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Suggestions from soothing soothsayers
EDITORIAL
Suggestions from
T
soothing soothsayem
he essence of personal and professional survival is change and, as dentists, we must attempt to avoid future shock by “future focusing.” We must develop a vision of what we want in our personal, educational, and professional lives and then set goals for the establishment of a preferred future rather than one decided for us by fate. The continuous cavalcade of information presented for our analysis is overwhelming. We can, however, start by stating some primary objectives and developing possible solutions to our apparent indecision in coping with the future. A human potential seminar led by James D. McHolland, Ph.D.,’ centers on personal development, peak experiences and satisfactions that lead to one’s motivations, values clarification, and goal setting. Dr. McHolland suggests that perhaps one should consider continuous, systematic reappraisal of satisfactions, motivations, values (both rational and emotional), and goals. Too many of us assume that this reappraisal occurs in an automatic or fatalistic manner beyond our control. Life styles can be altered on an everyday basis to fit individual needs. This re-evaluation demands time and concentration, just as our practices do. The rewards can be a greater peace of mind, free of distress, and a longer life expectancy. Psychologically, there is conflict within the traditional professional who is fascinated by and trained in meticulous hand-eye coordinated health activities and then thrust into the dental marketplace. Present-day dental demands and life goals are difficult to satisfy with the classic modes of deductive reasoning “typically” taught in dental schools. Dentists now must be skilled and programmed for management of people and systems. Intuitive reasoning is needed in addition to prompt the vision of what we want our futures to be. If this integration of objective and subjective approaches to life and practice does not occur, internal pressures and distress will often result because of the present economic, social, and political climate. This brings us to the subject of our own education and continuing education in order to fulfill the public’s right to the latest orthodontic information on care. Don Stewart, author of Educational A4alpractices,2 suggests that “creeping liberalism” in course presentation rather than the setting of specific course objectives could produce a misguided or confused professional. There are specific primary goals in every phase of dentistry that must be achieved, with more flexible secondary goals to follow; otherwise, the value of the course must be questioned. In order to facilitate the development of excellence in our instructional systems, we must strive to develop measurable goals or objectives with methods to evaluate the achievements of these goals. We must also remember the importance of flexibility in adapting to the changing needs of students and society. Each dental student or, for that
Volume 74 Number 6
Editorial
679
matter, any patient must be given the opportunity to develop his maximum potential through participatory learning rather than the didactic learning based on an authoritarian model. One of the most outstanding social phenomena within our constantly changing society is the advancing role of women in the work force for other than economic reasons. Because of a value change in the work ethic, women are striving for self-actualization and personal fulfillment. At the present time, 5 1 percent of the work force is female and this is having a profound effect on the orthodontic specialty. The definition of the family unit is changing immensely, and because of this there may be fewer children and more adults seen in our practices. We can also expect an increase in the number of female dentists because it appears as though, culturally, they have a better blending of inductive (intuitive) and deductive (logic) reasoning than their male counterparts. According to Avrom King,3 dentistry, excluding oral surgery and endodontia, is essentially a behavioral art, not a clinical science. Technical excellence cannot be performed until the patient agrees to treatment. Dentistry involves a voluntary relationship of people; one provides an optional procedure and another must accept it. King envisions dentistry of the future on three levels. Level I will be the impersonal processing of disease by government-like agencies and industry because of the “need” to treat more people. This is your classic closed-panel contract program. Even now computerized mobile units are developed that will perform a physical examination, through use of computer histories and electronic gadgets, on a large number of persons without the immediate use of physicians and paramedics. Economically, large corporations must and will hire many orthodontists. With the fantastic increase of service-related commodities in our gross national product, large corporations will surge into the field of orthodontics and do well. Level II, which will consist of 60 percent of the dentists by the year 2000, will involve the merchandising of health and processing of people as customers through retail outlets, such as Sears stores. Level II will stimulate and educate the dental market on a mass basis and will be a tremendous aid to those who wish to practice fee-for-service dentistry. Level III dentistry is a more humanistic approach to a fee-for-service private practice. Here the dentist is actively involved in the behavioral aspects of values clarification. Remember now, even with the potential change in our work force and the influx of governmental and industrial agencies into the dental field, dentists are not competing with dentists for patients, customers, or clients. Dentists compete with alternate forms of discretionary public spending. Many will not wish to manage their practices with the added responsibilities involved and will receive high pay and many fringe benefits from corporations. The demands on their time will be elsewhere. Future focusing is an important aspect of Level 111dentistry. Because the quality of results depends upon the patient’s participation and cooperation, orthodontists must stress synergistic growth and make patients understand self-defined achievements and rewards. What makes it increasingly difficult is the fact that the clientele, because of their age, more readily understand immediate rather than deferred rewards. It is therefore important to our practices to involve patients in understanding just what is occurring in their mouths. They must learn to future focus and set goals with us in order
