Long Term Dental Study Club Relationships: Part 1
Dental study clubs can be incredibly valuable for fostering long-term relationships with other clinicians. Curious what that looks like? Keep reading …
Forty plus years ago, a group of dentists in the Green Bay Wisconsin area had the opportunity to meet Dr. L.D. Pankey. In his presentation and discussion, Dr. Pankey told us one of the secrets to success in life was to become a “perennial sophomore.” This means never stop studying and asking, ‘Why?’
Forming a Pankey-Inspired Study Club
After meeting Dr. Pankey, a number of us took advantage of attending The Pankey Institute. The Institute was, at that time, in downtown Miami in the DuPont Plaza Hotel. We were lucky enough to learn from, and rub shoulders with, other legendary dentists like Loren Anderson, Harold Wirth, Henry Tanner, and Alvin Filastre.
Although our group did not attend The Institute all at the same time, we soon found one another and started a study club. We decided to meet for dinner at The Union Hotel in De Pere, Wisconsin and discuss dentistry once a month during the fall and winter.
This month we celebrated the study club’s thirty-ninth year of existence with dinner at the same hotel dining room where we have met monthly during all that time. Over the years we have all been back at the Institute and celebrated its new venue. We have continued efforts to remain at the forefront of postgraduate dental education and private fee for service care.
Our initial group of about a dozen members has grown smaller as we have aged. We have added a few new members over time and lost some members due to age or illness. In our early years, we invited speakers in and sponsored CE programs in the area.
As we all developed more mature practices and our relationships within the group moved into higher levels of trust, we decided not to try to grow larger. Some may consider that to be self-serving. However, we see our group as having moved from a dental study club to a study club and support group.
We have never given up the goals of continuing to ask ‘why’ and continuing to learn.
To be continued …
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About Author
Dr Shetter attended the University of Detroit Mercy where he received his Doctor of Dental Surgery degree in 1972. He then entered the U. S. Army and provided dental care at Ft Bragg, NC for the 82nd Airborne and Special Forces. In late 1975 he and his wife Jan moved to Menominee, MI and began private practice. He now is the senior doctor in a three doctor small group practice. Dr. Shetter has studied extensively at the Pankey Institute, been co-director of a Seattle Study Club branch in Green Bay WI where he has been a mentor to several dental offices. He has been a speaker for the Seattle Study Club. He has postgraduate training in orthodontics, implant restorative procedures, sedation and sleep disordered breathing. His practice is focused on fee for service, outcomes based dentistry. Marina Cove Consulting LLC is his effort to help other dentists discover emotional and economic success and deliver the highest standard of care they are capable of.
Loved your article, North, and couldn’t be more in agreement regarding study clubs. Thanks for encouraging our colleagues to pursue what we both consider such important part of our growth and joy in dentistry!
BTW, I think you meant Loren Miller and John Anderson being part of the Pankey “legendary dentists”.