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Resident Report A resource for dentists in advanced dental education training programs
Welcome to the Debut Issue of the Resident Report When I think back to my days as a resident at New York's Nassau County Medical Center, I recognize how much things have changed. Not only the practice of dentistry, but also the technology and information that's available to all dentists … especially the way this information is delivered! Today, I'm happy to deliver to you the debut issue of the Resident Report. This quarterly e-publication from the ADA was developed to provide you with useful and relevant information as you go through your advanced dental education training program. It will arrive via e-mail each quarter and will generally contain a few features each issue, with content ranging from graduate student/resident life and financial topics to practice and career management issues, and opportunities for ongoing involvement in the dental profession. At times, the ADA may contact you to invite your opinions on different topics or even interview you for a short feature story. We hope you will be an active participant in this publication and take the time to share your knowledge and experience with your colleagues. With your involvement, graduate students and residents in all programs are sure to benefit! Please contact Chris Mitchell via e-mail at mitchellc@ada.org if you have a topic or story idea you would like staff to research or write about. We'll do our very best to keep the Resident Report on target, on time and in touch with the issues that matter to you most. I hope this publication proves to be a valuable resource in the exchange of information, ideas and innovations within the advanced dental education community. Wishing you continued success in your program! Mark J. Feldman Managing Your Online Reputation Everybody has a past and many of us have something in our pasts that may be silly, less than stellar or otherwise regrettable. And the internet has made it easy to collect material that may be potentially unflattering or even detrimental to your reputation and store it online where anyone can find it with a few clicks. This cybertrail could become part of your permanent record, similar to your credit report. You wouldn't wear overalls to an interview with a loan officer, or discuss your beliefs about UFOs with a new patient—those things could damage your professional image and reputation. But what could stop a banker, a future patient or anyone else from searching you online? Consider these five steps so your online reputation works for you, rather than against you: 1. Investigate Yourself: First, see what others see when they search for your name. Try searching:
Be sure to check the "images" category as well. Different search engines give different results so test several. Some sites you may want to check are Technorati.com (blog searches), MySpace, Facebook and YouTube. 2. Clean Up Your Act: For the content you control, if in doubt, take it out. For example, a picture of you and your friends on a camping trip is fine—it suggests you have a life. On the other hand, a picture of you and your friends draining a keg is questionable—it may suggest you have a problem. Be especially cautious when using a website's privacy settings as they don't provide iron-clad protection against snooping. Are there topics you wouldn’t discuss in casual conversation, such as your membership in political organizations or whether you intend to have children? If you answered, "Yes," do a check to see if you have inadvertently discussed sensitive, personal information online, available to anyone conducting an internet search. For the content that others control, your task is more difficult. If you've written a questionable comment on someone's blog or sent an ill-considered letter-to-the-editor, contact the owner of that site and ask them to remove the offending material. Be precise about the location (include a hypertext link) and be nice—you are requesting a favor. The answer may be, "No," but at least you tried and you'll be prepared to explain your side of the story if the issue arises. 3. Check for Double Trouble: If you are the John Smith who has volunteered at the local food bank, don't be confused with the John Smith who was arrested for armed robbery! You can't stop someone from tarnishing your shared name or halt the media from reporting, but you can give advance notice that there's someone out there with your same name who is up to no good! And you can follow the advice in step number four to push bad news further down the list of search results. 4. Spread Some Good News: Don't stop with eliminating the negative; make sure you also accentuate the positive. You may not be able to eliminate unfavorable material, but you can bury it beneath more favorable results. Do you have video of yourself giving a presentation or winning a prize? Consider posting it on YouTube. Same goes for still photographs. If you have snaps showing you and colleagues in your program or a picture of you finishing a 5K fun run, those are suitable for online photo sharing sites like Flickr.com or Photobucket.com. Professional networking sites, such as LinkedIn.com allow you to post your CV and information about yourself, and you can link to any publications where you've contributed, such as ADA News, Resident Report or your local dental society's newsletter. Additionally, they allow other people to endorse you and serve as references. 5. Keep an Eye on the Situation: You've investigated yourself, cleaned up the bad stuff, and produced positive content-you've probably done wonders for your online reputation. Keep up the good work!
