Porch (eBook)

A Dental Fable

Deborah Bush, Barry Polansky (Autoren)

eBook Download: EPUB

2021 | 1. Auflage
326 Seiten
Bookbaby (Verlag)
978-1-0983-5710-8 (ISBN)

Infos

'The Porch' is a business-spiritual fable. It is a masterful work of fiction that serves as an allegory for today's young dentist, as it imparts wisdom to inspire fortitude, purpose, and actions that lead to career satisfaction and a life well lived. This is a Hero's Journey about a dentist whose life goes from hopelessness and despair to growth and prosperity with the help of his philosopher mentor.

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"e;The Porch"e; is a business-spiritual fable. It is a masterful work of fiction that serves as an allegory for today's young dentist, as it imparts wisdom to inspire fortitude, purpose, and actions that lead to career satisfaction and a life well lived. This is a Hero's Journey about a dentist whose life goes from hopelessness and despair to growth and prosperity with the help of his philosopher mentor. Follow along in this journey as Tom, the young protagonist, learns new ways to view his world from Henry who is a dental philosopher. Tom is motivated to determine what he really wants out of life. He also seeks to view new approaches, practice new positive attitudes, and commit to a higher purpose. On his journey, he masters behavioral skills that fuel a passion for his work and lasting happiness in his life. Ultimately, Tom gives back to other young dentists by guiding them like his mentor Henry guided him. Many of the lessons Tom learns and implements in his life are based on the perennial philosophy of the Stoics and today's field of Positive Psychology.

Textauszug

Chapter 1

The Ordinary World

Someone lowered the air conditioning to 65 degrees, and it was most appreciated on this stifling July afternoon. Today was almost over and the end of the workweek. With just one hygiene check to go, Dr. Tom Parker greeted Ann, his last patient. "How are you today?”

“I’m fine, Dr. Parker.”

With many things on his mind, he smiled at Ann, looked at Gwen’s notes, and did his examination. Ushering Ann out, he said, "Your mouth looks good. See you in six months."

Ah, the day is over, he thought. On the way to his private office, he was blocked by Sally, his receptionist. She appeared alarmed, but that was normal for her. Under stress, she became agitated by the smallest things and routinely passed her anxiety on to him.

"I need to talk with you."

He ushered her into his office.

"Doctor, I have some bad news."

"Out with it, Sally. Cut to the chase."

"Your friend Dr. Simon...she killed herself this morning."

Tom fell into his leather recliner. Sally noticed the tears welling around his eyes and thought it best to leave him alone.

Tom stopped her, "Tell me more. I need the details."

"All I was told was that her husband found her in their garage with the motor running. He called the police, and they determined she had been dead for over two hours."

"Where was the baby?"

"I think she dropped her baby off at daycare at the usual time. Her funeral is being arranged, and they will let us know."

"Who will let us know?"

"The family. Apparently, you were close enough to be on a list of her closest friends...I'm so sorry, Dr. Parker."

Tom's throat felt like it was in a vise. Dr. Monica Simon was one of his closest friends. They had met on the first day of dental school. They had spent many hours together going over notes for exams and many late nights in the lab...pouring and mounting models...waxing teeth. What great hands she had, and what a great dentist she would have made. Talented in every way... intelligent, personable, and so artistic. Monica would have been the class's most likely to succeed. And now she was gone.

###

Tom shut the door to his private space. Once alone, the primal urge overcame him to collapse inward on his gut and cry out in pain. "Oh God, why, why, why?" he could be heard softly wailing through the closed door.

They had just had lunch the week before at their favorite pizza place. It was a good location to have private conversations about how the world was treating them. In other words, it was a good place to complain. Monica had confided that she hated dentistry the way she had to practice it. Things had taken a turn for the worse after the baby was born and she went back to work at the newly opened corporate dental location in town.

Tom did not like corporate dentistry and had advised her not to take the job. The corporates were competing for his patients and winning by lowering their prices and accepting every dental plan. And they shamelessly advertised...not only about their fees but their quality of work and their superior services, which by his standards were “not.” Monica knew that, but she still turned to Tom for emotional support.

