What honest question should every dental CE attendee ask themselves before signing up for a course?
If I already have patients who need this advanced procedure, or if I have a clear and specific plan for how I will find them, then this course is an investment. If not, this course is a hobby. The test is simple, brief, and almost never run. Walk into any clinical CE course room and survey the attendees. Few have specific plans for the post-course deployment of the techniques being taught. They are taking the course on the implicit assumption that the credential plus the skill will somehow produce patients. The assumption is wrong, and the test exists to surface it before the funds are committed. The doctor who runs the test honestly and concludes the course is a hobby is not in any moral trouble. They have made an informed choice and budgeted accordingly. The doctor who runs the test, recognizes the answer is hobby, but persuades themselves it is an investment is the one walking into expensive disappointment six months later. The test is the diagnostic. The funds spent before running it are usually misallocated.
If the answers you are finding here resonate with you, my team and I work with a small group of clients each year. The next step is a complimentary Discovery Consultation and Practice Review with Dr. McAnally.
