A shift in my mentoring perspective
By Dr Kay Chia, Dentist at Bupa Dental Toowong.
Shortly after I joined the team at Bupa Dental Toowong, my general manager encouraged me to participate in the mentoring program Bupa Dental was launching. After some careful consideration, I decided to apply with some initial reservations.
In part, my hesitation in mentoring stemmed from a previous experience with a mentor programs at a different dental business. To put it politely, it was less than ideal as I was not provided with enough support or tools to give my mentees the best experience or professional guidance.
Any fears of encountering a similar experience at Bupa Dental were quicky put to bed with the mentoring management team providing me with an outline of ongoing support and mentor development tools. This filled me with the confidence I needed to guide my mentees to the best of my ability.
My 3 mentees have been a pleasure to get to know online and in person. Apart from our monthly online meetings, we try to meet in person every quarter to discuss clinical issues, work life balance… or anything!
A key philosophy that I try to impart on my mentees is how important it is to connect with the individual needs of our patients in order to maintain optimal clinical outcomes and grow both professionally and as an individual. Communication is everything.
And it is the Bupa Mentoring programs commitment to ongoing 360-degree communications that ensures its success and keeps mentors and mentees accountable, informed and engages.
I chose to be a dentist because I was passionate about oral health, but now I am finding that I am equally passionate about nurturing the next generation of dentists and doing all I can to ensure they enjoy a long and meaningful career as I have done to date.
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