1 00:00:00,050 --> 00:00:03,410 Hello everyone. I am Mariah Mohammed with Becker's Hospital Review. 2 00:00:03,580 --> 00:00:06,530 Thank you so much for tuning into the Becker's Healthcare podcast series. 3 00:00:07,100 --> 00:00:10,730 Today I am absolutely pleased to be joined by today's speaker, Dr. 4 00:00:10,950 --> 00:00:13,610 Marvin Berlin, in the world of dentistry, 5 00:00:13,610 --> 00:00:17,570 achieving the prestigious fellowship and mastership awards from the Academy of 6 00:00:17,570 --> 00:00:21,530 General Dentistry, a g d is a remarkable accomplishment. 7 00:00:21,870 --> 00:00:26,410 The Fellowship Award, F a G d, and the Mastership Award, m a g d, 8 00:00:26,790 --> 00:00:30,650 are two of the highest honors bestowed by the Academy of General Dentistry. 9 00:00:31,180 --> 00:00:35,690 These accolades symbolize a dentist's commitment to a lifelong learning and a 10 00:00:35,690 --> 00:00:40,170 dedication to providing the highest standard of patient care. This past July, 11 00:00:40,670 --> 00:00:45,090 Dr. Berlin received his M A G D at the AG D'S 12 00:00:45,090 --> 00:00:49,010 2023 Convocation Ceremony held in Las Vegas. 13 00:00:49,590 --> 00:00:54,370 He joins the podcast today to share his journey in pursuing the F A G D and or M 14 00:00:54,490 --> 00:00:58,930 A G D destination. With that, let's jump into the conversation today. Doctor, 15 00:00:59,110 --> 00:01:01,490 can you please start by sharing a bit about your, uh, 16 00:01:01,490 --> 00:01:04,090 journey into dentistry and how you became interested, 17 00:01:04,140 --> 00:01:06,130 interested in pursuing these accolades? 18 00:01:07,210 --> 00:01:09,310 Uh, thank you. Yeah, you bet. I've been, uh, 19 00:01:09,310 --> 00:01:14,230 practicing dentist since 1989 and uh, literally took my very first, 20 00:01:15,130 --> 00:01:18,630 uh, CE class back in 89. And, uh, 21 00:01:18,810 --> 00:01:23,350 one of the interesting characterizations of that is when we started this 22 00:01:23,350 --> 00:01:26,230 journey, you know, it's just these little eight hour classes, 23 00:01:26,280 --> 00:01:28,910 eight hour classes here and eight hour and all of a sudden they started adding 24 00:01:28,910 --> 00:01:32,430 up, adding up. And the first, I don't know, 10 or 15 years of my career, 25 00:01:32,870 --> 00:01:37,510 I didn't, it wasn't really like I was, that was a goal. Um, 26 00:01:38,290 --> 00:01:43,110 but as I got, it was about year 15, I remember. And, 27 00:01:43,610 --> 00:01:46,510 uh, I saw those hours starting to kind of creep up. I was like, you know, 28 00:01:46,510 --> 00:01:51,310 this is kind of, kind of cool that the a g d keeps track of them for you, 29 00:01:51,310 --> 00:01:55,710 which is really kind of handy. And I would, I would recommend anybody, 30 00:01:55,740 --> 00:01:58,310 make sure you join the A G D 'cause it you, they keep, 31 00:01:58,730 --> 00:02:03,390 you keep track of those hours. Uh, and, but once you start seeing that, hey, 32 00:02:03,390 --> 00:02:06,310 there's, you know, several hundred hours of CE that you've accumulated, 33 00:02:06,540 --> 00:02:10,270 then you start seeing that goal and, you know, you realize, hey, 34 00:02:10,450 --> 00:02:14,070 if I get to 500, uh, I can, you know, uh, 35 00:02:14,070 --> 00:02:16,550 achieve this or at least take the test and move forward with it. 36 00:02:16,610 --> 00:02:21,550 So it wasn't till about halfway through my career that I started getting excited 37 00:02:21,550 --> 00:02:23,790 about it and, and that, but that's how the journey started. 38 00:02:23,930 --> 00:02:26,270 It is just you start taking one class and then it's another, it's another, 39 00:02:26,270 --> 00:02:27,103 and it just builds. 