Orthotown June 2022 - 6

a voice in the arena
Keep the Train on the Tracks
by Chad Foster, DDS, MS, editorial director
Operating an orthodontic practice as
clinicians and business owners demands that
we keep a steady fi re burning. The payoff
for maintaining this sustained effort is a
type of freedom, lifestyle, service to others
and creative expression that in my opinion
is second to none. Lucky are we to still be
in a profession where " effort equals results, "
as the late, great Dr. Wick Alexander so
wisely put it.
In a previous editorial, I discussed that
in my experience, when the fi re burns high,
the good things in life are never scarce.
That being said, something I struggle with
at times is burnout, which for me is most
often when " little external fi res " (situational
frustrations) come at odds with my internal
fi re (drive), resulting in a mixed state
of irritation and ineffectiveness.
Some mornings when my spirit is not
quite right, as I sit in my car in the offi ce
parking lot before heading into work, frustrations
of previous days and uneasy anticipation
of challenges that may lie ahead
can take over my mind space. I get caught
up in envisioning the " little fi res " that will
need to be put out that day. Oh, how the
the petty team drama du jour, a referring
doctor requesting help with a troublesome
aligner patient, our recently serviced X-ray
machine acting up again, a fi ve-paragraph
email from a certain helicopter mom ... the
list is as varied as it is long. The more my
head is occupied as I prepare for these little
battles that may or may not come (usually
they don't), the more I invite their reality
into my day and the more my energy
drains even before I step foot in the offi ce.
You can't go off the rails
up in envisioning the " little fi res " that will
need to be put out that day. Oh, how the
images take shape and fi xate my attention:
need to be put out that day. Oh, how the
images take shape and fi xate my attention:
I'd like to share an analogy that offers
a bit of perspective and levity: Sometimes
when I identify this kind of burnout creeping
in, I picture myself as a train engineer-the
old-timey kind with a striped
hat, dirty overalls and soot on my face.
While there are others on my team, I am
the one who is ultimately accountable for
fulfi llment of all operational and safety duties
aboard the train. To put it simply, my
job is to do whatever it takes that day to
keep the damn train on the tracks. It also
requires me to be resilient enough to handle
the inconveniences that are absolutely,
undoubtedly and 100% inevitable.
Throughout the fulfi llment of my duties,
my attitude and my response to external
stimuli are completely up to me. If my
happiness requires a day fi lled with perfect
luck, no unanticipated challenges and only
delighted crew members and patients, then
happy days will come around as often as
solar eclipses. With such irrational expectations,
I'd deserve to experience happiness
that infrequently. Visualizing the myriad
odd jobs, quick thinking and physical demands
these engineers must deal with usually
helps get me out of my own head and
back into proper perspective and gratitude.
Another piece of advice along the same
vein is to not treat a " clinic work day " like a
" nonclinic work day. " A clinic day is meant
for full speed ahead. A nonclinic day is a
great time to slow down, digest previous
clinic days, recalibrate, rework priority lists,
tinker with methods and generally sharpen
your ax. I do not go into clinic days with
any of those nonclinic-day priorities on
my mind, and this most often results in a
much more enjoyable busy clinic day.
As you head into the practice, I hope
you can strap on the old striped hat and
challenge yourself to whistle while you
work throughout whatever this gift of a
day may bring. ■
Share your opinion online!
Verifi ed members of the Orthotown community
are free to share their thoughts or opinions in the
Comments section under this column-and every
other article!-online at orthotown.com/magazine.
6 JUNE 2022 // orthotown.com
http://www.orthotown.com/magazine http://www.orthotown.com
Orthotown June 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Orthotown June 2022
