In January, I spoke about shifting your energy to shift your burnout at the Rocky Mountain Dental Convention (RMDC) 2024. Here is an overview of the discussion, as featured in the corresponding issue of the MDDS Articulator magazine (page 14.) Do you ever feel burnt out by burnout? The word is everywhere these days. I’ll admit, as someone who loves helping others reduce burnout, even I sometimes get sick of hearing it. There’s a reason this word gets so over-abundantly used though. Burnout is currently the pervasive problem that we, as a profession, still struggle to solve. During my decade...
Sometimes life offers you so many opportunities that it’s hard to say no. How do you balance what you want to do with what you should do? Many times in my life I’ve chosen the responsible route. And other times, I pushed the boundaries to see what I could get away with. When I was really unhappy in dentistry, I decided to take four 1-week vacations in one year. I was so worried it would crush me financially, but it worked just fine! It had no impact on my finances. At other times, I’ve been so committed to my work,...
Do you remember your first crush? They often don’t work out so well. Maybe you were too afraid to tell anyone, and you found your crush and your best friend holding hands. Perhaps all the other kids in class made fun of you when they found out. Or maybe your crush embarrassed you with rejection in front of the whole school. Part of the fun and part of the problem with crushes is that we create an ideal image of the other person. We project onto them who we want them to be without really knowing who they are. It’s...
In 2018 I began connecting with other dental professionals who made career changes after becoming unhappy in their dental careers. I began an interview series I called Celebrating New Beginnings and wanted to showcase real people like you and me who were able to shift. Mark was one of the first dentists I interviewed. As an unhappy dentist, career change became the only option for him. I hope you enjoy Mark’s story and find inspiration in it. This week we showcase a wonderful dentist who went for it! He knew it was time to change when he found himself wishing...
Did you ever want to quit because you felt so burnt out in dentistry? Three years into my dental career, I suddenly decided I couldn’t do it anymore. I hated being a dentist. I constantly worried… would my work last? Would it turn out okay? Which patients were going to get mad at me today? Was someone going to sue me? Although I always did my best, I could never guarantee that the results would match the quality of my work. I thought if I could only be MORE perfect, then I’d never have to face those consequences I constantly...