40 00:02:28,480 --> 00:02:29,180 Got it, got it. 41 00:02:29,180 --> 00:02:33,100 Thank you so much for sharing a bit about that background and how you were able 42 00:02:33,100 --> 00:02:36,020 to achieve it. As I said before, and as you know, 43 00:02:36,020 --> 00:02:40,620 achieving the F A G D and or M A G D is undoubtedly a 44 00:02:40,620 --> 00:02:42,020 significant accomplishment. 45 00:02:42,570 --> 00:02:46,060 What were some of the challenges you faced during your journey and what were the 46 00:02:46,060 --> 00:02:47,340 most rewarding aspects? 47 00:02:49,130 --> 00:02:52,550 The biggest challenge, Mariah is, is time away and spec, 48 00:02:52,950 --> 00:02:56,910 specifically time away from your practice, time away from your, your family. Um, 49 00:02:57,730 --> 00:03:02,000 you know, typically you, uh, classes are on a Friday or Friday, Saturday. 50 00:03:02,700 --> 00:03:05,840 Um, and, and if you're open that day, obviously you have to close, 51 00:03:05,850 --> 00:03:09,640 close the place down. And, and, uh, but that was for sure the biggest challenge. 52 00:03:10,220 --> 00:03:12,400 Um, the other challenge, uh, 53 00:03:12,520 --> 00:03:16,160 I would say is just the test that you have to take. 'cause you, 54 00:03:16,160 --> 00:03:17,200 when you get outta dental school, 55 00:03:17,300 --> 00:03:19,560 the last thing you want to do is ever take a test again. 56 00:03:20,100 --> 00:03:24,560 And you have to go back and relearn how to, to, to study. And, uh, 57 00:03:24,700 --> 00:03:26,960 and then once you take the test, you're like, okay, you could have done this. 58 00:03:26,960 --> 00:03:29,480 It wasn't, I mean, you're a dentist, so you should be able to learn this. And, 59 00:03:29,540 --> 00:03:33,880 and, but it was kind of stressful. Um, but other than that, the, 60 00:03:33,940 --> 00:03:38,480 the reward has just been, it's an, it's an ama I don't know one, 61 00:03:38,480 --> 00:03:42,800 it's personal accomplishment that, that you can do it. And when it's, 62 00:03:42,800 --> 00:03:44,920 when with the F H E D, the fellowship award, 63 00:03:45,840 --> 00:03:50,720 I realized that there's only I think six or 7% of dentists worldwide who have it 64 00:03:50,780 --> 00:03:54,360 and have achieved it. You start realizing, hey, you know, if you do this, 65 00:03:54,360 --> 00:03:55,640 this is something that, you know, 66 00:03:55,700 --> 00:03:59,320 you recognize amongst your peers as a leader and you know that, 67 00:03:59,320 --> 00:04:02,000 that that holds weight for sure. And, 68 00:04:02,100 --> 00:04:06,440 and so that became almost like a, a goal in that, okay, I wanna do this. 69 00:04:06,520 --> 00:04:11,080 I wanna be top of the top. And then once you get your F A G D, then it's like, 70 00:04:11,150 --> 00:04:14,680 okay, wait, there's one more pinnacle and and there's Everest step there. 71 00:04:15,100 --> 00:04:15,960 Do you want to go for it? 72 00:04:16,120 --> 00:04:21,120 'cause then it's like 1% of dentists have done that and it, it's just a, 73 00:04:21,590 --> 00:04:22,600 once you set as a goal, 74 00:04:22,600 --> 00:04:26,840 then it becomes baby steps to get it done and you figure out how to do it. But, 75 00:04:27,180 --> 00:04:29,960 uh, it's definitely a challenge, but definitely rewarding as well. 76 00:04:31,840 --> 00:04:32,150 Yeah, 77 00:04:32,150 --> 00:04:37,090 it definitely sounds like the benefits outweigh any of the other side, 78 00:04:37,090 --> 00:04:38,770 which is absolutely great to hear. 79 00:04:39,590 --> 00:04:44,490 How has the knowledge and skills you acquire through the F A G D and or M 80 00:04:44,570 --> 00:04:49,330 A G D journey influenced the way you provide patient care and 81 00:04:49,330 --> 00:04:50,410 manage your dental practice? 