We get to serve | A message from the Dean

When our patients enter the School of Dentistry on the third floor, many of them encounter a gentleman named Rick Thompson, who serves as the school’s ambassador. Last week, as I was leaving for an appointment, Rick asked me if I had a moment for him to share something about a patient. As Dean, my mind began to prepare for a story of how we didn’t meet a patient’s need. He started by saying he was thankful for being able to work at the school and then expressed the joy he feels when encountering some of our patients.

One was an elderly woman who came in a wheelchair, well dressed. He shared that the first thing he noticed was her extremely long fingernails. While he was transporting her to her appointment, he learned that she was in the Guinness Book of World Records for having the longest fingernails. That same week he met a patient who attended the University of North Dakota; Rick also went there. They learned they attended at the same time, their dorms were next to one another and they both went to the same Glen Campbell concert. He also met one of our patients who was a student at the university when Moos Tower was under construction in the 1970’s and now comes to us for care.

My conversation with Rick reminds me of two important points we should always remember. The first is that when we encounter our patients, we are interacting with them at a specific point in their life, when they have an oral health need for us to resolve. While we are focusing on their oral health needs, we should remember that each patient has a life that is full of events and remarkable accomplishments with rich and special stories. The second is that we have the privilege to serve every patient that comes to us. There are several other providers, clinics and healthcare facilities they could go to for their care, but they choose to come to the School of Dentistry, and we get to care for them. Caring for them is a privilege and we must extend grace and compassion, respecting and honoring their journey through life.

My hope and encouragement is that we treat each of them as the special individual they are.