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Post Graduation Transition
33 Plays4 months ago
About the Hosts:
Dr. Savanah Craig and Dr. Ronnetta Sartor are both emerging professionals in the field of dentistry. Dr. Sartor, having completed her residency, practice as an associate in a group practice and purchase her own practice. Dr. Craig is on the cusp of completing her dental residency and is preparing to start her first associateship. Both doctors are committed to mastering the art of dentistry and serve as beacons of support and information for other early-career dentists navigating postgraduation life.
Episode Summary:
In this insightful episode of Beyond Graduation, join Dr. Savanah Craig and Dr. Ronnetta Sartor as they delve into the transition from dental residency to professional practice. The conversation provides a rare glimpse into the personal experiences and challenges faced by young dentists as they step out into the real world of dental practice. Listen in as they discuss their expectations, concerns, and strategies for success beyond the academic setting.
The discussion begins with Dr. Craig sharing her mixed feelings about leaving her residency's support system behind and the anticipation of stepping into her new role in an associateship. Dr. Sartor offers wisdom from her journey, reminiscing about her own transition, the importance of setting realistic expectations, and finding the right professional fit. They both emphasize balancing assimilation into a new team with confidence in one’s training and core values. A central focus of the conversation revolves around the dynamics of interacting with long-standing staff and maintaining a blend of professionalism and friendliness. Anchored with personal anecdotes, this conversation offers a comprehensive overview of what early-career dentists often confront when venturing beyond their dental school and residency training.
Key Takeaways:
- The transition from dental residency to practice is a complex mix of excitement and caution, with an emphasis on finding a balance between embracing new opportunities and missing a familiar support system.
- Graduates must navigate the nuances of assimilating into an existing office culture while staying true to their training and personal values.
- The first job post-residency can set the stage for future career success, making the interview and selection process critical.
- Relationships with support staff are key to a smooth transition and require a balance between professionalism and camaraderie.
- Reflecting on past experiences, both Dr. Sartor and Dr. Craig acknowledge the importance of pushing oneself while also appreciating the learning potential each patient encounter brings.
Connect with Ronnetta Sartor: @dr_sartor
Connect with FutureDentists: @futuredentists
Connect with Future Dentists Beyond Graduation: @futuredentistsbeyondgraduation
We invite you to listen to the full episode of Beyond Graduation for a complete understanding and more enriching discussions. Stay tuned for further episodes as we continue to provide real and relatable content for early-career dentists navigating their professional journeys beyond the classroom.
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Transcript
Post-Grad Transition
00:00:00
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. First topic today, the post-grad transition. It's a great topic. How are you feeling? You are
00:00:28
Speaker
you know probably about a couple of weeks to finishing your residency and within the next month or so you'll be embarking on a new future in a new town with a new team. What's going through your mind? How are you feeling?
00:00:48
Speaker
I think it's bittersweet. This year went way too fast. But I am cautiously optimistic is what I keep saying. You know, excited for my new practice and all of that, but also wary that, you know, associate ships can be challenging.
00:01:18
Speaker
But gonna miss my safety net of residency. Well, I'm sure you guys will keep group chats and check on each other to make sure especially in that first month or so that everything's going well.
Leaving Residency: Comfort vs. Growth
00:01:35
Speaker
So that's always nice with technology nowadays.
00:01:39
Speaker
even when you're far away, you're not really far away, we can always get in contact with each other. Yeah, for sure. I think it, you know, you have to fly the coop. And we were laughing that, you know, we would have had to decide to stay like back in October. And I think you have to make that decision then, because if they let me make that decision now, I would just stay forever. In residency? Yeah. Understood. Yeah. So I think
00:02:09
Speaker
Yeah, you have to do it and take the jump, but I like my safety. I think when I was leaving residency, I can agree with how you felt. I went into my associateship
00:02:32
Speaker
with pretty much like zero expectations and I was just gonna go in and see how everything was and hopefully I loved it and if I didn't then
00:02:48
Speaker
I know that it would be a place for me someplace else where I could be happy and practice the way that I wanted to. Luckily, it worked out for me. I ended up being at my associateship for four years until I purchased my own practice. So.
00:03:08
Speaker
Yeah, I think that's a weird part of it too, of trying to find a practice you can be happy at without, you don't want to settle on a practice just being like, I don't need to be here for forever.
Choosing the Right First Job
00:03:24
Speaker
Because I
00:03:25
Speaker
think there are people out there like you who had a successful associateship for a long time so that's the conversation with a lot of my co-residents of you know how picky are you with your first job and where is that balance there. Yeah we kind of joke and I know when you talk to some of the program directors they'll probably say I was probably the most
00:03:51
Speaker
interviewing resident that they've ever had because I swear I probably interviewed from October that October to maybe that April before I made my decision. Part of it was that I wasn't entirely sure the type of dentistry I wanted to practice, but from going to some of those interviews, I was able to figure out what I didn't want.
