Archive for the ‘Treating the whole person’ Category

I’ve gotten a lot of positive feedback on my last posting… so I’m going to add a few more ways you can shine in a job interview. Of course, keeping a job is a lot like applying for a job, so both lists can be helpful in anyone’s life!

1. Sleep! Get your sleep! If you don’t get enough sleep, you usually look like it in the morning… eyes red, face puffy, wrinkles more pronounced. But you also are not as sharp as if you are well rested. Might as well give it your best!
2. Quit! Smoking, that is. We all know about the many ills that smoking sets us up for, but from an interview perspective, I think non-smokers have a definite edge. Employers may appreciate that non-smokers not only may take less sick days, but they sound better on the phone, are more productive (without frequent smoke breaks) and they even look and smell better! (smokers get wrinkles far faster than non-smokers)
3. Study! Learn more about the company than anyone else they might interview!
4. Be interested! The saying is “Be interested, not interesting.” Don’t try to convince someone that you know everything, or have done everything. Show them that you care about what they do, and are eager to
5. Relax! The point is to be yourself – genuinely interested in how you can fit in and help out. If your primary objective is to just get stuff for yourself (salary, benefits, perks, etc.) it will show. Be a giver – then what you need will be given back to you!

I was chatting with a patient the other day about maintenance…

We take care of our cars by carefully watching the mileage and changing oil, filters and such when the manufacturer suggests. Few of us do this for the pleasure of reading old magazines in a smelly car repair shop. Fewer still enjoy the delight of doing it ourselves as we burn fingers on hot oil plugs and leave fragrant stains on the driveway. We do it because we know it will help our car running better and longer.
We love our cars, but most of us will get rid of that prized car in not too many years, replacing it with a newer model.

I bet you can guess where I’m going here… if our cars fail us, we figure out a way to get a newer one. But we only get one body. If we mess it up, we can’t get a new one! So perhaps we should spend a lot more energy assuring exceptional maintenance of our bodies than we do our cars.
In Dentistry, this involves providing for:

• strong teeth – not just patched up teeth with multiple fillings
• gum health, the foundation for those strong teeth
• a balanced bite, so all teeth share the load and none wear out prematurely

It is true that dental care takes time and energy, and that means money too. But keeping a gorgeous healthy smile for a lifetime is perhaps a better investment than keeping our favorite car running!

I have been fortunate enough to do some improv classes recently. Improv is short for Improvisation, and usually refers to comedy sketches that are not scripted.

When two people do an improv routine together, one sets up a little bit of a story, the next fills in more detail, then they both keep inventing story information until they come to a conclusion. What’s fun is that since it isn’t planned in advance, the story can run anywhere, with lots of crazy twists and turns.

While it’s fun to watch improv routines, I’ve also had lots of fun learning about how to do good improv. Here are a few points that make a good improv session:

• Be prepared for anything… that doesn’t mean you have to be able to do everything; just that you be willing to change, to adapt. Have a plan of action, but be willing to change it quickly when it looks like another plan is better.

• Keep it positive – whatever is thrown your way, make the most of it! Emphasizing the positive aspects of each situation makes each scene much more enjoyable.

• Focus on building your partner up, not putting the focus on yourself. Always support your partner, setting him up to succeed. This allows him to do the same for you.

Do you notice how all these points could apply to “normal life”, whatever that is? And really, isn’t life kind of like improv anyway? We really never know what’s coming next, do we?

Maybe this little note doesn’t seem to be about dentistry, but we treat people, not just teeth. And maybe we all can learn to enjoy our life as improv!