Am. J. Orrhod. December I978
to grow and understand their progress. Through a more humanistic approach with goal setting, less rigidity, and training of staff to support the patient, he will begin to feel less threatened by the authoritarian figure of the traditional approach. If the patient trusts in the dentist/staff relationship, he will model on it and keep his part of the participatory contract. This holistic approach will lead to our preservation of free-enterprise dentistry and it will thrive. Many people will desire the personal touch. Coping with change and the future is each individual’s problem, not a problem of organized dentistry or any bureaucracy. So. don’t wait for someone else to do the footwork for you. A clear definition of orthodontics might be a good start toward an improved future-and I don’t mean just the movement of teeth. If railroads had defined their business as transporting people and things, then they would have expanded to the airline industry.” Orthodontists must expand their minds into related fields, such as orthopedics, surgery, periodontics, nutrition, physiotherapy, etc., and not make the same mistake. From the standpoint of organized dentistry, it seems as though there is a need for an active, ongoing, special committee concerned with the future of orthodontics or dentistry in total. Our problems stem from economics, politics, and social changes, not dentistry per se. These problems are difficult to deal with because of the tremendous number of variables involved and the different weights to be given each, not entirely because of any mystical time period that we are in. In order to prepare for the future, it is important to have a vision of what you want in terms of “deferred reward,” and then you find the courage to act rather than remain in a state of apathy. Wayne G. Watson REFERENCES Evanston, Ill., 1976, Human Potential I. McHolland, James D.: “A positive approach to self-development,” Seminar. 2. Stewart, Don: Educational malpractices, state services, Fountain Valley. Calif., 1971. 3. King, Avrom, and the Nexus Group: Managing tomorrow’s dental practice today-How to thrive instead of survive in private dentistry, Scottsdale, Ark., 1978, The Nexus Group.
Suggestions from
T
soothing soothsayem
he essence of personal and professional survival is change and, as dentists, we must attempt to avoid future shock by “future focusing.” We must develop a vision of what we want in our personal, educational, and professional lives and then set goals for the establishment of a preferred future rather than one decided for us by fate. The continuous cavalcade of information presented for our analysis is overwhelming. We can, however, start by stating some primary objectives and developing possible solutions to our apparent indecision in coping with the future. A human potential seminar led by James D. McHolland, Ph.D.,’ centers on personal development, peak experiences and satisfactions that lead to one’s motivations, values clarification, and goal setting. Dr. McHolland suggests that perhaps one should consider continuous, systematic reappraisal of satisfactions, motivations, values (both rational and emotional), and goals. Too many of us assume that this reappraisal occurs in an automatic or fatalistic manner beyond our control. Life styles can be altered on an everyday basis to fit individual needs. This re-evaluation demands time and concentration, just as our practices do. The rewards can be a greater peace of mind, free of distress, and a longer life expectancy. Psychologically, there is conflict within the traditional professional who is fascinated by and trained in meticulous hand-eye coordinated health activities and then thrust into the dental marketplace. Present-day dental demands and life goals are difficult to satisfy with the classic modes of deductive reasoning “typically” taught in dental schools. Dentists now must be skilled and programmed for management of people and systems. Intuitive reasoning is needed in addition to prompt the vision of what we want our futures to be. If this integration of objective and subjective approaches to life and practice does not occur, internal pressures and distress will often result because of the present economic, social, and political climate. This brings us to the subject of our own education and continuing education in order to fulfill the public’s right to the latest orthodontic information on care. Don Stewart, author of Educational A4alpractices,2 suggests that “creeping liberalism” in course presentation rather than the setting of specific course objectives could produce a misguided or confused professional. There are specific primary goals in every phase of dentistry that must be achieved, with more flexible secondary goals to follow; otherwise, the value of the course must be questioned. In order to facilitate the development of excellence in our instructional systems, we must strive to develop measurable goals or objectives with methods to evaluate the achievements of these goals. We must also remember the importance of flexibility in adapting to the changing needs of students and society. Each dental student or, for that
