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Starting Over, Again
Two years ago, we were in the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, with many of us adjusting to working full time remotely (“you’re on mute”). All of us were a bit anxious about what was next, but we were sure it would be over in a month or so.
All of us waited. One month turned into three months, three months turned into six and so forth. You know where I’m going. Today, the United States appears to be emerging from the pandemic phase of the COVID-19 outbreak, with many of us making our way back to offices (“goodbye, comfortable sweatpants and flipflops”) in some form or fashion and still anxious about what is next.
So while the office vs. home trajectory has changed somewhat, the feelings we have as we navigate this shifting landscape are all too familiar. How’s that for déjà vu?
The frustration and anxiety that colored our worlds as the pandemic descended on us have ebbed and flowed over the past two-plus years, but they never really left. And in conversations with family members, friends and colleagues, I find that many of us are still looking for something that’s increasingly elusive: certainty.
Dental professionals are very precise individuals. We value detail, accuracy and definition. We want plans before we do something, and we want to know how much something will cost both us and the patient. Is it worth doing or justified? Is it going to have a long-term guarantee? That kind of thinking is how we have been educated, is part of our makeup and is what draws us to our profession. So for many of us, today’s environment seems untenable. We are having to change the very essence of what we value and how we live in order to move forward with some semblance of sanity in our daily lives.
Can we ever go back to the way we were? Probably not. So, now, we keep asking questions to which there are no definitive answers. When and where should we wear face masks? When can we move ahead full-steam with our travel plans and feel safe at in-person meetings? How close is too close as we mingle with colleagues in our offices or clinics? Are hybrid work models here to stay, and what is the best hybrid work model? How many COVID variants exist (today)? Most of all, we want to know when exactly this whole COVID-19 ordeal will be over.
I’ve come to believe that sometimes the best answer to these and other questions is a simple “I don’t know.”
As professionals, we are all taught to scan the horizon and anticipate change. We’re expected to know what’s going on and craft our futures accordingly. The pandemic has humbled us. We don’t know what’s around the corner—and I think it’s OK to acknowledge, perhaps even embrace, that fact.
So how, then, do we navigate our professional lives and move toward the future amid so much uncertainty? With open minds, humor, compassion and mutual respect.
At this point in the COVID outbreak, many answers to the questions about what to do come down to preferences and personal comfort levels (within the parameters of whatever official guidance or mandates may still be in place). And it’s vital that as individuals and communities, we respect those differences and preferences. As we move forward with the next phase of this COVID experience—which is what I call the “let’s just live with it phase”—I would ask us to commit to a few things:
- Let’s not react in a knee-jerk fashion to every headline or jump to conclusions based on any one moment. Let’s see what the science and the data tell us and think through our options.
- Let’s not pressure or judge others for their choices in situations where mask-wearing is optional. Instead, let’s commit to our own well-being, doing what we can to live happily and healthy, but protect those around us if the situation warrants it.
- Let’s not completely rewrite our workplace practices and dental education policies just yet. Instead, let’s continue to monitor and pivot as needed, recognizing that yes, things are not going to be the way they were before the pandemic—but no, we don’t have a firm handle yet on how things will ultimately shake out.
As ADEA’s President and CEO, I’m thinking a lot about that last point, for example, in the context of workplace models. I want to strike a balance between having a newfound appreciation for how much technology allows us to accomplish remotely while maintaining a firm belief in the power, value and joy of personal interactions in the office.
Sometimes those five-minute hallway conversations can turn out to be the most productive moments of our professional day. There’s something about seeing a colleague in person that can help to build rapport, congeniality and a solid working relationship. You can only learn so much about a workplace ethos or culture remotely and online.
I believe that’s especially true in dental education with its combination of clinical, laboratory and didactic instruction. Remember what I said earlier about the nature of us dental professionals? We like to hold those explorers in our hands and not rely on computer technology to evaluate a preparation.
Given that, how do we advance toward the next phase of dental education? Will the next generation of educators push us dinosaurs into our beachfront properties without a care in the world? Part of me hopes so because they know how to do it, and they are comfortable with changing technology and alternative models. (Plus, I love lounging on the beach with a good book.)
But I also understand that change can be a slow process and all of us—newcomers or longtime veterans in dental education—must work together to advance. So I’ve committed myself to learn as much as I can now that I’m working in that hybrid environment. Not only do I want to learn about the workplace model(s) of the future, but I want to learn more about how we can best connect to one another to help our organization adapt and thrive.
I don’t have all the answers. (How’s that for embracing uncertainty?) But I do have a deep desire to hear from you so that, together, we can develop and find those answers in time.
Wishing you all the best,
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