ASDA Leadership Retreat: A Guide for Dental Students, Schemes and Mind Maps of Dentistry

Download ASDA Leadership Retreat: A Guide for Dental Students and more Schemes and Mind Maps Dentistry in PDF only on Docsity! CHAPTER LEADERSHIP RETREAT HOW-TO GUIDE American Student Dental Association Leadership retreats can be used by chapters in a variety of ways. They can help chapters set goals for the year and build a strong team of incoming leaders. Retreats can serve as a starting off point for any potential ASDA members to become involved in ASDA leadership in the future. This guide provides guidelines and suggestions for chapters seeking to hold a leadership retreat as an orientation for new leaders. Keep in mind that the Executive Committee of the chapter (president, vice president or president-elect, secretary, treasurer) should meet on their own prior to a larger chapter leader Leadership retreat. Orientation for Chapter Leaders To start the year off strong, we encourage chapters to hold a retreat for their incoming leaders. The retreat can help your chapter set goals for the year and build a strong team. Below is a suggested outline for the retreat with some resources to assist you in planning the event. At the end of the guide are templates your chapter can use to get started. Opening exercises Introduction Begin the retreat by having attendees introduce themselves. You can be creative with introductions and incorporate an ice breaker to get them engaged. Review ASDA’s mission statement and vision A mission statement defines who or what an organization is and the vision describes what we want to be. ASDA’s mission statement: The American Student Dental Association is a national student-run organization that protects and advances the rights, interests and welfare of dental students. It introduces students to lifelong involvement in organized dentistry and provides services, information, education, representation and advocacy. ASDA’s vision: To advance the dental profession by developing exemplary leaders and inspiring member advocacy. It is important to emphasize that ASDA is a “national organization” working on behalf of 23,000 dental students nationwide. Many incoming students tend to confuse it with local school organizations. Also, make sure people are familiar with the term “advocacy” as this is the backbone of our organization and what we do. Advocacy is defined as an individual or group that aims to influence public policy. As students you advocate on behalf of your patients, your profession and your student body on a local, state and national level. Chapter Bylaws All chapter leaders should be familiar with the chapter’s bylaws. The chapter bylaws should be easily accessible and the chapter Secretary is responsible for keeping track of the bylaws. D. Show up early. When you arrive at the beginning, you have more opportunity to talk to individuals present without feeling like you’re lost in a sea of people. Additionally, this way once you meet new people you can connect them with colleagues or friends that arrive later. III. Conversation Starters A. Smile. It may seem basic, but it's hard not to start a discussion or at least smile back. B. "Hi, my name is...." It can be intimidating to approach someone (or a group of people), but push yourself to walk over and introduce yourself. Look for groups of people standing in an open circle or with open body language because they are the easiest to approach. Also, if you are with friends or colleagues introduce them and engage them in the conversation as well. People are naturally more drawn to people that bring others together. Start with your name and follow it up with an easy-to-answer question like "How do you know the host?" or "What brings you here tonight?" C. "I love your [shoes/shirt/necktie]." You'd be surprised how quickly someone's guard can come down when you dish out a compliment. "That was an interesting presentation you just gave" or "That's one of my favorite books you're reading" can go a long way. D. "You look familiar." You run into each other at the library or coffee shop several times a week. Why not say hello? E. Bring up a timely topic. Talk about a book or movie that just came out or something big that's happening in the news. Try to avoid religion or politics. IV. Demonstrations or show YouTube videos. For example, how to shake hands, how to start a conversation, and how to remember someone’s name. V. Practice your networking skills A. Apply for a chapter or national leadership position to meet people who share your passion for organized dentistry. There are more than 40 opportunities available each year to dental students of all ages. B. Attend national ASDA events to broaden your network outside your local dental school (this is especially useful if you’re considering relocating or going into a specialty). Check out chapter or districts events to deepen the relationships with people at your school or district. C. Get involved at your state or local dental association. Many offer volunteer opportunities and host events for dental students to learn about practice management and working with patients. D. Meet other new dentists at the ADA’s New Dentist Conference. This will connect you with dentists who were once in your shoes but also have experience you can learn from. Words from you Advisor Invite your chapter advisor to attend to welcome the group and talk about how they can serve as a resource for the board during the year. This would also be a good opportunity to introduce any relevant administrative personnel to the group. Writing for ASDA Encourage chapter leaders to write for your chapter newsletter, district newsletter or national publications, such as Contour or the ASDA blog. Being published can promote your chapter on a national level as well as provide professional experience for members to add to their CV. Use the retreat to brainstorm what your school or chapter does well or is unique that would make a good article. The chapter newsletter editor can provide guidelines for writing for the newsletter. The editor should come up with several ideas for articles and ask people to write those as well as encourage members to write unique stories. Consider adding a requirement that each board member should contribute to the newsletter. Inform members of the opportunities to write for the district newsletter and national ASDA. Gather information from the district newsletter editor or trustee to share. Explain the difference between the various national publications and review the guidelines. Provide the contact information for the editorial board if members want more information. Guidelines for Travel Review with the board the guidelines for travelling to national and district events. Ask your chapter treasurer to assist you in putting together this information. First, discuss how the board will determine who is funded to attend. It is important to assess this carefully and include all that deserve to go. It is understandable if you have a large board and cannot afford to bring everyone, but aside from the elected board, those who attend the most ASDA events or are the most involved should be positively rewarded to attend events. If you have a small chapter, you may want to bring other members who have shown interest in leadership. Next, cover the costs that will be covered by the chapter. This can depend on the size of the chapter, the amount of funds given by the school or student government, and the amount of funds raised from sponsors or fundraising events. Typically, travel and lodging should be covered to encourage members to attend. If ample funds are raised, it is nice to cover the cost of food and other travel expenses. If not all costs can be covered, then cover a portion of costs and divide the remaining equally among the attending individuals. You may also be able to supplement costs by requesting funds from your dean, student government association or your state society. Review the paperwork that needs to be completed to travel to events. For example, some chapters require attendees to write an article for the chapter newsletter or give a presentation on the event they attended. Your administration may also require documentation of the event to excuse an absence from school. Remind the chapter leaders that when they travel to district and national events, professional conduct is mandatory at all times. You do not want something negative to be reported to your dean. Most important is to emphasize that they represent the American Student Dental Association and over 23,000 student members nationwide. Chapter Resources ASDA has developed the following resources for chapters that you may want to share with your officers during the retreat. Display ASDA’s website on the screen and link to the following resources: How-to guides: Best practices and tips gathered from other chapters on fundraising, organizing vendor fairs, recruiting predentals, community service events, creating chapter websites and much more. Find membership recruitment materials, template presentations, logos, financial and legal information through ASDA’s Chapter Management Resources page. Strategic Plan Worksheet for Chapters Category Goals Steps Needed to Accomplish Goals Deadline Membership 1) 2) 3) Fundraising 1) 2) 3) Communications (website, newsletter, video, social media) 1) 2) 3) Legislative issues and advocacy 1) 2) 3) Predental recruitment/ involvement 1) 2) 3)