82 00:04:51,970 --> 00:04:55,090 You know, multiple ways. It's so much more increased, 83 00:04:55,240 --> 00:05:00,170 obviously if you take 1100 hours to which is the requirement for U M A 84 00:05:00,350 --> 00:05:04,930 gt, actually mine was, I think over 1400 hours. That was what I, uh, 85 00:05:05,030 --> 00:05:09,650 had going into that. You know, there's, that's a lot of education and it's, 86 00:05:10,000 --> 00:05:13,610 it's amazing education that you go through and you realize this is, you know, 87 00:05:13,610 --> 00:05:16,610 every class that you take CE wise, 88 00:05:16,950 --> 00:05:20,730 you're gonna bring at least one or two pearls home to your practice to make you 89 00:05:20,850 --> 00:05:24,130 a bedroom dentist, which is the whole goal of this. And so, uh, 90 00:05:24,130 --> 00:05:27,530 what you realize is that this is not just an award that hey, you, 91 00:05:27,590 --> 00:05:30,290 you hang it up on the wall and, and pat yourself on the back, 92 00:05:30,710 --> 00:05:32,530 but you're actually a better clinician. You're, 93 00:05:32,530 --> 00:05:35,290 you're gonna provide better care. So you're, you're you. 94 00:05:35,290 --> 00:05:39,410 There's so much win-win, win. Everybody wins in this situation because, uh, 95 00:05:39,550 --> 00:05:41,850 you know, you as a clinician are better. Uh, 96 00:05:41,850 --> 00:05:45,370 your patients are gonna receive better care. Your practice, uh, 97 00:05:45,520 --> 00:05:47,810 will be elevated. Uh, your, 98 00:05:47,920 --> 00:05:52,690 your the ability to share knowledge with your team and your coworkers and your 99 00:05:52,690 --> 00:05:56,250 partners or associates goes through the roof because now you can share that. 100 00:05:56,510 --> 00:06:00,640 And I also teach a lot of classes, um, at Heartland Dental. 101 00:06:01,100 --> 00:06:04,880 And this was my ability to, to be a better teacher. Uh, and you know, the, 102 00:06:05,070 --> 00:06:07,920 when you teach, you've gotta learn something backwards and forwards. 103 00:06:07,920 --> 00:06:11,800 And so it really, it was just a, a nice win-win for me all the way around. 104 00:06:12,950 --> 00:06:13,783 That. 105 00:06:14,350 --> 00:06:15,910 Is absolutely wonderful to hear. 106 00:06:16,090 --> 00:06:20,670 And you kind of touched on it a little bit about how you used your time. Um, 107 00:06:20,770 --> 00:06:25,390 but can you provide some insights into how you manage your time effectively and 108 00:06:25,710 --> 00:06:28,670 maintain a successful practice while working towards these destinations? 109 00:06:30,250 --> 00:06:32,190 You know, it's something you have to plan. Um, 110 00:06:32,410 --> 00:06:34,950 and and I basically looked and and realize, okay, 111 00:06:34,950 --> 00:06:38,710 for me to get the hours that I need. And I said, okay, I'm gonna, I'm, 112 00:06:39,260 --> 00:06:41,390 when I started this journey, I said, okay, I wanna do it in, 113 00:06:41,430 --> 00:06:44,950 I wanna do my F A G D in five years. And I said, okay, if I do it in five years, 114 00:06:45,810 --> 00:06:49,310 how many hours do I need a year? Break that down, 115 00:06:49,310 --> 00:06:52,110 how many hours do I need a month? Uh, and then realize, okay, 116 00:06:52,610 --> 00:06:56,910 I'm gonna go to a class every other month or whatever the case may be. And, 117 00:06:57,290 --> 00:06:58,630 and 'cause I had mapped it out, 118 00:06:58,670 --> 00:07:02,270 I mapped it on just kind of set myself as a goal, a time goal. And, 119 00:07:02,450 --> 00:07:04,110 and then it wasn't, um, 120 00:07:05,450 --> 00:07:08,150 it wasn't so much of a bearing on me 'cause I'd kind of planned for it. 121 00:07:08,150 --> 00:07:09,790 I thought, okay, this year, say it was, 122 00:07:10,050 --> 00:07:14,590 say it was year 2018 and I needed to take six classes 123 00:07:14,850 --> 00:07:18,830 or whatever the case may be. I just, it, it wasn't like too much of a challenge. 124 00:07:19,070 --> 00:07:21,750 'cause I'd set that as a goal and let my team know. 125 00:07:22,140 --> 00:07:25,150 I'll let my practice know that, hey, I'm gonna be missing these, these dates. 