She needed to vent. She told Tom she used to love dentistry, but at the new place, they made her do dentistry that was below her ethical standards by hurrying along, which meant she sometimes missed steps. They made her insert restorations made in laboratories thousands of miles away, and the restorations were not the quality she was used to. Patients were coming in the front door and going out the back door. She wondered if their dentistry had failed. Would there be a lawsuit? It had even crossed her mind that God would punish her for doing that kind of work.

At first, Tom used to say, “There are alternative places to work. Maybe, you should set up your own practice,” but she always shook her head no. She felt she couldn’t risk losing the income she was making. Her husband Paul was a salesman who brought in less than half of what she made. And having the new baby seemed to have made things worse. Lately, she seemed glum or “numb,” easily lost her train of thought in conversations, and only picked at the pizza they ordered for lunch. Tom wondered if she suffered from postpartum depression on top of the stress of dental practice. Surely, she would have sought medical help for that…but would she have? Doctors are notorious for not seeking help as it might injure their reputations.

Remembering their conversations saddened Tom. Monica had turned from the most popular and prettiest of his classmates into a heartbreaking and miserable soul.

Tom stood up straight out of his reclining chair, realizing so have I. Tom had started his practice six years ago, directly out of dental school. Classmates told him that was risky. He needed to learn more dentistry, so he took continuing education courses. He learned the more popular procedures like cosmetic procedures, bonding and veneers, and the newer endodontic practices. He had attended some limited implant courses and the new Invisalign courses that were becoming popular. Lately he had started taking "sleep dentistry" courses. He enjoyed the education, but it rarely translated to making more money.

The new techniques just became more drudgery as his days felt longer and longer. Something was missing. His way of practice was just like Monica's. The only difference was he didn't work for a corporate. He worked for an idiot, and he was the idiot.

There was a knock on the door. Sally called out, "I'm leaving, so sorry again. They called and said the funeral would be on Tuesday at Johnson's Funeral Home at noon. Oh, and by the way, I left a chart on your desk. It's Lillian's, your last patient. She left you a note."

###

Tom’s 20-minute commute through the city and into the suburbs was relatively easy. Linda and Tom had chosen to live in Bountiful, a suburb of Columbus, because of that easy commute. He usually took a shortcut through the wooded groves. He felt prosperous on most drives, appreciating the beauty of the landscape and architecture. Six years ago, he hadn’t dreamed of living in such an upscale community.

On tonight's commute, his mind drifted toward his mortgage and how overextended he was. The financial pressure of trying to run a private dental practice was taking its toll. With his office overhead, his home expenses, and just keeping up with the Jones's, he didn't know how long he could sustain the pace. He was under pressure to produce more and more dentistry, and yet it seemed like there was less and less predictability and consistency in his income.

Tom was seriously considering leaving dentistry. It was becoming too stressful. He always made enough to get by, but this wasn't the job he signed up for when he entered dental school. The four years of dental school and six years of private practice had taken its toll.

Like many of his colleagues, Tom had hoped for a less stressful and more lucrative job. Now, it would be difficult for him to close his practice. This was due to his student loans, his family depending on him, and the disappointment that his parents would suffer after saving for years to send him to school. The cost of quitting was way too high. He would just have to plod on.

Tom wondered how this had come about. He lived an idyllic life—a yellow brick road where one success always led to another. Just get good grades and take the next step. Paths were laid out for him to follow...at home, in school. He followed all the cultural norms.

He had been a good student and a high school athlete. Tom met Linda in high school, and they stayed together through college. When he entered dental school, he was one of a few students who was married. The other students envied him for his stability. His life followed an ascending trajectory, but today, it felt like something had gone terribly wrong. Monica's death was challenging him to put everything into perspective.

His BMW turned into his driveway. Linda was home and he would have to tell her the bad news. Linda and Monica had been friends since dental school. Linda had been a dental hygienist in Tom's practice, but she had stopped working when their son was born.

"I'm home."

"Dinner is on the table. You’re late."

As soon as he came into the kitchen and she saw his face, Linda realized something bad had affected him. She sat down and fixed her eyes on his. “What happened?”

The words came tumbling, "They found Monica unconscious in her garage with the car running..." He...

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 30.3.2021
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Literatur ► Romane / Erzählungen
• Themenwelt: Wirtschaft ► Betriebswirtschaft / Management ► Unternehmensführung / Management
• ISBN-10: 1-0983-5710-8 / 1098357108
• ISBN-13: 978-1-0983-5710-8 / 9781098357108