The Difficulty in Being Different

In today’s newsletter, I am going to take a break from clinical content and share a recent experience that I had as a full-arch educator. This particular situation was one that was initially difficult for me to process. After some time of reflection, I would like to share what I have learned and how my experience may help you in your full-arch journey.

Last fall I had the honor of being able to lecture at AAOMS (American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons) as a part of our annual meeting.

My lecture was titled:

How to Cut a Quality Full-Arch Case in 60 Minutes or Less

This was my first time lecturing at AAOMS, as well as to an entire audience of OMFS colleagues. As such, I put a great deal of time and effort into creating my presentation.

I didn’t, and still don’t feel, that there has ever been a lecture quite like it – a full-arch presentation entirely focused on a multitude of efficiency techniques aimed at helping OMFS’s significantly improve full-arch efficiency in their office.

While this lecture was 9 months ago, I recently received the “feedback” provided by attendees. The vast majority of the evaluations were positive, with some being very kind, complimentary, and impressed by the lecture content. However, roughly 15% of the feedback was very, very negative, with quite honestly some very rude and unprofessional things said anonymously.

Initially, after reading some of the negative comments, I got pretty down on myself. I was also quite shocked that professional OMFS colleagues would say some of these things.

Constructive feedback is a welcomed part of the lecture process, as well as learning and growth in general. Unprofessional and inconsiderate comments toward someone taking the time to share knowledge (as an unpaid lecturer), however, really frustrated me.

After re-reading the negative reviews and comments, however, I realized that there was a distinct and clear pattern:

It was felt that what I was lecturing on was not possible.

What I was teaching was so different than what had been taught in the past, that it was quite honestly difficult to believe.

There was a persistent disbelief and skepticism in what I was teaching:

“We all can consistently cut a full-arch case in an hour or less.”

And, nonetheless, that it could be done at a high level – freehand – without the use of a traditional guide.

A few of the negative comments were, “horrible and stupid and the speaker has no good pearls to offer”, “a waste of time”, “nonsense”, “this is for residents but not practicing surgeons”, “skeptical”, and “an inflated ego”. An additional comment stated that the lecture was “nice” but that in the real world it’s not realistic.

As you can imagine, I glossed right over ALL the positive comments and ONLY focused on these negative comments. This was obviously a mistake.

Nonetheless, after thinking about these comments for some time, as well as talking with my mentor (always have a mentor), I found a sense of peace.

I realized a few things:

1. There is never going to be a scenario where everyone agrees with me.

It’s just not going to happen. And that’s ok. And quite honestly, that’s healthy.

It’s absolutely ok if some people aren’t on board with what I’m doing, how I’m operating, or what I’m teaching. But if I believe in it – then I’m going to keep doing it.

I need to worry less about what other people think – and more about what I think.

2. All of us, myself included, tend to want to avoid that which we don’t know or don’t understand.

It’s difficult to be different.

This goes for all facets of life. And I have to admit that I have felt this way in life and in surgery. I am not immune to this tendency.

We should all remind ourselves that just because something is different than what we know or are used to – does not mean it is wrong. It doesn’t mean it’s right – but it does not automatically mean it’s wrong.

3. I’m the first to admit that there is more than one way to effectively perform this surgery.

I have always advocated this – and I believe it to be true.

I teach how I perform this surgery.

It is very effective in my hands, but others may cut their arches differently – and that is 100% ok.

4. After getting over feeling sorry for myself…I realized that these negative comments were actually exactly what I wanted to hear!

If everyone had simply said – “nice lecture” – this would inherently mean that I was not teaching anything others hadn’t already heard.

I wanted to be different.

I wanted to teach something new and I felt that I had something of value that hadn’t yet been taught before.

The fact that it had some shock factor and was not believable to some – proved to me that I was on the cutting edge.

These reactions validated that I do in fact have something of value to teach and share.

Not everyone operating knows or understands these concepts and that is why I write and lecture – to help share what I have learned so that others can learn faster and sooner in their careers.

Those of you who are out there cutting arches, working to be better, learning constantly – we should all be proud of what we do and know that we are in fact the “tip of the spear” of an exciting surgery.

It can be difficult being different.

But that’s ok. This reminds us that we are doing something exciting and worthwhile.

I felt the need to share this experience and this encouragement with you today.

Congrats to all of you full-arch surgeons out there for pushing the envelope and being different.

Cheers to perseverance and vision.

Keep up the hard work!

Keep being different!

I know that I inherently focused on the negative comments regarding my lecture. However, the vast majority of feedback was very kind and positive and I’m thankful to those who took the time to write a kind word and/or a thought of constructive criticism. I especially was thankful for any thoughtful constructive criticism, as I want to continue to improve my ability to teach.

As long as I know that I am helping others get better I will keep teaching and writing.

When I feel I have nothing left to offer – that’s when I will stop.

Anonymous Comment:

“Thank you for sharing your techniques and knowledge of how to make full-arch surgery more efficient. This presentation was the best one in the entire on demand section and I will implement as many of your techniques as possible and as soon as possible.”

“You’ll stop worrying what others think about you when you realize how seldom they do.”

David Foster Wallace

Q & A with Dr. K