Assessment Rubric
Treatment Coordinator — Dr. Phoebe Tsang’s Practice
What We Assess and Why
Your performance as a Treatment Coordinator is evaluated on two dimensions: what you achieve and how you work. Objective metrics (things like scheduling accuracy, follow-up completion, and insurance processing) account for 70% of your evaluation. This rubric covers the remaining 30% — the qualities that numbers alone cannot capture.
We care about how you communicate with families, how you handle pressure, how you collaborate with the team, and how you grow over time. These qualities matter because our practice runs on trust — between our team, our patients, and their families.
You will see every score on this rubric. There are no hidden evaluations. We want you to know exactly what we value and how you are progressing.
How Assessment Works
At each review point, Dr. Tsang will have a 15–20 minute conversation with you to walk through the rubric items that apply to your current phase. Here is what to expect:
- Written feedback is provided to you within 3 business days of each review.
- You have 5 business days to submit a written response if you would like to add context or share your perspective on any score.
- Your response is kept alongside the assessment in your file and is considered in future reviews.
Assessment is not a test you pass or fail in a single sitting. It is an ongoing conversation about your development, and your voice is part of it.
Phase 1 Qualities (First 90 Days)
During your first three months, we focus on six foundational qualities. These reflect the core of what it means to work well in our practice. You will be formally reviewed at Day 30, Day 60, and Day 85, with an informal check-in around Day 14.
Cultural Alignment
How naturally you embody the practice’s values of integrated, hands-on care — stepping in where needed and treating the team’s success as your own.
| Score | What This Looks Like |
|---|---|
| 5 | You model our values without prompting; patients and staff offer unsolicited positive feedback; you naturally step in across role boundaries to support the team |
| 4 | You consistently demonstrate practice values; you integrate well with the team and willingly help outside your strict role when asked |
| 3 | You generally align with the practice culture; occasional redirection on expectations is needed; you participate in team activities |
| 2 | You sometimes treat role boundaries rigidly and need frequent reminders about our collaborative approach |
| 1 | Significant difficulty adapting to the integrated care model; friction with clinical and front desk staff |
Communication Quality
Clarity, professionalism, and proactiveness in how you communicate with team members, patients, and families.
| Score | What This Looks Like |
|---|---|
| 5 | You communicate proactively; anticipate information needs; written messages are clear and professional; you adapt tone skillfully for anxious parents |
| 4 | Clear and timely communication; professional with families; you keep the team informed without being prompted |
| 3 | Adequate communication; occasionally you need prompting to share updates; professional but sometimes unclear in written messages |
| 2 | Frequent need for prompting to communicate; communication gaps occasionally cause workflow issues |
| 1 | Communication gaps create scheduling breakdowns or patient concerns; team members are regularly missing information they need |
Parent/Patient Rapport
Your ability to build trust with parents and patients, especially around anxiety-inducing procedures like sedation.
| Score | What This Looks Like |
|---|---|
| 5 | Parents request to speak with you specifically; you handle difficult conversations (cost, sedation risks, treatment urgency) with confidence and genuine sensitivity |
| 4 | You build rapport naturally with most families; communicate treatment information clearly and compassionately; parents are at ease during interactions |
| 3 | Professional and courteous with families; generally effective at explaining procedures and costs; occasional difficulty with highly anxious parents |
| 2 | Interactions sometimes feel transactional; you struggle to connect with anxious parents or provide incomplete information about treatment plans |
| 1 | Parents express discomfort after interactions; difficult conversations are avoided; information provided about procedures or costs is sometimes inaccurate |
Adaptability Under Pressure
How you maintain composure and effectiveness when things do not go as planned — emergency schedule changes, upset parents, equipment issues, same-day cancellations.
| Score | What This Looks Like |
|---|---|
| 5 | You remain calm and organized during crises; the team looks to you for direction in chaotic moments; you quickly reprioritize and communicate changes |
| 4 | You handle most high-pressure situations professionally; recover quickly from disruptions; maintain quality of work under stress |
| 3 | Generally steady under normal variability; occasionally flustered by unexpected changes but you recover with support |
| 2 | Visibly stressed by schedule disruptions; performance noticeably declines under pressure; you need significant support to handle unexpected situations |
| 1 | Difficulty functioning under pressure; stress responses create additional disruption for the team |
Documentation Thoroughness
Completeness and accuracy of patient records, scheduling notes, treatment plan documentation, and internal logs.
