Each year feels like it moves faster than the one before it. In the blink of an eye, 52 weeks have passed and it can be easy to miss how far you have come – unless you take the time to reflect.
This year has been the first year of my life that did not revolve around an academic calendar, as I embarked on life after dental school and residency. Without the consistent schedule that educational institutions provide to break up a year, it has been easy to get caught up in the repetitiousness of my day-to-day schedule and allow time to fly past.
As my first year in practice approaches, I felt there were lessons I’ve learned that could have helped me on this journey one year ago and I hope that someone else who is just graduating might find something valuable from my experience.
Give yourself Grace, It takes time
If your dental school experience was anything like mine, you had several hours to see each patient and on a good day you saw two patients at a maximum.
Often, you had several appointments to work through a treatment plan with a facility member before you ever began to treat the patient. That environment was necessary as we learned to develop our treatment planning and hand skills, but patients tend to expect a bit more efficiency in their dental appointments!
However, it is unrealistic to expect yourself to go from a 4-hour new patient appointment to a 1-hour appointment overnight. It is okay to ask for more time for your appointments in the beginning so that you can get your bearings.
Developing your treatment planning style also takes time.
As you learn, grow, and see more cases your ability to treatment plan will grow and change. That is okay!
Communicate to your patients and when you know better, do better! Ask friends and mentors for advice on how they would treatment plan a case. Don’t let your ego prevent you from changing a plan to something that will better suit your patient.
I have many treatment plans from my first month out of dental school that 6 months later I disagree with. I am honest with my patients. I tell them “I am seeing something now that wasn’t apparent to me when we first met and I think this is a better treatment solution than what we originally talked about. What are your thoughts on this new plan?”
Keep Learning
You’re never going to know it all but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t keep learning. It sounds cliché but we call it the “Practice of Dentistry” for a reason.
There is no way to know everything there is to know about dentistry even if you’ve been practicing for 30 years. We can’t expect ourselves to know everything coming right out of school.
Dental School provides a basic foundation but there is still so much more we need to learn and that is okay! Be kind to yourself, maintain an open mind, and find ways to continue your lifelong learning.
It is okay to tell a patient “I don’t know but let me find that answer for you or point you in the direction of someone who can help you.”
Don’t bite off more than you can chew. If you are in over your head, it is okay to refer a patient out so that they can find care that meets their expectations. Patients respect honesty and humility and you’ll sleep much better at night if you know your own limitations!
Stop Checking Google Reviews
Please stop checking the Google Reviews and leave work at work! My first week of private practice brought with it my first experience with a bad Google review.
It crushed me. I felt like I had done the best I could in a tricky situation but the patient was not pleased with their experience and took to the internet to air their grievances.
For several months (and still on some occasions, if we’re being honest) I checked the office’s reviews almost every day. This is not a habit I would recommend starting.
At the end of the day, I’ve learned I cannot control how a patient feels about their interaction with me. As long as I tried my best with the information and resources I had at the time, then I can be proud of the work I’ve done and sleep soundly at night.
There are still patient interactions that shake me or upset me, but I really try to let it roll off my back and not take it personally. Patients are in pain, scared, vulnerable, and sometimes confused when they come to our practice.
I can only do so much. If I take responsibility for every patient in an unhealthy way, I know that It’d ruin my career. Yes, you’re the doctor and the expert, but you’re only human. Do your best and then let it go. You, your family, and your mental health will thank you!
In Conclusion
By no means do I have it all figured out and I am still working through many of these lessons each day. One year of practice does not make me an expert by any means, but I know that I have grown, learned, and changed from who I was a year ago and that is all I can hope for or expect of myself.
I want to keep showing up a better version of myself each day for myself, my team, and my patients.
Keep Reading: Referrals: What Dentists Wish Patients Knew
Photo by Burak The Weekender