00:04:19
Speaker
And ultimately, the last interview I went on was where I ended up. And I don't know if that was because I was just tired. And like you said, just kind of gave in and was like, whatever will happen will happen.
00:04:36
Speaker
All I can say is I did the best I could to find the situation that I thought was best. And then at some point you just have to let go and just hope for the best.
Positive Attitude and Success
00:04:51
Speaker
Yeah, I think you just don't really know the whole story until you're in it either.
00:05:04
Speaker
Residency was sort of the same, you know, you had an idea of what you were getting into, but until you're just in it, you need to, you know, trust your gut and the decision that you made, if you can't keep, should I have done this? Should I have looked for more practices, more programs, whatever, you just need to do it.
00:05:23
Speaker
Yeah, I think that brings up a good point because regardless of what situation you end up in as it pertains to an associateship, whether it's in a private practice, you know, a private group practice or corporate or if you decide to work in public health.
00:05:42
Speaker
You know, a lot of it, just like dental school and residency is making the most of the situation that you're in. And, you know, a lot of our attitude going into every aspect of life can determine the outcome. And that's not to say that if you go into things with a positive attitude that it'll always turn out in your favor, but I think it'll just, your attitude is key.
00:06:12
Speaker
That's a really good point.
Integrating into a New Office
00:06:14
Speaker
I also think the, I think the part that I'm most nervous about right now is finding a way to like assimilate into the office, but also know that like I trained for a year to do the things, you know, that I've learned and
00:06:38
Speaker
I was having a conversation with one of my attendings about like, you need to be confident in the training that you've received and don't, you know, don't come in and be like, I know better than everybody, but don't second guess yourself, you know, this
00:06:56
Speaker
I lean more towards not a lack of confidence, but I want to hear everybody's ideas and opinions and all of that. And in residency, that's the environment is set up for that. But I'm worried about in private practice, that coming across as incompetence. And so I just don't know how best to be a part of the team, but also
00:07:27
Speaker
practice the way I want to practice or how I've been trained to practice. I think that's a very key point. Very, very key.
00:07:39
Speaker
And it's tough. It's tough because, you know, you're going into a situation where, you know, the owner, doctor, they poured their blood, sweat and tears and the team as well into it. So you don't want to go in and be, you know, disrespectful or too cocky, but it's a fine line because you also want to stay true to your core values as well.
00:08:07
Speaker
Um, and I think over time you'll be able to find your groove where you're assimilating, but still staying true to who Savannah is. And if you find that it's a place where you maybe don't feel like you're able to stay true to your true, stay true to yourself and your core values and things that you believe wholeheartedly and strongly about from an ethical and you know, just personal standpoint.
00:08:36
Speaker
then you'll know. Yeah, that's a good point.
Aligning with Practice Values
00:08:41
Speaker
When you went into your associateship, were you and the owner sort of on the same page already with or similar pages to how you practiced or, you know, I know that they did a lot of surgery, you did a lot of surgery, that sort of stuff.
00:09:01
Speaker
Yeah, I think when I went for the interview, we actually spent, it was a very laid back and relaxed interview, but we spent a lot of time talking about the type of dentistry that he liked and the way he liked to do things as well as the way that I like to do things as well. And so a lot of that we talked about on the front end, but like you said, a lot, you don't know until you're actually there and you're in it.
00:09:31
Speaker
And so we realized that, you know, without even being in the same space, a lot of the things that we did, you know, as it pertains to patient, um, communication and patient treatment were the same. But then like you said, the, the beauty of being in residency is that you have that synergy of where you can learn from other people. But it was some things like at the time that I joined, he loved, um,
00:09:59
Speaker
Toffelmeyer with a matrix band and when I came I was like, hey, can you order? sectional matrix matrices and then I showed them you see how this contact looks compared to like how Broad it looks with the toffelmeyer. That's just one example and then you know, he would try some things and I would look and Say, okay. Well, maybe I'll give it a try and see how it works in my hands. So it ended up
00:10:30
Speaker
It ended up working out really well. That's awesome. Yeah, and I think you can't know until you're in it.
00:10:41
Speaker
So it'll be interesting.
Balancing Professionalism and Team Dynamics
00:10:44
Speaker
I think the other, not fear, but the dynamic is with the assistance and that sort of setup will be different than it is in residency. So, I mean, you, with the practice you bought into, you stepped into like a veteran team. So do you have any thoughts on that balance as a new doc coming in?
00:11:11
Speaker
Yeah, I guess that's a very good point. I did. So just to shed a little light on what Savannah said, when I purchased the office that I'm known in, I hired the retiring doctor's previous team. And so, you know, the office had been there for almost 40 years.
