I bet you’d agree that as dental students, we have no idea what the real world of dentistry is all about. What’s worse is, we think we know. Unfortunately this lack of understanding can set us up for a tough road ahead. The problem is that it limits the possibilities we see for ourselves in our future careers. The prime example is how we, as students, perceive what it takes to succeed in private practice. Who remembers judging our teachers in dental school for being teachers? Collectively we viewed them as dentists who couldn’t hack it in the real world....
I am back with another wonderful guest today. Meet Barbara, a clever dentist who found a great way to stay in dentistry without the pressures of private practice. Barbara has a really cool and unique story. She practiced dentistry for 5 years before she decided to switch gears. What she does now will have you smiling. It had to be 15 years ago that we met each other. We share a close mutual friend, and it was always fun to share this connection. We instantly had a lot in common– especially our confessions that we weren’t loving dentistry all that...
I think you’ll agree that many dentists hold on to a difficult employee much longer than we need to. The problem with this is we waste far too much time and resources settling for mediocrity when managing dental staff. In the past I’ve held on to more than one employee out of fear, but now I know we don’t have to settle. We’ve all done that. We’ve all found excuses for why we should keep the wrong person around. The good news is we can learn how to do it better the next time around. How can we make the right...
Every so often we get a wake up call. It’s the call that jolts us into remembering perspective. It’s the call that reminds us how important self care is. We can get so caught up caring for everyone else, that sometimes we neglect ourselves. In 2014 it was Robin Williams’ shocking suicide. The man that brought happiness and laughter to so many suffered a struggle that no one could imagine. A year later came the death of Amanda Peterson, aka Cindy Mancini, the beloved ’80’s teen idol we admired from Can’t Buy Me Love. She fell victim to drug and...
Last week we discussed how important it is to change your environment and change yourself from within to create a sustainable shift. After so many years of wondering if I would ever really feel the changes from within, it was refreshing to see there was more to it. Now that I’ve experienced it, I’m convinced that changing both my environment and myself was the key. Let’s fine tune the concept even more: creating harmony with my environment allowed me to make more tangible progress. It’s not just about changing your environment, but it’s about changing your environment so that it...
We all know happiness comes from within, right? Or so they tell us. We have all heard it over and over, but how many of you really believe that? At one point the idea frustrated me. I understood it, but I wasn’t sure I ever truly experienced it. I spent years wondering how I could change from within to become a happier person who was impermeable to the world around me. It didn’t seem realistic. Then I experienced it myself, and I started to really understand what that meant. Working through my career change shifted this from a concept to...
Who ever thought that dentistry, Chile (the country,) and hummus had anything in common? Not me! My next guest is a great dentist who has decided to branch out into new territory. A Chilean with a Palestinian background, she has taken her love of food, mixed it with her strong heritage, and has started a side business making hummus and babaganoush. Her story highlights some of the best things about dentistry! She decided that full-time practice wasn’t for her, so she took control of her schedule and works limited hours in the dental office. This flexibility that dentistry offers is...
CT, my latest podcast guest, is back to share more of her story! Last week I interviewed CT, a dental student from Hong Kong, and now she has more to say! After our discussion, CT decided it was time for her to reveal more about her journey on her own blog. She fills in a lot of the blanks, and it is interesting! You’ll understand why practicing root canals in the lab often brought her to tears. You’ll see how the teaching style at her school shaped her experience, and you’ll see that she survived after quitting dental school. Her...
This week my guest comes all the way from Hong Kong! I’m excited to feature CT, another former dental student, who is here to share her amazing story. Throughout her life, CT always dreamed of becoming a doctor. Because of the way a degree is chosen in Hong Kong, she found herself going into dentistry instead of medicine. After completing three years of a six-year dental program, she considered quitting dental school and discovered she had to make a change. While it seemed like quitting dental school was not an option, something told her that it was the only option....
How often do you avoid making work changes because you don’t know what will happen? This occurs with many work changes, whether it’s deciding to hire new staff, revamping your practice model, or even quitting dentistry. I remember being an associate in an office with a hygienist who brought a lot of negativity with her. She was amazing in so many ways, but her undercurrent of negativity affected the energy of the entire office. It was hard for us to see it until she left on her own. I came to realize that the practice was holding on to her...
