Restless

I wonder if fellow dentists suffer the same unbearable ennui at work.

I'm sometimes bored to tears at what I do, and that's despite being at what I consider one of the best postings in government service.

The freedom to do things that many of my friends haven't since school days.

And yet, just a little under 2 years, and I think I see almost all I'll be doing for the next 20.

I remember procedures that I used to look forward to. They were mostly Firsts. My First unsupervised LA-Ops, First crowns, First endo molars using new systems. Firsts draw that excitement, the tingle in doing something with an element of the unknown, and that little challenge put to yourself.

After that it's just like re-doing a 5000 piece jigsaw. You've done it, you've seen the outcome, you know you can do it, it's just a matter of time before u get it done. And then it becomes, well, work.

Strange then, that the reward for grasping techniques is the ebbing of interest and the need for new challenges. Something new to learn, to play with, to hone and master.

Maybe that explains the need for courses, new materials, new toys. A new tool tugs at your curiosity, the learning curve is a thrown gauntlet, and you get that sorely missed sense of accomplishment when you try something new and do it well. It's expanding the boundaries and doing things differently that makes you less of a captive within the confines of your job scope.

So friends who enthusiastically recount how reservist training is a refreshing change, you know you're bored. But hey, only another 30 years of work to go.


Photo courtesy of "Tide to Go", used entirely without permission.
Copyright© Ignored 2009