| Score | What This Looks Like |
|---|---|
| 5 | Your documentation is consistently complete, accurate, and timely; other staff can pick up any patient file and understand the full picture; you proactively improve templates |
| 4 | Reliable documentation with rare omissions; records are clear and useful to the team; you correct gaps the same day |
| 3 | Documentation is generally adequate; occasional missing details that require follow-up; records completed within expected timeframes |
| 2 | Frequent documentation gaps; other staff must follow up on missing information; records are sometimes incomplete |
| 1 | Critical information missing from patient records; poor record-keeping creates compliance or safety concerns |
Professional Growth Orientation
Your active pursuit of professional development and willingness to learn new tools, techniques, and industry knowledge.
| Score | What This Looks Like |
|---|---|
| 5 | You proactively seek learning opportunities; ask insightful questions; independently research answers before asking; stay current with industry trends |
| 4 | You actively engage with training; ask relevant questions; apply feedback quickly; seek out new knowledge when prompted |
| 3 | You complete assigned training; ask questions when stuck; generally apply feedback; moderate interest in professional development |
| 2 | Passive in training; you rarely ask questions and need repeated instruction on the same topics |
| 1 | Resistant to learning new systems; dismissive of training; views professional development as a burden |
Phase 2 Additions (Days 91–180)
Once you have established the foundations, we introduce four additional qualities that reflect a deeper level of contribution. These are assessed alongside all six Phase 1 items, bringing the total to ten. You will be formally reviewed at Day 120, Day 150, and Day 175.
These qualities are not surprises. By the time you reach Phase 2, you will already be demonstrating many of them informally. The rubric simply makes the conversation explicit.
Ownership Mindset
Whether you treat practice challenges as your own responsibility rather than waiting for direction.
| Score | What This Looks Like |
|---|---|
| 5 | You treat practice problems as your own; independently identify and resolve issues before they escalate; team members seek your guidance on operational matters |
| 4 | You take ownership of your domains; proactively address issues; rarely wait to be told |
| 3 | You own tasks within your defined scope; occasionally wait for direction on ambiguous situations |
| 2 | You often wait for explicit instruction and treat issues outside your task list as someone else’s responsibility |
| 1 | You avoid responsibility and rely on others for all decisions within your domain |
Problem-Solving Initiative
Your ability to identify problems, propose solutions, and implement fixes rather than simply escalating.
| Score | What This Looks Like |
|---|---|
| 5 | You identify root causes, propose systemic solutions, implement fixes, and monitor results without being asked; you prevent recurrence |
| 4 | You identify problems and propose solutions before escalating; learn from past issues to prevent recurrence |
| 3 | You identify problems, escalate with suggested solutions, and apply standard solutions effectively |
| 2 | You identify obvious problems but rarely propose solutions; the same issues tend to recur |
| 1 | Problems are not identified until they become urgent; no solution orientation |
Team Collaboration
How effectively you work with CDAs, front desk staff, hygienists, and associate dentists.
| Score | What This Looks Like |
|---|---|
| 5 | You actively strengthen team dynamics; staff proactively share information with you; you create workflows that make others’ jobs easier |
| 4 | You collaborate effectively; share information freely; support team members during high-stress periods |
| 3 | You work well with the team under normal conditions; occasional friction under stress; generally cooperative |
| 2 | You sometimes create information silos or work around team members; friction with specific staff |
| 1 | Team conflict arises regularly; collaborative processes are undermined |
Growing Independence
How much guidance you need from Dr. Tsang on matters within the Treatment Coordinator’s scope. This is measured by how often Dr. Tsang needs to step in on issues you would typically handle — fewer interventions reflects growing confidence and judgment.
| Score | What This Looks Like |
|---|---|
| 5 | Dr. Tsang rarely needs to step in (0–1 times per week); you anticipate concerns and address them proactively; Dr. Tsang has high confidence in your independent judgment |
| 4 | Dr. Tsang steps in 2–3 times per week, mostly for novel situations rather than recurring ones; you show a clear improvement trend |
| 3 | Dr. Tsang steps in 4–5 times per week for a mix of recurring and new issues; you handle routine matters independently |
| 2 | Dr. Tsang steps in 6–8 times per week, often for recurring issues that should be within your competence; limited improvement from prior period |
| 1 | Dr. Tsang steps in 9 or more times per week; routine scheduling, follow-up, and pipeline issues require owner involvement; no improvement trend |
During Phase 1, we establish a baseline for how much support is typical for someone new to the role. Your Phase 2 and Phase 3 scores reflect your growth relative to that starting point — not an absolute standard. If your baseline is 10 check-ins per week and you bring that down to 5, that represents real progress.
