What was the smartest early career professional decision you ever made?
Dear colleagues,
Next week, I will be attending the first national dental student conference being organized by the Federation of Canadian Dentistry Student Associations (FCDSA). I love interacting with the leaders of this federation and I am very impressed by how intelligent, focused and charming they are as people. When I think of the challenges they face when they graduate I would love to be able to gather some good advice for them from seasoned practitioners like you.
To get the ball rolling on gathering some wise advice for these young colleagues, let me pose the following questions to you:
- In the professional context, what was the smartest thing you did during your first five years after graduation?
- In the professional context, what was the dumbest thing you did during that formative period?
I recently ran these questions by a highly esteemed colleague and here is what she answered:
Q: What was the smartest thing you did in your first five years after graduation?
A: Smartest thing was finding great mentors. I went and personally visited all the dental specialists in my area that I would be referring to.
Q: What was the dumbest things you did in your first five years after graduation?
A: Dumbest was working too many hours and not devoting time for advanced continuing education in my early years.
I would love to hear how you would answer these questions. Please contact me through the response box below or directly by voice mail at 1-800-267-6354 ext. 5000. I promise your privacy will be respected and guarded by me. Your responses come directly to me and they remain private until we decide together what to do with them.
On another note, please let me wish you and yours a Happy New Year. I look forward to working closely with you throughout 2018 to bring great information and insights to the community of Canadian dentists.
John