Practicing with Friends
It doesn’t get much better than getting to work with friends!
I have written a couple times in past blogs about relationships I have with patients and relationships I have with referring offices. Those blogs described the way in which I perceive to be the benefits of the career I chose, how I interact, and how it makes my job that much better.
In this week’s blog I wanted to touch again on relationships in my career, but this time I want to talk about the people I work with in the office. In a few ways I might have to say these are the most important relationships I have in the work place. It is often said that your “other” spouse is your business partner (s). And that makes total sense considering that during the week I spend more awake hours with Dr. Michael Sherman, Dr. Adam Monroe, and Dr. Anne Wiseman than I do with my wife or kids. So I better like who I work with and I hope they like me.
Thankfully, I do. Perhaps they can answer this blog and reply with an affirmative. 🙂 Or at least lie to me.
Since 2002, I have worked both by myself in some offices and with others in a few offices. I can without a doubt say that I prefer to work with others. I find the benefits to be both personal and professional. Often the personal and professional benefits overlap and as long as we all like each other that makes for a pretty awesome experience. A daily experience at that.
I was thinking about the people I work with just this last week when Adam Monroe was out of town on vacation. I share a personal office with Adam and when we cross paths in the office at our respective computers we often share stories, laugh, and simply talk about whatever is on our minds. It is not at all unlike having dinner with a friend. When he was out of town I missed that interaction, and it got me thinking about the benefits of working with friends and brings me to writing this blog.
I have the same relationship with Michael Sherman and Anne Wiseman. While I do not share a personal office space with Dr. Sherman or Dr. Wiseman, I find myself looking to pass the time throughout the day and try to interrupt their computer work for my own social benefit. What I mean is that when I have time between patients I simply open their office door, pull up a chair, and chit-chat. It is fun and passes the time. The same is true in reverse when they visit my office to just sit and talk about family, the weekend, sports, etc.
So simple and seemingly trivial, right? Perhaps we just take it for granted too often. It is great to work in a place with friends as partners. It is so calming, and entertaining at the same time. It is good for morale and good for the office dynamic. It keeps us leveled during a hectic day, and picks us up when things are slow. We celebrate our personal achievements or events, and get advice on things that cause us distress. It allows us to talk about non-dental topics so that we are not overly consumed with our jobs. And it is awesome when we need professional discussions as well.
Many people go to open forums or message boards that can be found online with Facebook groups, alumni groups, dental message boards, or email list groups. I also belong to many of these forums where I have received valuable information. But the four of us have this interaction in face-to-face real time without delay. I can say I have learned more from my partners than any other place since being in school. I would like to think that perhaps they have learned something from me. I can think of changes I have made from very simple adjustments in anesthesia techniques or using different instruments for a percussion test to the more complicated approaches to microsurgical apicoectomy.
When I worked alone I never fully understood when I needed another opinion. I did not have a colleague to run ideas past, or to get a different perspective. I did not have that in the office and thus I did not miss it. But when I then came into a practice in which I did work with a colleague, I realized what I did not know. Now that I have worked here for 6 years with multiple colleagues I use it purposefully on almost a daily basis. My partners give me advice, they give me opinions, they give me encouragement, they confirm my thoughts, they listen to me, and when needed they disagree. I do the same for them.
I must say that when we disagree we are really quite open about it. Of course the disagreement is handled and delivered with care. We keep our egos in check so that we can listen more clearly and be willing to hear an alternative perspective. We have to be able to accept a critique. An open mind will always lead to a more informed decision especially when our decisions affect our patients. I appreciate my partner’s willingness to listen to my concerns and I think they appreciate my willingness to accept their worry. Without that ability to listen and accept a differing viewpoint, this partnership most certainly breaks down. We are a stronger and better office as a team.
The point I am trying to convey is the real advantage on a professional level that I feel we have as a group all focused on the same thing which is to provide excellent care and to strive for the best possible long-term outcomes. But of equal importance is the social experience we have together that makes the day fun. I hope to feel this way for another 20 years and I suspect I will. It is good to have friends in any arena in life. But when you work with friends, now that is a real bonus!