126 00:07:25,610 --> 00:07:30,230 And, and once you, once you plan it out, it's, it's not too difficult. Uh, but, 127 00:07:30,290 --> 00:07:32,590 but you have, you can't just kind of scatterbrain and do it. 128 00:07:32,590 --> 00:07:36,270 You have to really have a, a plan. And, and that's what we did in our practice. 129 00:07:36,330 --> 00:07:40,990 And, and my team celebrated this with me. This was not just a me thing. 130 00:07:41,170 --> 00:07:45,710 Uh, my practice, uh, McKinney dennis.com, um, was, 131 00:07:45,810 --> 00:07:48,390 was in this with me the long, long way and fact, 132 00:07:48,450 --> 00:07:53,430 my partners now are pursuing their, uh, F A G D and M A G D. So it's, 133 00:07:53,700 --> 00:07:57,590 it's kind of spread throughout my practice. And, uh, it, it's, so it's been, 134 00:07:57,900 --> 00:07:59,630 it's been, like I said, it's been a win-win for, 135 00:07:59,730 --> 00:08:02,550 for all involved because we involved everybody from the get go. 136 00:08:05,920 --> 00:08:06,380 Oh, wow. 137 00:08:06,380 --> 00:08:10,380 That is absolutely amazing to hear how salt they could spread so positively 138 00:08:10,430 --> 00:08:12,500 throughout of practice. Um, 139 00:08:12,840 --> 00:08:17,780 how did Heartland Dental support you in your pursuit of the F A G D M A G 140 00:08:17,820 --> 00:08:18,653 D? 141 00:08:19,510 --> 00:08:22,770 You know, I, I could not have done it without Heartland. It was, um, 142 00:08:23,930 --> 00:08:28,090 I went back and looked at my transcript and probably, probably, uh, 143 00:08:29,870 --> 00:08:34,530 two thirds of my CE was through Heartland Heartland's. Continued education is, 144 00:08:34,590 --> 00:08:39,450 is truly one of the best in, in the industry. And whether it was, 145 00:08:40,350 --> 00:08:43,850 um, cosmetic courses or root canals or surgery or, 146 00:08:44,270 --> 00:08:48,210 or whatever the case may be, you know, Heartland offers everything. 147 00:08:48,270 --> 00:08:51,330 And so I could have take hours here and here, you know, 148 00:08:51,560 --> 00:08:53,770 just almost at will. There was, 149 00:08:53,830 --> 00:08:57,280 if I needed a class in a certain specific subject, Heartland would have it. 150 00:08:57,700 --> 00:09:02,000 And where it really helped out was in my M H E D, because with your M H E D, 151 00:09:02,660 --> 00:09:07,640 uh, you're, you have to have 400 hours hands-on and, which is hard to get. 152 00:09:07,640 --> 00:09:11,520 There's not a lot of hands-on classes at Nationwide. Uh, 153 00:09:11,520 --> 00:09:16,240 whereas Heartland provides hands-on classes and cosmetics and endodontics and 154 00:09:16,240 --> 00:09:18,960 surgery, uh, and implants. 155 00:09:18,960 --> 00:09:23,400 And so there was a lot of my hands-on hours Heartland provided just 156 00:09:23,990 --> 00:09:25,760 from being a Heartland doc. Uh, 157 00:09:25,860 --> 00:09:28,200 the other thing that Heartland really helped us out with, 158 00:09:28,200 --> 00:09:32,320 and this was kind of a nudge, Heartland has a program called the Dental, 159 00:09:32,500 --> 00:09:36,920 the Doctor Mastery Program. And within that Doctor Mastery Program, it's, 160 00:09:37,030 --> 00:09:41,280 it's a way you can kinda separate yourself within Heartland and be a leader 161 00:09:41,280 --> 00:09:45,000 within Heartland, but one of the requirements is that you get your F A G D. 162 00:09:45,000 --> 00:09:48,320 And so that was another, uh, motivating factor for us that, 163 00:09:48,590 --> 00:09:52,400 that was like another carrot at the end of that sixth because it was another 164 00:09:52,710 --> 00:09:57,640 process to, to take that journey just a, a step farther. And, uh, 165 00:09:57,900 --> 00:10:01,760 so Heartland Heartland's been a huge positive support on me, 166 00:10:01,760 --> 00:10:06,040 and I really could not have done my F A G D or for sure my A G D without their 167 00:10:06,040 --> 00:10:06,873 support. 