As a seasoned dentist, Dr. Tom Giacobbi understands what it takes to build a career. But building that career involves setting cornerstones for yourself as a young dentist.
In this installment of Just a Minute, Doc, Giacobbi reveals the three key pieces of advice he would share to dental school graduates.
Video transcript
"If you're a new dentist, this episode is for you.
"These are the things that I would love to tell any new grad.
No. 1, do a residency. A lot of people are worried that a residency is a waste of time, or they're not going to make any money. Look, it's worth it. You'll get experiences in a dental residency that you cannot replicate in the private sector.
"No. 2, call your patients. It's simple advice. What does it mean? Every time you do a procedure on a patient, it doesn't matter what you did, call them that night or the following day and ask them how they're doing. Most of the time, you're going to get voicemail, so leave a message. They're going to love it. And if you do get a chance to get a hold of them, the feedback you're going to get will be invaluable.
"Finally, do what's right by your patients. What do I mean by that? I mean when you're treatment-planning a patient, you should have the mindset that you're booked out for the next three months. So, based on that, what are you going to treatment-plan for this patient? All too often, patients are receiving aggressive treatment plans because people are treatment-planning for their student loan payment, or they're treatment-planning because they have nothing to do tomorrow. It's not the right way to approach it. The patients are going to pick up on it, and you're going to lose a lot of patients that way. Believe me, I know because I see people in my practice with these treatment plans all the time.
"Now, let's get back to work."
