As a dental student, we’re often not confronted with the importance of experience in business settings. My work history as a human resources professional gave me firsthand insight into the key leadership and management skills that I can use as a practicing dentist.
We receive many questions from new dentists about whether they should save for retirement or pay off existing student loans. While each situation is unique, we do always try to accommodate early retirement saving as much as possible. If you start early, you not only get in the good habit of contributing toward savings and retirement, but you have so many years for your contributions to grow. With that said, many new dentists are unsure of their options to save for retirement. Here are some of these options.
After I graduated in India with a Bachelor in Dental Surgery (BDS) degree, I got the opportunity to come to the United States. As I prepared my application for international dentist programs at U.S. dental schools, I shadowed and volunteered at dental offices and community dental clinics. Soon, I started working part-time as a dental assistant and eventually received my Certified Dental Assistant (CDA) certification and Registered Dental Assistant (RDA) license in California and started to work full-time.
For many of us, dentistry is a dream job. And for some, it’s a profession that lets us chase our other dreams.
Dr. T. Bob Davis saw dentistry as a chance to keep up with a childhood passion. He started playing piano as a kid, and his first memory is of watching “Goodnight Irene” and trying to play songs from the movie on a piano. Dr. Davis took lessons throughout high school and began recording albums in dental school.
You know how every chef movie has an aspiring sous chef who admires the head chef, but the head chef either doesn’t have the desire or can’t seem to find time to mentor the sous chef? In this regard, the dental profession is no different from the food preparation profession.
Everyone talks about mentor relationships. Some people have them, but would like more. Some people would like to find just one. No matter how you slice it, if you’d like a mentor, you will probably have to do something to initiate the relationship. So how do you go about creating a mentor relationship with a faculty or senior colleague?
Ask yourself this. What are the first word or words that pop in your head when you read…Apple? How about…Nike? Amazon? Netflix..?
Brands…they’re no longer what a company says they are…they’re what you and I say they are. So my question to you is this…
Every morning, I lead a “team huddle” in my clinic. The basic goal of the huddle is simple: to ensure that team members are prepared for the day’s scheduled appointments and procedures. However, the greater value of this huddle is that it sets the accountability framework for the day. Clear, measurable expectations are stated to our competent, diverse team of surgical technicians, nurses, dental assistants, receptionists and fellow surgeons. The team is encouraged to ask questions during the huddle to further clarify the plan for the day. All team members leave the huddle understanding what each of them must do to have a successful day.
Read on to find out what Dr. Hammer has been doing differently for better results…
