Once I found my dream job, I eagerly threw myself into my work.  I had so much new stuff to learn, and so much to unlearn.  I had a mentor right there on the spot, and he spent hours teaching me what he knew.  He filled my head with new ideas and thoughts of a bright future and all of the great things we could do for people.  He urged that I follow in his footsteps and go to The Pankey Institute.  Attending would give me a much better understanding of all he was teaching me.  So I went, and it did.

For those of you who don’t know, Pankey is a top-notch, well-respected dental education institute with an interesting philosophy.  In a nutshell, it’s about giving the best you have for your patients and providing them with the highest level of care.  It’s about treating patients as individuals, not as a set of teeth.  It’s about treating complicated and simple cases with higher success and predictability.  It’s about values and relationships and community.  And it’s also about applying these things to yourself and your own life.  It’s about finding balance in your life by filling it with love, work, play, and spirituality.  With this balance comes greater happiness.  And if you are happy, the rest will follow.

Guess what?

They are damn good at teaching those things.

I loved Pankey.  At the time, it was the saving grace in my relationship with dentistry.  I believe this is also the case for many other dentists.  I always came home from my trips to Florida excited to jump in and apply what I learned.  I was finally proud of what I was doing, and I felt good about it.

I’ve noticed something funny about Pankey… the old guys called it “The Institute.”  The young guys called it “Pankey.”  And my friend Dana, who knew little about it, called it “Hankey Pankey.”  Maybe she was on to something.  In a way, that’s just what is was for me.  The Hankey Pankey put the spark back into my dimming relationship with dentistry.

Stay tuned for Why I Love Hankey Pankey!