DTC Competition: Reflecting on a Complaint with Ria Shah

Next entry for my DTC competition is from Ria Shah from Barts & The London...

Ria, dental student from Barts & The London

A complaint is a form of feedback from an individual of their experience, regarding your service or product. This can be clinically, in the dental setting and non-clinically, for example at a restaurant. Receiving a complaint can be challenging and it is difficult not to take it personally, but it is the way we process it by identifying the areas of improvement and demonstrating change that influences us in the future.

Some points I found useful for the process of reflection are as follows:

  • How did the complaint arise – think back to the interaction, what happened and is there anything you notice in hindsight? What steps could have been taken to avoid the complaint in the first place?
  • Your response to the complaint – how did you feel at the time when receiving the complaint? Did you feel shocked, surprised or even upset?
  • Process of the complaint – how was the complaint resolved, how did you work together to form a solution?
  • What can you learn from the experience? – asking yourself ‘what am I going to be doing differently or change from now?’ This can involve further training or adjusting your communication to accommodate patients.

The reason for reflection is the process of finding the positive and gaining insight from the complaint, for example, it may help to identify areas of weaknesses you may not have identified, or be an opportunity for the wider team to be educated on.

In any occupation, continuous self-assessment is essential for both professional and personal development. According to the parliamentary and health service Ombudsman, 29% believe that complaining will not make a difference, therefore it is important to reflect on these complaints to not only show the individual that their complaint has been listened to and acted upon but to ensure that you and the team are learning from it.



Look out for more entries for the competition coming soon!

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