168 00:10:08,530 --> 00:10:11,860 That is absolutely wonderful to hear. Thank you so much for sharing that. 169 00:10:12,560 --> 00:10:15,140 And Doctor, before I let you go, um, 170 00:10:15,320 --> 00:10:20,060 for doctors who are considering embarking on the F A G D M A G D journey, 171 00:10:20,960 --> 00:10:25,020 do you have any advice that you would offer them to navigate the process and 172 00:10:25,020 --> 00:10:27,460 make and make the most of the professional development? 173 00:10:30,020 --> 00:10:34,340 Absolutely, and, and I would encourage every dentist out there to do this. Uh, 174 00:10:34,480 --> 00:10:38,900 it is a, um, fulfilling as, uh, 175 00:10:39,480 --> 00:10:41,500 so much more fulfilling than you can even imagine. 176 00:10:41,920 --> 00:10:45,220 And it's not just those letters after your name, it's really not. It's, 177 00:10:45,370 --> 00:10:47,060 it's the knowledge that you gain. 178 00:10:47,810 --> 00:10:51,940 It's the confidence that you have and your patients see that confidence, uh, 179 00:10:52,090 --> 00:10:56,140 when, when you understand whatever, whatever the, the, the situation may be. 180 00:10:56,160 --> 00:10:58,020 But it's, um, and, 181 00:10:58,040 --> 00:11:01,360 and there is a feeling of, 182 00:11:01,380 --> 00:11:04,400 of recognition amongst your peers that you've, you're, you've, 183 00:11:04,400 --> 00:11:09,320 you've separated yourself as a leader and doctors look up to you and it 184 00:11:09,320 --> 00:11:14,080 just, uh, it's a, it's a good feeling. And, uh, it's good. I, 185 00:11:14,160 --> 00:11:16,480 I would, I would encourage any doctor out there to do it. 186 00:11:16,960 --> 00:11:21,440 I would also encourage them to involve their team. Let this be a team award, 187 00:11:21,440 --> 00:11:24,600 if you will. Uh, but, and let, 'cause they're gonna need to help you through it, 188 00:11:24,660 --> 00:11:28,000 and help you through classes and, and whatever the specific, uh, 189 00:11:28,080 --> 00:11:32,160 requirements that you're gonna need to get. And we celebrate as a team and we, 190 00:11:32,160 --> 00:11:34,640 you know, at both my fellowship and the mastership and, 191 00:11:34,660 --> 00:11:38,000 and then we celebrate it within Heartland. Uh, and so it's, 192 00:11:38,620 --> 00:11:41,560 you make sure it's not just an individual thing, but celebrate it with the team. 193 00:11:41,640 --> 00:11:44,600 I think that was a biggie. And then just do it. Just take these, 194 00:11:45,780 --> 00:11:48,960 see how many hours you need, divide it by, by how many years you wanna do it, 195 00:11:49,020 --> 00:11:53,840 and just make it a, a goal. Um, and, and, and bite-sized little pieces, 196 00:11:53,940 --> 00:11:56,680 if you will, where it's not such a massive goal. Don't look at it as, 197 00:11:56,680 --> 00:11:59,520 oh my gosh, I have to get 1100 hours. But just really start, 198 00:11:59,520 --> 00:12:02,640 just divide it out and do it by it in four or five years. And, and it's doable. 199 00:12:02,910 --> 00:12:06,000 They make it where it's totally doable. And, um, again, 200 00:12:06,040 --> 00:12:09,280 I I couldn't recommend it higher. It's been an awesome honor, and I'm, I'm just, 201 00:12:09,420 --> 00:12:11,640 I'm thrilled, thrilled of the, the journey. 202 00:12:12,890 --> 00:12:15,980 Journey. Yeah, definitely. Well, thank you so much, doctor, 203 00:12:16,200 --> 00:12:19,780 for your time and thought provoking responses today. 204 00:12:20,160 --> 00:12:23,220 We also wanna thank our podcast sponsor Heartland Dental. 205 00:12:23,800 --> 00:12:27,500 You can tune into more podcasts from Becker's Healthcare by visiting our podcast 206 00:12:27,730 --> 00:12:31,660 page at becker's hospital review.com. Thank you again, doctor. 207 00:12:32,630 --> 00:12:33,900 Thank you, Maria. Have a great day.