Unity

"What we must decide is perhaps how we are valuable rather than how valuable we are."   ~Edgar Z. Friedenberg~

The days of an employee in a dental practice being more valuable than another, just because they have certain credentials are coming to an end.  In this new, challenging economy, it becomes ever more clear that how and what we contribute is just as important, maybe even more important, than the credentials we insert after our name.  Every person in every position has worth and the way they perform, the way they interact and treat others determines their value to the practice.

The fact that I can use CDA/CDPMA after my name doesn't mean that I'm better than someone who doesn't have the letters.  It doesn't make me work harder, behave better, or think smarter than someone who doesn't have it.  It only means that I went through a course and then  took and passed a test.  The real test is in what I do with what I know.  If I use it to help my co-workers, serve my patients and boost our practice, I'm doing something good.  It's the same with the DDS and the RDH.  They are letters that stand for the education required to earn the right to use them.  They represent long hours, dedication and some amount of personal sacrifice.  The value they represent is in the potential to serve that they allow the bearer.  To be of value, the bearer must serve and create unity between those they work with.

When a person stands on their credentials and believe that it somehow makes them more valuable than others, they are at cross-purposes with the thing they desire; to feel important.  When they take their accomplishment as see it as a means to increase the level of the work they do with others, there is true value and importance in that.  Sharing knowledge and teaching skills never diminishes what we already have, no one can take that from you.  Rather, it increases your own value and that of the person you share with.  Knowledge shared is knowledge squared.  When you share and increase the value of another to the practice and the patients, you create unity.  It is the best use of your knowledge and skill and by using those in that way, you have found the way to be of value.

Comments

[Linda Douglas]

Really profound! I believe we all have certain gifts or abilities, which we should use to make contribution, and help others.