Doniger Dental Chronicles

Balancing Work, Family and Life in 2010

2009-12-31T10:38:00.002-06:00

As I look ahead to 2010, I begin to ponder some resolutions for the new year. There are three main circles of our professional lives that intersect: work, family and life. One cannot exist without the other, as we are equal participants in all.

Regarding work, our patient flow in 2009 was steady. The economy hit us just as hard as it hit many of my colleagues. For 2010, I resolve to maintain our excellence in dental care for each and every patient.

By practicing ethically and morally, we will continue to offer options that will satisfy both their oral condition and their financial obligations. I will continue to appreciate my team, without whom I would not survive, let alone find all the necessary components for that composite tray!

I will also resolve to do something to change the feel of our office. Every so often, you need to redecorate. I add new pictures yearly. I always have plants and fresh flowers. We will repaint in 2010.

Regarding family, we will soon be adding on a new little one. My daughter, Erin, is pregnant with our first grandchild. I resolve to spend quality time with both mother and daughter without being intrusive. I also resolve to continue on my quest for healthy meals with less than six ingredients. My husband and I need our health and energy to keep up with the next generation.

Regarding life, now there is a conundrum. Exercise, exercise, exercise. I resolve to continue my three to four day a week visit to the gym. Again, a healthy Sheri is much more capable to handle bumps in the other two circles.

After attending seminars from my friend Kary Udiato, I have learned that you need to keep yourself healthy for anything life throws at you. Truer words have not been spoken. Finally, I resolve to drink more water. Something rather small but so helpful in health.

I certainly would like to enjoy my family, friends, and patients through out the next decade. But, one overarching component of the circles, is finding some quality “me” time. So, my ultimate resolution is to make sure I find time for myself on a daily (not weekly or monthly) basis.

Be it exercising, reading, seeing a movie or walking on a beach, quality time with yourself is so important to emotional well being, which reflects on everything we do. Resolve to be good to yourself on a daily basis. It may only be five minutes or it may be a few hours.

You will see the return of your time investment with increased vigor, alertness and positive outlook. I will continue to resolve to have daily quality “me” time to relax, regroup and re-energize.

I will update you on my progress to keeping these resolutions.

Happy, healthy, peaceful 2010. Enjoy your journey.

Balancing Dentistry and Holiday Cheer

2009-12-15T13:06:00.002-06:00

The holidays are upon us. Aside from dealing with the usual end of year “rush” (which is more like a mini surge this year rather than a deluge), deciding on the time for the holiday party, and the patients who are keeping their appointment time, I had the joy of picking my son Ryan up from O’Hare today.

Ryan has been studying abroad (Glasgow to be exact). His return today, after three months away, was met with some schedule juggling. He called early this morning at 3:30am, to let me know he was on an earlier flight home.

Of course, I was thrilled. I had a school board meeting this evening and would not have seen him until after the meeting, which I anticipated would have ended very late. He would have been either asleep or out with friends. This way, I was able to pick him up, feed him (he looked like he lost twenty pounds) and head out to my meeting with a clear head.

But, wait a second, you may be asking, “what about my patient day”? Yes, I had patients scheduled and thankfully the young girl that I thought was my last patient had been called into work. Could she come in at 7:00 instead of at the end of the day. Perfect, I thought.

Then I came into the office to see I had another patient scheduled after her. Luckily, this patient was rather flexible and we were able to accommodate him in an earlier time slot. So, off I went to the airport, on time, to pick up Ryan.

Holidays are crazy times. Between patients needing to change their schedule, our goal of keeping on task albeit with lengthy conversations about family, shopping, food and friends, as well as our own personal festivity planning, we have a fun balancing act. But, I am here to say, we can do it all.

Thank goodness for Black Friday and my crazy shopping adventure that began at 3:30am and ended when the sun came up, I am done helping the economy. Now, I can sit back, relax, enjoy my end of the year patients with patience. And have some quality time with my own family.

Take some time to reflect on the peace of the season. Dentistry can be a little hectic at times. But, balanced with holiday cheer, you will have a great season. Happy holidays, everyone. Health, peace and happiness.

A Lifetime of Memories

2009-11-24T14:42:00.001-06:00

After celebrating my thirtieth wedding anniversary this past September, looking at my two children, and the life we have created, I am so thankful of being a woman in the dental field. Dentistry is truly the place to be.

As I reflect on the thirty plus years I have been involved in dentistry, I also think about all that has and still needs to be accomplished. Yes, there have been great strides in our profession, ranging from patient comfort to business management to faster/better models of treatment.

I feel the woman's voice is so crucial to dentistry. With fifty percent of dental school classes comprising of women, in the next five years, over eighty percent of all dental practices will be one hundred percent female.

How, do you say? The office manager is usually a woman, unless the role is taken by the spouse of the practitioner. The dental assistant is also ninety eight percent female, as the dental hygienist.

And, with all these women coming into the field, the dentist will also be a woman. Therefore, all four of the main business chairs will be occupied by women in the near future.

Now, you ask, will this blog be all about the business of dentistry? I think not. Being a woman dentist rocks. It is truly one of the best professions. Dentistry affords the ability to be a CEO of your own business. You are able to give back to your community while having a community of your own. We are able to set our own schedules and be our own boss. We are also very influential in directing a majority of the dental buying dollars.

Yet, as women, we have to balance our personal lives with our professional lives. In the future, I plan on touching on both the personal and professional aspects of dentistry. Look for some great practice tips, as well as some great recipes. Information on maneuvering in the business world and ideas to maintain your personal health and happiness. Ergonomic thoughts and existential musings.

After all, the future is now and we have so much more to see and do in dentistry. I look forward to sharing a part of me with you on this blog.