Role models, Mentors and…

A busy week – mentoring and being mentored

My mentoring role on the BAIRD (British Academy of Implant and Restorative Dentistry) is going to involve us training the surgeons live implant skills on patients at our practice that have volunteered to be there. This is a fantastic opportunity for the course delegates to implement surgical skills into implant dentistry under the supervision of myself and my colleagues (who will also be mentoring).

I believe it is important for all professionals to continue being mentored. We have a responsibility to listen and learn new things from our respected peers in the dental profession. I was very fortunate to spend a few days at the Colin Campbell Academy with some amazing clinicians. We all learned something new from each other to improve and update our professional work. It is events like this that makes us get better at what we do – No one is perfect, practice just makes us better.

Being mentored is as rewarding as being able to mentor.  You can’t do one without the other.

In my experiences as a dental professional, I meet many professionals who are unable to mentor or be mentored effectively. This may be due to a lack of time, interest, knowledge, lack of passion or something else.

Every once in a while, I’ll run into someone who is eager to learn, eager to teach, share knowledge and willing to try new things. These are the people we need to reach, these are the people who ignite our passion for the work we do. We have a responsibility as professionals to recognize that. For this reason we have study groups where like-minded professionals get together to share their professional experiences to improve our profession as a whole.

Striving for excellence

At our clinic, our team are always striving for excellence. We all enjoy our jobs with a passion – I personally wouldn’t change it for anything. I take great pride in our team and what we continue to achieve. 

• Mohsin Patel