Manju’s Blog

It has been exactly 18 months since I bought into Stratford dental and became a partner and I felt it was time to breathe deeply and reflect on what has been a very busy hectic year and a half!

I had been an associate at my previous practice for over 10 years and with hindsight I had it cushy! I had great patients who were all practically family and I had a great nurse and surgery. Then it changed, circumstances altered for my principal and she decided that she needed to sell, so after a lot of soul searching and thought I put in an offer. Things didn’t work out and I found myself wondering what was next! Then out of the blue along came Stratford dental. You could say it was fate.



As soon as I saw the website I knew it was a place that I wanted to work in and be a part of, it was like no other surgery I had ever been to or seen. Then I met Tony and Lisa and again felt that these two people were on my wavelength and before I knew it I had become their partner!

Every day is different and the responsibilities involved in partnership are not to be underestimated! But I have loved every minute! The stresses of running a business and employees will always be difficult but also very rewarding.  I like to think that with Stratford dental we are pioneering in the world of dentistry, we use all the latest technology but our greatest strength is our customer care!

Now Tony and Lisa have disappeared for their sabbatical there is even more responsibility but Rob has come and slotted in brilliantly and has not only become my sounding board but also a friend.

Lastly I must say that all the staff at Stratford dental are stars and have made a very nervous middle aged dentist who had never ran a practice before feel very welcomed and very loved! 
 
  

Photos from Australia

Here's a few snapshots of our local area.

March 2012 Update from the Appletons

Greetings from down under!

A somewhat belated but happy new year to you all! Our new year was spent enjoying the fireworks off Sydney Harbour Bridge - a sight never to be forgotten. We reached Canberra in early January and were amazed at how green and bright the city looked, courtesy of the wettest summer they've had for some time. We have been blamed for bringing the weather with us but we think the daily sunshine is perfect and aren't sure quite what the locals are moaning about!

Our base for the year is a beautiful house not far from Lake Burley Griffin so we are making the most of the extensive network of bicycle paths and walks on our doorstep. We cannot get used to the wild kangaroos grazing on the verges and the cockatoos in our trees. Amazing!

Tony has settled in to his post well, running a very busy practice in the centre of Canberra. Our remit to ' take the practice to the next level ' would appear to be a more demanding challenge than expected but we will do our best in our time here. I am due to step alongside Tony in early April to try to speed up the process. My five shoulder repairs appear to have been a great success, helped along by daily sunbathing and swimming so I aim to pick up the drill again soon!

We hope to start seeing more of Australia and New Zealand once we get the practice on an even keel, taking weekends away as much as possible. We have managed one trip to the southern coast of New South Wales to a lovely town called Kiama where we were hosted by a great dentist we've met..........another Tony!

We are missing all our team and patients back in Stratford but are delighted with the way Rob has slotted into the practice. He certainly seems to be very popular with everyone and his experience and skills are a welcome addition to the practice. We will certainly want to keep him in our team when we return and we would be incredibly grateful for any help you can give us to establish a list of patients for Rob. Please do refer anyone you think would appreciate all that we offer at Stratford Dental.

We will send regular updates from Oz and will be back for three weeks in July to celebrate Tony's 50th and our Silver Wedding Anniversary so hope to see some of you at the practice then!

Best wishes to you all

Lisa