faced with dispelling misinformation and false advertising. This combined with dental anxiety and existing mistrust create constant communication barriers between patients and dental providers. Simple and concise patient education tools in the dental setting can combat these factors and potentially improve patient outcomes. Stop blaming the patient, and let’s improve our own techniques. This session will make you rethink how you engage with patients. You will learn how to revitalize patient education by applying simple concepts of readability, plain language, and communication techniques.

Learning Objectives:

At the conclusion of this course, participants will be able to:

  1. Explain readability in the context of patient communication and oral health education.
  2. Define plain language and prepare an example of using it for your next written/spoken communication.
  3. Identify at least three communication techniques from the American Medical Association that will improve patient understanding.

Meet the Speaker: Dr. Tien Jiang

Dr. Tien Jiang received her Bachelor of Arts from Dartmouth College in Linguistics and French. She then pursued dentistry at the Harvard School of Dental Medicine (HSDM). While a pre-doctoral student, Dr. Jiang became interested in dental education and was selected as a Fellow in the Academic Dental Careers Fellowship Program through the American Dental Education Association. After graduating cum laude and earning a Doctor of Dental Medicine degree at HSDM, Dr. Jiang moved to the Midwest to specialize in Prosthodontics at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). During her residency, Dr. Jiang also completed a Master of Education in Instructional Leadership at the UIC College of Education. Her research involved evaluating UIC’s pre-doctoral small group learning curriculum, as well as a review of dental faculty retention and recruitment methods.

She is a member of the American College of Prosthodontists, American Dental Education Association, American Dental Association, and the Massachusetts Dental Society.

Registration Information

  • Zoom Webinar
  • Lecture
  • 1.0 Credit Hours
  • Tuition: $49

Hosting University

WEBINAR CANCELLATION POLICY: Full refunds will be issued to registrants who cancel their registration no later than 48 hours before the course starting date/time. A 50% refund will be issued to registrants who cancel 48-24 hours before the course starting date/time. No refunds will be issued for registrants who does not login to the webinar or who cancels within 24 hours of the course starting date/time. Participants may phone the Continuing Education office to cancel, but a written request which includes the name and phone number of the person who paid for the course must be received by our office before a refund can be processed. This request can be emailed to ce@dental.ufl.edu.