Dr. Arti Patel takes us through her journey and emphasizes the importance of personal development outside of your practice.
Self-development within the dental industry is vital. You will find yourself working in a fairly stressful environment, constrained by time constraints, while often carrying the burden of taking charge of the day-to-day running of the practice.
This means that progressing outside of the office will only ease this burden and give you peace of mind. As dentists, we are in an ever-evolving industry where we have to overcome the challenges of learning new techniques and adapting to new methods. We are surrounded by many influencers and professionals who have mastered different aspects of dentistry, which means it is almost impossible to stop learning if you want to continue to progress in this industry. Personally, I find that this keeps my passion for my profession fueled.
After completing a degree in dentistry, whether you decide to go down a specialist or general practice path, you will be faced with a multitude of paths you can take. If your decision is the latter, I think it is essential to take courses. You will be placed in a community-like environment, with dentists who think like you and are in the same situation as you, with a learner mentality.
The importance of taking additional courses
“They inspired me to raise the level of my profession.”
Since graduation, I have been interested in minimally invasive cosmetic dentistry. Initially, I attended a series of short weekend courses, before deciding to progress to a longer, one-year course which I thought would help me consolidate the knowledge I had previously acquired. I enrolled in the Aspire postgraduate course, which is a restoration training programme that runs once a month throughout the year. I also completed the course Mini Smile Makeover for previous restoration with composite materials, taught by Dipesh Parmar. His passion for the industry is contagious and not only gave me a new perspective on composite bonding and cosmetic dentistry, but also inspired me to rise to his level.
Communication skills
In addition to learning the practical aspects of dentistry, it is also worth getting to know dedicate time to working on communication skills, as they are essential for successful clinical practice.
Effective communication helps instilling confidence in patients and ensures that you put into context what they can expect from their treatment plan. I took the initiative to complete a communication course that taught me a lot about how to structure and present my examinations to patients. This means that whether it is taking an x-ray or drawing up a dental chart, you will always have a pre-established procedure to implement for each patient you treat.
Effective communication will also help in obtaining the necessary information from the patient. For example, consider consider the possibility of involving your staff in this process and allow the nurse to invite the patient into the room. Remember that this is an anxious environment for the patient and that they are at about 30 seconds behind you. in terms of what you do. When you speak, make sure you have a correct rhythm so that it can reflect you. In fact, these steps will put the patient at ease and help you gather information that you can consider for the treatment plan, to make it a more personal experience for them.
Marketing your practice
As dentists, it's something we're never taught or excel at, but Marketing is another element that should not be neglected. Where possible, have someone to whom you can delegate this aspect.
At my practice, I can focus exclusively on the clinical aspect, while my partner, who comes from a design background, can dedicate his time to marketing the practice and ensuring that our patients are aware of what we can offer them.
Growth outside the office
“Let's take time for ourselves and take a step outside of dentistry.”
As much as we may have a burning passion and energy to learn all we can about dentistry and how to be the best dentists we can be, it is just as important to take time for ourselves and step outside of dentistry and look at things in a different way.
I turned to a few self-help books to do this, like The Secret, which is based on the belief in the law of attraction and trains you to have a positive attitude towards things. I think it's pretty important to identify what works for you personally, because we need to retreat from the world of dentistry from time to time to help our minds stay healthy.
This can also be translated into our professional lives. For example, when you read these books, you may feel like they only help you in your personal life. However, you may realize that they have a profound impact on your professional life as well, because we can take those lessons and adaptation methods to reproduce in our daily practice. It may prove to be particularly applicable in dentistry, because if something doesn't go according to plan, there is always a way to deal with it.
Source: enlightensmiles.com
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