Comments on: Am I Burning Out?

By: Periapex

Periapex — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 18:33:32 +0000

I agree. Music works a lot better than your first two options!

By: amarrama

amarrama — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 17:17:39 +0000

the post and the comments made interested reading and all felt like they came staight from the heart .

well, smooth waters dont make good sailors and gold cannot b desire-moulded if not burned out pretty much explains wat all it takes to b good at wat we do .

and in my case being an internee ( is more like jeanie’s), i relate my stress to JESUS’S and find solace.
i also think wat options i hav to burst my stress which incl. banging my head in the nearest wall, to find and shoot the same pt., or listen to my fav. music and i hav so far chosen the latter : )
so i would say apart from ways suggested above by dear friends , music also helps big way : )

By: fragileheart

fragileheart — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 04:41:54 +0000

Great. I'm susceptible to cellulitis (at least that's what my Dr told me) because I've gotten it a couple of times already. And now you tell me I can get it in my mouth? That's a bundle of fun. I dislike dentists enough as it is! Of course I just dislike going to see them in their place of work. I don't dislike you one bit outside of your office =P Recently from fragileheart: Breast Cancer prevention, part 4)

By: Periapex

Periapex — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 18:24:00 +0000

You mean the American Board diagnostic terminology? Be careful if you use that. Your examiners might not be familiar with the terms. The AAE is currently in the process of revamping diagnostic terminology and the stuff I posted may not remain current.

By: jeanie

jeanie — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 10:45:46 +0000

i guess the message is to relax when you can
oh and thanks for posting that stuff about endo dx from way back. i’m using it to study for my vivas!

By: Periapex

Periapex — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 21:22:29 +0000

Yes, you’re correct about the need for a stress-free home life. I know dentists who would rather stay at work than go home because of the stress at home.

By: Lin Burress

Lin Burress — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 14:41:51 +0000

Burn out is a reality in many professions, especially those in the medical and dental fields which as you’ve said, is very stressful and unrewarding overall.

And, statistics show that dentists have the highest suicide rate over other professions for many reasons.

Leaving work at work is very important. Bringing home to work may be helpful as long as the home life is mostly stress free. Otherwise, it only adds to the stress at work.

Having a variety of relaxing outlets such as vacations and hobbies can definitely help. Reducing work hours gets my vote!

By: Periapex

Periapex — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 13:17:01 +0000

The best therapy for burnout is a support group where you get together with others in your situation to share experiences. So talking about dentistry is a good thing. In fact when I get together with dental friends, we can’t help but not talk about dentistry since it’s such a big part of our lives.

“Bringing work home” means ruminating about work when you’re not at work. This to the point that your relationship does suffer, or your life becomes unbalanced. It is a line that we all must define in our lives. Even though we all must, some never do.

For various reasons, including some of yours, dental school was very stressful for me. I swore I would never donate a cent back to the alumni fund there. After having been out for a bit now, I see that my school did prepare me better than many others for the real world of dentistry. I don’t know if I’d want to go through all of my training again, but I’m happy to have gone through it.

Learning through a graduate program or even through continuing ed courses is much different than the heavily structured and supervised learning of dental school. If you find that you enjoy some aspect of dentistry immensely, don’t write off more school.

Private practice is almost a completely different world from dental school in terms of stresses. Patients can be more difficult to deal with, you’ve got staffing issues, financial concerns, etc…

Stress is always part of our life and as Rudy said, we’ve got to have appropriate, healthy ways of dealing with it. You’re right; in our lives if the balance of living doesn’t create positive energy in the end, everything suffers: Our health, relationships, and even work.

By: jeanie

jeanie — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 22:10:48 +0000

wow, this is very interesting. its funny how you say don’t bring your work home with me. my boyfriend and i are both dental students and we discuss cases and what not together. i dunno if that is a good thing or a bad thing now…
i feel very burnt out from dental school (mainly because its poorly organised and full of pompous twits) to the point that after this year and graduation, i dont want to study ever again. this makes me sad coz i’ve always enjoyed learning before and dental school has really sucked the joy out of that for me.
Im super excited about private practice though. i really hope that it’ll be way more fun coz its hands on. Plus if i start getting bored, i’ll just take on more challenging cases!
i hope you’re feeling better now… sometimes a tiring patient can ruin your day but i’m sure you’ve had days when you just feel awesome. its a balance between the satisfaction of doing great versus the disapointment of things not going quite to plan. As long as the former outweighs the latter me-thinks…

By: Periapex

Periapex — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 17:56:10 +0000

Trouble and stress finds us at any age. You’re right that figuring out how to deal with it at a young age prepares us for it when we are older. Having hardship at a young age and getting through it in a positive fashion also allows us to appreciate the plight of others.

And yes, your hairdo is much more Jack Lord style than mine!