Professional Courtesy: Troubles With a Time Machine by Dr. Thomas Giacobbi

by Thomas Giacobbi, DDS, FAGD, editorial director

• Dentistry is a profession, not a job. Jobs are something you do to earn money, and being a professional means you spend your time earning trust, educating people and providing a service to others. Yes, you get paid to do it, but no matter where you work, remember what it means to be a professional.
• There are a multitude of decisions ahead of you regarding patient care, practice location, procedures to do and not do, working in a group or solo, and many more. Sometimes you will make a mistake or a bad decision. Absorb the lessons as you go and remember that perfection is the enemy of progress.
• If you’re struggling with a decision, lean on your fellow professionals for advice. It’s often easier than you think to find someone who faced the same challenge in the past! Start with Dentaltown’s online message boards, where thousands of dental professionals “pay it forward” with advice, clinical cases and support.
• Consider a hospital-based GPR or AEGD after graduation. The experience will greatly accelerate your path to professional competence and confidence. In the context of Malcolm Gladwell’s famous “10,000 hours to expertise,” you will reach that threshold five-plus years after you graduate.
• When it comes to associateships, partnerships or large group-practice settings, you will find some dentists who are cheap, unkind and excessively competitive—just like students in dental school. There will be many more who are generous mentors and have genuine enthusiasm for the profession. Find them as soon as possible.