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Be A Perennial Sophomore

8/26/2018

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​The Perennial Sophomore Point of View
Forty plus years ago a group of dentists in the Green Bay Wisconsin area had the opportunity to meet Dr. L. D. Pankey.  In his presentation and discussion Dr. Pankey stated that one of the secrets to success in life is to become a “perennial sophomore”, never stop studying and asking why.  After meeting Dr. Pankey a number of us took advantage of attending The Pankey Institute.  The Institute was, at that time, in downtown Miami in the DuPont Plaza Hotel.  We were lucky enough to learn from, and rub shoulders with, other legendary dentists like Loren Miller, Harold Wirth, Hennery Tanner and Alvin Filastre.  Although our group did not attend The Institute all at the same time, we soon found one another and decided to start a study club.  We decided to meet for dinner at The Union Hotel in De Pere, Wisconsin and discuss dentistry once a month during the fall and winter.
This month we celebrated the thirty ninth year of existence with dinner at the same hotel dining room where we have met monthly during all those years.  Over the years we have all been back at the Institute and celebrated its new venue and continued efforts to remain at the forefront of postgraduate dental education and private fee for service care.  Our initial group of about a dozen members has grown smaller as we have aged.  We have added a few new members over time and lost some members due to age or illness.  In our early years we invited speakers in and sponsored CE programs in the area.  As we all have developed more mature practices and our relationships within the group moved into higher levels of trust we decided not to try to grow larger.  Some may consider that to be self-serving.  However, we see our group as having moved from a dental study club to a study club and support group.  We have never given up the goals of continuing to ask why and continuing to learn.
We argue dental techniques, philosophy and technology.  We discuss our business successes and failures and share ideas on how to improve.  Individually we offer to mentor our younger colleagues.  We have provided solace and support after death and divorce, as well as tough love in situations where a member needed honesty as well as support.   We continue to come to meetings even though several members drive sixty miles or more to attend and several others are now retired.  Although we refer patients to one another, we seldom see one another other than at our meetings.  We challenge one another to think critically, demand proven research before adopting new treatment modalities and to continue on a path of learning. 
 
 
 
Others of the group are now approaching retirement.  In fact one member of the group just celebrated his eightieth birthday and has decided that it is finally time to give up his position as part-time faculty in the Oral Surgery department of a nearby dental school.  Others in the group are out of the area during the winter.  We know that these facts will force us to consider disbanding.  However, when we poll the members we find that no one wants to quit meeting.  We may have to meet less often but we will not give up on the relationships, friendships and support.   For those considering joining or forming a study club we encourage you to take the risk and commit to making your group a group of perennial sophomores.
Blg082418

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Your Tweets and Posts Can Hurt You

8/13/2018

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Your Texts and Tweets Can Cost You Your Job

A recent court case just upheld the right of an employer to terminate an individual who had posted/tweeted inappropriate material regarding the employer.  The court held that this sort of behavior was not a first amendment right.  If you are not a government employee, generally speaking, employers are much freer to fire you for what you post on the Internet. If you use social media or the Internet to post opinions, photos, or videos that you think your boss or your employer’s owner may find to be damaging to the employer or too unconventional or controversial for their tastes, you do so at your own risk.  In this case the Text messages had been written several years in the past. For better or worse what you put in “the cloud” stays there for ever.

We see the younger generation constantly on their “devices” communicating all manner of information.  Much of what is sent will be drifting around in the cloud for years, perhaps forever.  Think about what your teenage son or daughter is sending out and then think about how they will feel if that material somehow finds its way into a background check for a future job.   Even our “gray hair” group can be seen wandering down the street smart phone in hand texting and sending photos.  We are all guilty of the dreaded TMI – sending and receiving too much information.
We are growing a culture that is self-focused and narcissistic.  Our smart phones can provide us with incredible amounts of information.  But can we be sure the information is valid, valuable and relevant to your current situation.  When did texting become more useful than a phone call where you can actually exchange nuanced ideas verbally and resolve a question in seconds that takes five or six text messages to develop?  And your phone call is less likely to come along later and cause an issue when someone else inadvertently sees the series of text messages. Just because we can take a selfie or send a text does not mean we should.

Here are a few ideas to consider:
  1. Get away from your phone and computer for at least a couple hours every day. Remember what it feels like to quietly think for yourself and think about others.  Consider shutting off your phone for the day on weekends.  Yes, there are good reasons to text but less than you might want to admit.
  2. Put your phone in a drawer at work and leave it alone until lunch time or break time.  We require this of our doctors and staff unless they are monitoring a family emergency/illness.
  3. Carefully confirm the email address when you are replying to someone.  That error caused the condo association blow up mentioned above.
  4. If you are angry or upset think it over before you email or text your feelings. The old adage that still works well is – write down your feelings on a sheet of paper.  Sleep on it and read it in the morning.  Then decide what you really want to do.
  5.  If you want to express yourself to someone pick up the phone and call.  If you are not comfortable calling one to one you probably should not be texting.
  6. Confirm with people what address they want texts or mail sent to.  Honor their requests.
  7. Avoid any discussion group or email group that engages in gossip, triangulation or sharing rumors. 
  8. Be careful.  What you put on the web or in the cloud can and will come back and hurt you.
 
Blg 080918

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