Donated Dental Services: a Life-Changing 'Reality' If you've ever tuned in to reality television, you're sure to notice there's lots of "giving" going on. From Extreme Makeover: Home Edition to Oprah's Big Give and American Idol Gives Back, among others, it seems that goodwill continues to gain its share of the spotlight. Although dentists don't have their own "reality" show, for years they've been "giving back" to their communities by providing much needed Donated Dental Services (DDS) to those who need it most—disabled, elderly or medically-compromised individuals who cannot afford necessary treatment nor get public aid. The National Foundation of Dentistry for the Handicapped (NFDH), a not-for-profit charitable affiliate of the ADA, developed the DDS program and has successfully replicated it in 38 states. The program is focused on making the whole process both easy for dentists and life-changing for patients. DDS has provided more than $116 million in donated services to 77,000 individuals since its inception in 1986; today, more than 13,000 dentists and 3,000 dental laboratories donate comprehensive care to some of our country's most vulnerable citizens. A DDS coordinator is the liaison between the patient, the labs and the dentists, answering any and all questions, and providing assistance all around. The goal of DDS is to return patients to good oral health, enabling them to reach an affordable maintenance level. NFDH is especially interested in involving younger dentists in the DDS program, as they are the future of the profession. "Volunteer now, early on," said Dr. Kevin Cassidy, an eight-year DDS volunteer in Topeka, Kansas who came into the program early in his career. "Once you do, it's so easy that it will become a regular part of your practice and a part of your life. The DDS coordinator makes it simple by screening the applicants and keeping in close contact throughout treatment. All you have to do is dentistry." He added, "Every DDS patient I've seen has been appreciative and wonderful." The Donated Dental Services program is a collaborative, direct way for the dental profession to reach out to indigent individuals with special needs. Though we will likely never see a dental reality show that spotlights the tremendous difference your work will make in these people's lives, you will never forget the experience of being a part of something so transforming. For additional information or to volunteer, please visit the NFDH online or contact them at 888-471-6334. I Owe How Much? Plus Interest? More than 93% of dentists enter the marketplace with debt—the average being $162,155. For most of you, your loan repayment has been deferred while completing your advanced dental education training. But the time is ticking and your first payment will soon be due. And depending on the terms of the loan, you'll need to begin paying back both the principal loaned and the interest on it. Most loan programs offer several different repayment options. You can opt for the standard plan with a fixed annual repayment amount paid over a fixed period of time not to exceed 10 years, or you can choose graduated payments in which installments are lower in the first few years of repayment and increase over time, as your income increases. Some programs even offer calibrated installments where repayment is based on borrower's income and fluctuates with income changes. "If you don't choose a repayment plan when you first begin repayment, you'll be placed under the Standard Repayment Plan (equal installments In order to make loan repayments more manageable, many recent dental graduates (46%) consolidate their student loans. Some (17.4%) extend their repayment period beyond the standard 10-year payout. While others (17%) pay more than the required amount per month in order to pay off their loans early. In discerning which repayment option is best for you, keep in mind that interest compounds and the longer it takes you to repay, the larger your end repayment will be. To help you plan a repayment schedule, the table below outlines the factors that are used to estimate the monthly payment amounts on $1000 at various interest rates. The table is used by locating the number of years for the repayment schedule and cross matching that with the appropriate interest rate. That factor is then multiplied times the number of thousands of dollars owed. For example, suppose your debt is $100,000, which is to be repaid over a ten year period at 8%. Take the factor 12.13 which corresponds to 10 years at 8%, and multiply it times the number of thousands (100)—resulting in a monthly payment of $1,213. This amount repays the principal and interest as it accumulates on the loan. Your total loan payments would be $1,213 times the 120 month term of the loan or a total of $145,560, $100,000 of which is principal and $45,560 is interest. Monthly Payments on $1,000
For more information regarding repayment of federal student loans, visit www.federalstudentaid.ed.gov. And look for information on loan repayment programs in our next issue of Resident Report. Stressed out about your finances? What's going on in other programs nationwide? Do programs differ on a day-to-day basis, or all residents and graduate students experiencing the same challenges? The Resident Report plans to have a regular feature that will share differing perspectives from residents and graduate students. As the Resident Report's first contributor, Dr. Eva-Marie Powers, from the Maxillofacial Prosthodontics program at Indiana University School of Dentistry, shared with us her answers to our first questions:
Be a contributor—add to your CV and be featured in our next issue! Provide brief answers to the two question below and let your colleagues know what you’re thinking and experiencing. Send your responses to Tracy Hollenbach at hollenbachtt@ada.org.
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