Thoughts on Professionalism

We all have a sense of what it means when someone says, “He or she is a real professional.” In my view, just as calling oneself a professional does not make one a professional, working in a profession does not make one a professional. The thoughts of being “professionalism” arose while I was at the periodontal clinic rotation. One of the residents told a D3 student and me that we would be seeing his patient who was scheduled for a 3 month periodontal maintenance. While he showed us the radiograph, he made a comment on the patient’s previous dental treatment that how stupid/joke the patient was to spend over forty thousand dollars for a “Hollywood-Style” make-over dental treatment. The entire dentition was covered by ceramic crowns with bridges. According to him, they did not serve to be practical or functional. Well, while I was not in the position to weigh on his clinical judgment; I sensed lack of sympathy and respect of the patient from his comment.
While I was grateful of the opportunity of probing and debridement, I was irritated by the unprofessionalism around the patient. The resident and D3 student were constantly talking to each other about the trips they made last year and other matters that had nothing to do with patient care while the patient was on the dental chair. It was as no one else around them. While I was probing, I sometimes had to pause and wait for their conversation to be finished so the D3 student could enter the readings of the pocket depth to the computer. It made me feel like I was the interrupter. I wondered why they could not move themselves out of the operatory if they thought their personal matters preceded over the patient care. I even wondered whether the D3 student was intending to learn anything from it. Most overall, I wondered what the patient was thinking of it. I soon realized I need to focus on my professionalism instead of others. I tried to build the rapport with the patient by asking and listening of her concerns. She was about to graduate from nursing program with her daughter and was stress about the board exam. I could also sense the hardship from her teary eyes when she told me that the oral problems she had ever since she was little and it was a huge investment on her to spend. I tried to encourage her to keep up with her daily oral hygiene and showed her how to use Superfloss® when she told me she could not use regular floss around the bridges. At the end, she seemed satisfied with the appointment and wanted to know if I was going to be around in this fall when she comes back for the next recall appointment. It gave me a great feeling of accomplishment that I had done something right. It is always easier to spot dirt on others than one on mine. And their conversation may be beneficial to save the world someday. I believe that the quality of patient care should be the main focus when we are being professional. I am just glad to learn the valuable lesson from other’s dirt.