Transcript
Speaker: Join Dr. Savannah Craig and Renetta Sartor as we navigate life beyond graduation. Real conversations about forging our own paths in our early years, in our careers. There's a reason it's called practicing dentistry. Alrighty, so to round out season one of Beyond Graduation,
Speaker: I think we've got to celebrate some big milestones in each of our careers. So for me, pretty much around this time is me celebrating one year of practice ownership. And yeah, I know time flies. And then for Savannah, she has a big milestone that she's celebrating as well.
Speaker: six months as an associate. So different places. Um, but we wanted to take the time to let you guys know some of the things that we've learned on our journey, um, for practice ownership as well as, you know, associateship. Yeah. Um, give, give the people a reminder of sort of your path, dental school until, till now, how'd you get where you are now?
Speaker: Sure. So I finished dental school in 2017 and then I did a GPR residency. Um, that was one year and I finished that in 2018 and then from 2018 until 2022, I was an associate in a group practice, um, private practice.
Speaker: And I thought that that was going to be my home and where I was going to buy in as a partner in that office. But that wasn't the case. And I ended up acquiring a practice from a dentist that was wanting to retire, that was closer to where I live.
Speaker: in September of 2022. So when you all listen to this, it might be closer to my two year anniversary and I'll probably have a lot more wisdom to share at that point, but it's been a while ride and overall I'm really excited that I have embarked on a journey of ownership and I'm learning so much each day
Speaker: Um, but overall I'm super happy with my decision. Okay. So now it's your turn Savannah. Let's let the folks know your journey and you know, cause you kinda.
Speaker: or kind of all over the place in terms of states and that sort of thing. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So I graduated from the Ohio State University in 2022. Then I did a one year GPR in South Carolina, the same program. And then finished that in July of 2023, and then started in private practice shortly thereafter.
Speaker: So I'm in a large group practice with several other dentists, so it's really cool to, you know, sort of kept that residency mentality alive of sharing ideas and bouncing ideas off of each other and sharing the load. So I really have enjoyed that a lot.
Speaker: I would say one of the main things that I've learned and I'm still learning is to trust the process and to not rush the journey. And so I think us as dentists, a lot of us are really type A and we have checklists of all the things we want to get done. And we want to get it done right now.
Speaker: we don't want to wait. And sometimes that creates a lot of pressure. Yeah. On us. And so part of it is there's nothing wrong with having your checklist. There's nothing wrong with it, but pacing yourself. Yeah. And not feeling, you know, that you have to have everything done right. This moment is one of the things that I've learned because you know, it's,
Speaker: In one year, like we've accomplished so much, like the office looks completely different than it looked when the previous owner owned it. Our team looks completely different. We've gone from only having myself and three other team members to now myself and six other team members. Just the way we do dentistry entirely,
Speaker: and our patient focus and everything has changed tremendously in just one year's time. And it was a lot of stress and pressure on myself along that way. But that's no way to live, like putting so much pressure on yourself that you don't want to burn out. It's just like, it's the same thing with associateships.
Speaker: any part of dentistry, just trust the process, you know, set goals and do your best to accomplish them. And if you don't accomplish them, it's not the end of the world. It's just an opportunity to learn and to do better next time. That's a really healthy perspective. This is looking back on all these stressful days and nights and
Speaker: you know, asking myself, why, why am I, why am I putting so much pressure on myself? Like, yeah, it's my practice now and I plan to own it, own it for as long as I can. So like, yeah. Yeah. It's a whole journey in that. And I don't have to rush things, let things happen organically, but do everything in my power and in my team's power for right now to help push us forward in the direction that we want to go.
Speaker: even if it's just one step that's better than where we were last week, yesterday or last month. That's really good. What would you say a piece of advice or the biggest thing that you've learned in your six month journey as an associate has been? Yeah. Um, wow, there's so much that I've learned. Um, I think,
Speaker: think the most, you know, as far as like advice, I think is just surrounding yourself with a good support system inside and outside of the office and being not being afraid to say I don't I don't know, or can you help me?
Speaker: make this better or more efficient and I'm very fortunate to be in a practice that like encourages that and allows that and I don't take that for granted but relying on you know people like you and my other mentors to help help me continue to grow in this journey and know that you know
Speaker: just because I have a job and I'm not in residency anymore the learning is not over and I don't think it ever will be and yeah just allowing myself to have my people and know which people to go to for which things you know when you've had a just a tiring day you're not going to go to your boss and be like
Speaker: I'm so tired. That's what my husband is for. And I'm not going to come home. I mean, I'm sure I still do, but come home and complain about an insurance narrative to Adam or ask for help. You know what I mean? Just knowing who your people are in your corner and who
Speaker: Who can help get you further down the line in these specific areas of your life? And I think it's just good to have a big support system and not rely on any one person to hold it all. And also not making yourself hold all of those balls at once. Very great points. And I think the thing that's so beautiful about our key takeaways from our milestone
Speaker: journeys is that pretty much what you said and what I said applies to both of us and anyone in any career, but especially in the profession of dentistry.
Speaker: It's okay not to have it all figured out and that's why we're doing this show is a constant reminder. I think it'll be super cool to see in another year, five years where we both are and how this episode will be fun to look back on.
Speaker: It sure will. And, you know, like you said, mentorship and learning to trust a process and everything. And if you all are looking for us or looking for any type of support, Ignite BDS. We love to help anyone in any way, in any part of their journey. Yeah. In their dental career. So reach out to us. You can find,
Speaker: You know ignite yes on our website, or you can find us on instagram at ignite DDS you can find me on instagram at Dr underscore star tour and you can find Savannah.
Speaker: at Savannah Craig DDS. We look forward to seeing you guys next time and we're so excited to have you along this journey with us and we are happy to be along the journey with you all too. Thank you for joining us for this episode of Beyond Graduation. If you enjoyed this week's episode, be sure to share it with a friend.
Speaker: Connect with us on social media at Savannah Craig DDS and at Dr. Underscore Sartor. And remember, you are not alone on this journey. This episode was sponsored by the Dental Residency Guide and the Beyond Graduation eBooks. These eBooks can be found at IgniteDDS .com slash eBooks. Thank you so much for listening to Beyond Graduation brought to you by Ignite DDS and Future Dentists.