00:11:35
Speaker
And for the majority of the time of his existence, most of the team, his team had been there. So like Savannah was saying, they knew the community better than I at the time. They, you know, watched some of the families grow up from
00:11:56
Speaker
you know, generations, grandmothers, children, grandchildren, all grew up, you know, coming to the office. So, initially, when I bought in, you know, I depended very heavily on the team that was already there to fill me in and catch me up to speed on, you know, all right, tell me, tell me about this family, you know,
00:12:24
Speaker
just tell me about the area in general and what can I do to be of service to the community and everything. So I definitely listened a whole lot, didn't have a whole lot to say initially as it pertained to, you know,
00:12:46
Speaker
establish a rapport with patients and I let the team kind of lead me and introduce me and you know and I think that's really a really good thing to do initially when you're the new person there because patients are going to know especially if you're right out of residency well is she any good um
00:13:09
Speaker
Do you think she'll take good care of me? And most of the time, that's what patients want to know. And if you take the time initially to get the rapport with the team, they'll be able to sing your praises to the patients. So that's how I did it. Did I answer your question completely? Yeah, for sure. I think the other balance, and we've talked about this,
00:13:36
Speaker
in general is being friendly with your team, but not necessarily, you know, being friends to sort of keep that boundary. Has that changed at all from being an associate to being an owner?
00:13:55
Speaker
Um, not so much. Um, I think in residency, I was a lot more friendly. Um, not that I'm not friendly, but, um, you know, I do a lot of stuff. I like outside office and that sort of thing. Um, and in residency, um, I kind of learned to kind of draw those boundaries.
00:14:22
Speaker
But in my associateship, as well as in my office, we have a great relationship. We have a group chat, and if we see a funny meme or something that applies to our office, we send it. If it's holidays or birthdays that we're not in office and can't celebrate, or even if we did celebrate it, we just want to let people know that we're thinking about them.
00:14:52
Speaker
um we do that and then team outings and stuff we still do that too but i think like you said you can still do all of those things but also have um boundaries like draw the line to so that it's still you can still be a professional when you're in the office and
00:15:19
Speaker
Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. Um, one thing I think, you know, is, is interesting with our, you know, you're six years out on one year, which is crazy to think about.
Leading with Core Values
00:15:36
Speaker
Um, what is like one thing you, or a couple of things you wish you knew, you know, to look back on yourself in my shoes going into this transition time?
00:15:53
Speaker
I think I'll go back to a statement you made earlier when you made the comment about assimilating into the culture that's already in the office. That's a great thing, but I think I was most worried like you about that same thing. But over time,
00:16:14
Speaker
I learned that if I stay true to who I am and my core values and that you don't have to be the owner to still be a leader in your own right, I think I would be further along if I incorporated that earlier on. There was a point in my residency, maybe not residency, sorry, my associateship about two years in where
00:16:44
Speaker
I made the commitment to myself that I was going to just set out to be the best leader I could be and best team player and team member that I could be. And I think that's made a world of difference in terms of how the team saw me in their eyes, but also how patients saw me because, believe it or not, they pay attention to how you treat your team.
00:17:16
Speaker
what I guess you're embarking on your first associateship.
Personal Growth and Learning
00:17:23
Speaker
But now that you have almost completed residency, what is something you wish you knew?
00:17:32
Speaker
I wish I would have pushed myself further, faster, and trusted that my attendings would catch me. At times I would, and eventually they called me out on it and stopped letting me do it, but you know, I would get
00:17:54
Speaker
partially through an extraction and be like, oh, I don't know if I'm going to snap the crown. You just do it. And they were like, you're not going to know what that edge is if you don't start doing it. And then if you break it, we'll be there to help you trough and section the tooth. And that's the point when you want your attending to step in, not before you've not made a mistake, but before you've
00:18:23
Speaker
done it on your own. So I wish that I would have just not recklessly, but, you know, jumped in a little more.
00:18:35
Speaker
Headfirst out the gate But it's it's so funny now to look back on just how far we've all come and how how little we knew Coming out of dental school but I think I've done a good job like just remaining open-minded and
00:18:59
Speaker
you know, take every day with what comes and try to learn something from every, you know, patient encounter. And that's made residency really awesome. That's great because I feel like the last comment that you said about making every encounter and learning from it, I feel like that's why it's called the practice of dentistry because that's what I still try to do each
Conclusion and Gratitude
00:19:22
Speaker
day. I think that sort of wraps up at least this portion of our transition.
00:19:28
Speaker
updates to come as I enter practice. 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. Connect with us on social media at Savannah Craig DDS and at Dr. Underscore Sartor. And remember, you are not alone on this journey.