Catherine Rutland talks about the importance of positivity in the dental profession.
When I get to the end of a series of events, I always find myself reflecting on what I have learnt.
Part of my role is to understand the needs, fears, hopes and direction of our member dentists.
I always feel privileged to hear their thoughts.
Having been all over our little nation with our events series, I’ve had the opportunity to learn whether certain changes are regional or specific to an area of jurisdiction.
One thing we always do at the end of an event is an open forum for questions and thoughts.
It is a brave thing to do and I am proud to be part of it.
It gives the business the opportunity to understand concerns and consider how we can address them and it personally gives me the chance to see what is bothering people.
I appreciate hearing these thoughts and it reminds me how passionate our members are about what they do and how they wish to continue to improve their practice and care for their patients.
Doom and gloom
There is so much doom and gloom written about our profession and I’ve said before that it almost seems as if we aren’t allowed to be positive.
Yet I constantly see positivity in practice mangers, in dentists and in all members of the team while they maintain their drive to constantly improve themselves and take pride in their work.
When faced with a power cut, no slides, no microphone and the light fading in a hotel on the edge of Dartmoor National Park, I still managed to see that same positivity in the practice managers who listened to me finish my presentation.
Despite being a regulatory update, they remained positive and buoyant to the end!
We all face adversity, in whatever area of the profession we work and wherever our practices are based – it is how we deal with it that defines us.
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