Why teach?

This was a post that I started writing at the start of the year when I thought that I would be starting clinical teaching last semester. It was a bit of a journey to be onboarded and so it took until semester 2 to start and definitely wasn't the role that was advertised but the concepts that I started to explore are still the same. I think at the time I was questioning my motivations to teach to form a clear picture in my head what I wanted to get out of this. I wrote 4 points down in the draft which I will elaborate on:

-My teachers were bad: 

At university we had some quite good people teaching and supervising us but later on we also had some very bad ones. There was a point about halfway through our degree where university changes i.e school changing faculty and subsequent funding changes resulted in a massive pay drop for the supervising staff. As a result, all the quality teachers left to better paying jobs. For most of them I doubt it was the money that caused them to leave but the perceived disrespect. As a result, our clinical experience started off well but took a dive in later years. I had a few diamonds in the rough in the later years but most of our clinical education came from overseas trained dentists who couldn't find a stable position privately. 

Okay, a lot of that was opinion and bias, but that was the feel I got from them at the time. There is nothing wrong with overseas dentistry in general especially if the dentists have proven themselves by passing Australian exams but there was something wrong with those dentists. I believe that a teacher-student relationship demands at least a healthy level of respect both ways. From their end respecting us as the future of the profession and from our end respecting them as clinicians with things to teach. We had supervisors who showed no respect to us, were openly rude and condescending, showed no clinical competence and asked for consultations from other experienced dentists for the simplest of problems.

I think that if I was in their position I would try and build on that experience and try to be a supporting educator, show respect if it was given to me but at the same time try to be someone that is respected by the students. I don't expect respect as a given but I think both parties have to start with a position of respect and then see if the other person deserves it.

-I have things to teach: 

I think I have lessons to share and who doesn't? I do know that I have a lot to learn and I am jsut at the start of my career but I have picked some things up along the way from other dentists and from mistakes I have made. I do know that if I can share these mistakes then it may help the students learn and hopefully they can avoid making the same errors that I have made. Classic things that I struggled with as a student and still struggle with are dentures, knowledge of workflow, clinical and non-clincial efficiency (note taking and admin), attitude (pacing yourself, keeping calm in stressful times), patient management (communication and rapport building).

-I think i'll be good at it: 

I've found that I'm quite good at explaining things in layman's terms to patients. I don't understand when health professionals explain treatment plans in medical jargon. I suppose patients will nod along in any case and be confused after they leave. I notice this when I go to certain doctors as a patient and they explain things to me. Most of it I get but I can see how someone with no medical background would leave completely confused. I see this in my colleagues as well when some patients get quite upset as they can't understand what is going on or they reach the end of treatment and claim they didn't know what they were signing up for. I think what was useful for me is that I remember what it was like to not know anything about dentistry. I remember sitting in a lecture and learning for the first time what a filling was and what gum disease involved. I remember that confusion and seek every day to explain things in a way that I would have understood at that time. 

I would hopefully take this same skill to the students and explain things how I would have needed it explained as a novice dentist free from the bias of experience.

-Potential difficulties: 

Problems I may have as an educator stem mainly from my personality. I could tend to be too blunt in my criticisms as to me it is important to get the message across than it is to say it nicely. If they have done something wrong or not as good as expected then I wouldn't hesitate to tell them so. This can come off as rude and harsh but the problem isn't that I wouldn't know this, the problem is that I wouldn't care as the message itself is the most important to me. To get around this I would hopefully be able to recognise those that would take offence to bluntness and be able to deliver the message in such a way that they can understand. I'm not afraid of offending someone, epecially if I think they will get over it and the message will eventually get through, but the real skill as a teacher would be to recognise those who need the message delivered well or else it won't get through at all.

The other difficulty I perceive would be displaying impatience to those who can't answer questions I perceive as simple. I have to recognise that not everyone knows everything and that everyone knows something that you don't. Being a student is to be constantly in the state of learning and it will be my responsibility as an educator and as a learner myself to remember that it is my role to spread knowledge and the fact that they don't know something is not a travesty on their part but an opportunity to teach on my part.

Edit: Now having taught only a couple of sessions I can add something onto the list. I have found that some students are very receptive and are willing to listen and learn and some want to forge on and do their own thing. I vibe well with those who are willing to listen and change their technique and behaviour to try my suggestions. This who barrel on despite any feedback are those who I have found difficult to teach. They may make more mistakes along they way and potentially they may learn faster through mistakes than those who are willing to listen. However, what I ask for as an educator is at least the willingness to listen and judge the usefulness of the knowledge that I am offering. I think questioning the quality and reasoning behind any lesson is an important quality in a student. Accepting anything without question tends to hinder innovation. But I think that listening in the first place is the most important step and that is the very minimum I will ask of these students in the future.