IN SEARCH OF THE RIGHT GUIDANCE: How social media can help budding dentists seek not just local but global mentors!

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“It is not true that I am self-made. Like everyone, to get to where I am, I stood on the shoulders of giants. My life was built on a foundation of parents, coaches, and teachers; of kind souls who lent couches or gym back rooms where I could sleep; of mentors who shared wisdom and advice; of idols who motivated me from the pages of magazines (and, as my life grew, from personal interaction)...we all need fuel. Without the assistance, advice, and inspiration of others, the gears of our mind grind to a halt, and we’re stuck with nowhere to go.”

-          Arnold Schwarzenegger, Foreword, Tools of Titans

As is with any other profession, being a self-made successful dentist is a claim that can seldom be made by any of the top practitioners in the world today. Just like Mr. Schwarzenegger put it in the foreword of Tim Ferris’s hugely successful book Tools of Titans, the stalwarts of every field have a list of people to thank for their current position and achievements. While “following” or “training” under a senior, preferably local dentist is the norm most budding dentists follow after venturing out into the “real world”, thanks to the internet today, it is possible to be inspired and guided by, have a meaningful and productive conversation with or even ask for help no matter how basic the doubt to someone who is half way across the globe and whom you haven’t even met. In short, thanks to the internet, finding the right mentors is easier than ever before!

The question budding dentists need to ask themselves is, are they utilising this tool to their advantage? More importantly, are you as a budding dentist aware of the infinite number of possibilities the internet in general and social media in particular has to offer when it comes to learning, growing, establishing and successfully running a dental practice? Gone are the days when a budding dentist was limited physically to attend as a locum, one or two clinics in his/hers locality to learn the tricks of the trade; with the internet being used as a platform by many successful practitioners to both exhibit their expertise as well as offer advice, the budding dentist is much more equipped today to learn better, get inspired better and apply better the vast pool of knowledge that is available out there and is in some cases only a few clicks away.

But with so many options available in terms of social media, blogs, websites and videos, how do you choose the mentors most relevant to your career path? How do you get started?...Here’s how!

#1 GET INVOLVED IN BASIC FACEBOOK GROUPS

Whether it is a group exclusive to endodontics or aesthetic dentistry or a general group where members prefer to share basic day to day cases in daily practice, join the groups with an aim to contribute to a discussion, ask questions and gauge the level of your knowledge and skill as compared to the others in those groups. Not only will this help you highlight your faults but also make you aware about your strengths both of which will lead to a much better clarity in terms of planning your future path.

Quick tip: Aim for groups that are more active and post relevant content as compared to the groups that have more people and posts full of spam. Try interacting with senior dentists especially when it comes to asking basic doubts. People are happy to answer even the simplest of questions provided you ask them without the fear of being judged.

#2 FOLLOW MENTORS ON INSTAGRAM

While the trend is yet to catch up fully in India, dentists especially in the western countries have a huge following on their pages when it comes to Instagram. Being a photo and video centric site, you as a budding dentist get to directly witness highly skilled work and tricks at the click of a button half the world away! Learning has truly never been any easier. Another advantage of Instagram over Facebook is that you even get an idea about the personality of the mentor you follow outside of their workplace. A peek into their values, beliefs, drive, habits etc will inspire you not only to work better but to live better as well!

Quick tip: DM on Instagram is a great way to establish a professional contact with mentors no matter where they are in the world. Don’t just like and comment, make sure you engage in professional conversations with those who inspire you.

#3 WATCH AND LEARN ON YOUTUBE!

While a Youtube video might not help you establish a direct conversation with a mentor, it is still a great platform to learn and observe the procedural finesse that is offered by some very standard channels, brands and lecturers. Even though it is not as great for personal interaction when compared to Facebook and Instagram, watching someone who inspires you work or offer advice is still an advantage that budding dentists have today.

Quick tip: Videos tend to be long and a single topic can eat up a lot of your time merely surfing for the right content. Follow standard channels, look for the number of subscribers, comments, views and upvotes and keep your search and time limited to weekends to avoid the feeling of having wasted a lot of time over nothing.

#4 BLOGS, WEBSITES AND BOOKS

Another trend that surprisingly hasn’t caught on well in India, Blogs, individual websites, books in print as well as e-books are a great way to learn, get inspired and solve any doubts you have regarding your career, basic practice or life in general. 10 out of 10 people don’t know that a blog can be followed by subscribing via email so that you get notifications every time a new post is up, 10 out of 10 people can’t name a single book on dental practice or anything related to it let alone having read or being inspired by it and 10 out of 10 people don’t care to bookmark a web page that solves even the most basic of problems that dentists face every day.

Quick tip: Just go to Google and search “top blogs for dentists/dentistry” or go to Amazon and search for best sellers in Dentistry.

There was a time when the budding dentist was at the mercy of those under whom he/she trained as far as gaining knowledge and acquiring skills were concerned. The limitations here were that you could only be as good as the person you trained under. With changing times and the pool of resources and mentors available today at just a click away, budding dentists have a great advantage and opportunity to be better than ever before in terms of building a successful practice and being excellent clinicians.

The only questions that matter are, Are you aware? And Are you willing?!

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