Volume 74 Number 6
Editorial
679
matter, any patient must be given the opportunity to develop his maximum potential through participatory learning rather than the didactic learning based on an authoritarian model. One of the most outstanding social phenomena within our constantly changing society is the advancing role of women in the work force for other than economic reasons. Because of a value change in the work ethic, women are striving for self-actualization and personal fulfillment. At the present time, 5 1 percent of the work force is female and this is having a profound effect on the orthodontic specialty. The definition of the family unit is changing immensely, and because of this there may be fewer children and more adults seen in our practices. We can also expect an increase in the number of female dentists because it appears as though, culturally, they have a better blending of inductive (intuitive) and deductive (logic) reasoning than their male counterparts. According to Avrom King,3 dentistry, excluding oral surgery and endodontia, is essentially a behavioral art, not a clinical science. Technical excellence cannot be performed until the patient agrees to treatment. Dentistry involves a voluntary relationship of people; one provides an optional procedure and another must accept it. King envisions dentistry of the future on three levels. Level I will be the impersonal processing of disease by government-like agencies and industry because of the “need” to treat more people. This is your classic closed-panel contract program. Even now computerized mobile units are developed that will perform a physical examination, through use of computer histories and electronic gadgets, on a large number of persons without the immediate use of physicians and paramedics. Economically, large corporations must and will hire many orthodontists. With the fantastic increase of service-related commodities in our gross national product, large corporations will surge into the field of orthodontics and do well. Level II, which will consist of 60 percent of the dentists by the year 2000, will involve the merchandising of health and processing of people as customers through retail outlets, such as Sears stores. Level II will stimulate and educate the dental market on a mass basis and will be a tremendous aid to those who wish to practice fee-for-service dentistry. Level III dentistry is a more humanistic approach to a fee-for-service private practice. Here the dentist is actively involved in the behavioral aspects of values clarification. Remember now, even with the potential change in our work force and the influx of governmental and industrial agencies into the dental field, dentists are not competing with dentists for patients, customers, or clients. Dentists compete with alternate forms of discretionary public spending. Many will not wish to manage their practices with the added responsibilities involved and will receive high pay and many fringe benefits from corporations. The demands on their time will be elsewhere. Future focusing is an important aspect of Level 111dentistry. Because the quality of results depends upon the patient’s participation and cooperation, orthodontists must stress synergistic growth and make patients understand self-defined achievements and rewards. What makes it increasingly difficult is the fact that the clientele, because of their age, more readily understand immediate rather than deferred rewards. It is therefore important to our practices to involve patients in understanding just what is occurring in their mouths. They must learn to future focus and set goals with us in order
Am. J. Orrhod. December I978
to grow and understand their progress. Through a more humanistic approach with goal setting, less rigidity, and training of staff to support the patient, he will begin to feel less threatened by the authoritarian figure of the traditional approach. If the patient trusts in the dentist/staff relationship, he will model on it and keep his part of the participatory contract. This holistic approach will lead to our preservation of free-enterprise dentistry and it will thrive. Many people will desire the personal touch. Coping with change and the future is each individual’s problem, not a problem of organized dentistry or any bureaucracy. So. don’t wait for someone else to do the footwork for you. A clear definition of orthodontics might be a good start toward an improved future-and I don’t mean just the movement of teeth. If railroads had defined their business as transporting people and things, then they would have expanded to the airline industry.” Orthodontists must expand their minds into related fields, such as orthopedics, surgery, periodontics, nutrition, physiotherapy, etc., and not make the same mistake. From the standpoint of organized dentistry, it seems as though there is a need for an active, ongoing, special committee concerned with the future of orthodontics or dentistry in total. Our problems stem from economics, politics, and social changes, not dentistry per se. These problems are difficult to deal with because of the tremendous number of variables involved and the different weights to be given each, not entirely because of any mystical time period that we are in. In order to prepare for the future, it is important to have a vision of what you want in terms of “deferred reward,” and then you find the courage to act rather than remain in a state of apathy. Wayne G. Watson REFERENCES Evanston, Ill., 1976, Human Potential I. McHolland, James D.: “A positive approach to self-development,” Seminar. 2. Stewart, Don: Educational malpractices, state services, Fountain Valley. Calif., 1971. 3. King, Avrom, and the Nexus Group: Managing tomorrow’s dental practice today-How to thrive instead of survive in private dentistry, Scottsdale, Ark., 1978, The Nexus Group.