Phase 3 Additions (Day 181+)
The final two qualities are introduced once you have a strong operational foundation. These reflect the strategic thinking and judgment expected of a fully established Treatment Coordinator. All 12 items are assessed together, with quarterly reviews every 90 days.
Ethical Judgment
Your ability to navigate situations involving patient care decisions, insurance conversations, financial discussions, and confidentiality.
| Score | What This Looks Like |
|---|---|
| 5 | You proactively identify ethical concerns before they escalate; handle insurance and financial conversations with complete transparency; maintain strict confidentiality; raise concerns about potentially inappropriate requests |
| 4 | Sound ethical judgment in routine and moderately complex situations; transparent in financial discussions; you maintain confidentiality and seek guidance appropriately on gray areas |
| 3 | Generally ethical in conduct; occasional uncertainty in complex situations handled through appropriate escalation; you maintain confidentiality standards |
| 2 | Occasional shortcuts in documentation or financial discussions; you need reminders about confidentiality boundaries |
| 1 | Ethically problematic behavior observed (e.g., misrepresenting costs, breaching confidentiality); creates compliance risk |
Systems Thinking
Your ability to see how scheduling, billing, patient flow, clinical operations, and business development connect — and to make decisions that optimize across the whole practice rather than one area.
| Score | What This Looks Like |
|---|---|
| 5 | You see interconnections across all practice systems; proactively redesign workflows for efficiency; anticipate downstream effects of changes; propose improvements that benefit multiple areas simultaneously |
| 4 | You understand system dependencies; consider second-order effects when making changes; propose workflow improvements that account for cross-functional impact |
| 3 | You understand individual systems well; sometimes miss cross-system impacts; implement changes within your domain effectively |
| 2 | You focus on tasks rather than systems; changes in one area sometimes create problems in another |
| 1 | No systems perspective; each task is treated as isolated; unaware of how actions affect other roles |
Scoring
Your subjective rubric scores are averaged and then combined with your objective metrics using a 70/30 weighting:
\[ \text{Composite Score} = (0.70 \times \text{Objective Average}) + (0.30 \times \text{Subjective Average}) \]
Thresholds by Phase
| Phase | Items Assessed | Composite Needed to Advance |
|---|---|---|
| Phase 1 (Days 0–90) | 6 | 3.0 / 5.0 |
| Phase 2 (Days 91–180) | 10 | 3.3 / 5.0 |
| Phase 3 (Day 181+) | 12 | 3.5 / 5.0 |
A 3.0 composite means you are meeting expectations — doing the work, learning the systems, and growing into the role. Most people who are engaged and actively learning naturally reach these thresholds. The bar rises gradually because the role expands gradually: we are not expecting Phase 3 performance from someone in their first month.
Score Interpretation
| Average Range | What It Means |
|---|---|
| 4.5 – 5.0 | Outstanding — you consistently exceed expectations and model the role for others |
| 3.5 – 4.4 | Strong — you meet and frequently exceed expectations; coaching focuses on 1–2 growth areas |
| 3.0 – 3.4 | Satisfactory — you meet expectations with room for growth; we will identify 2–3 specific areas to develop together |
| 2.0 – 2.9 | Below expectations — a pattern of concern that requires a focused improvement plan and more frequent check-ins |
| 1.0 – 1.9 | Needs immediate attention — we will work together on a structured improvement plan with a defined timeline |
If any single item is scored a 1, that signals a concern serious enough to require immediate attention regardless of your overall average. We will always discuss this with you directly and create a clear path forward.
Questions about this rubric? We are happy to walk through it with you during the interview process or at any point during your onboarding.