Episode Details

Hosted by Dr David Keir

Everyone’s talking about it. Everybody wants a mentor. That’s what they’re looking for when they graduate. Who’s your mentor, and are you putting the effort in? This is the dental mentoring sessions podcast by dental Head Start, real world mentoring every fortnight. I’m Dr David Keir, a practice owner, mentor and someone who’s been exactly where you are. The goal of this podcast is to share real world lessons I’ve learned and discussions I’ve had while mentoring my team, but why keep that behind closed doors? We want to help dental students and graduates become great dentists. So we’re turning what we do week in week out into a fortnightly podcast for you all to benefit from. But I don’t claim to know it all. Everything I share comes from years of absorbing information, making mistakes and being mentored by some of the best in the field, and I’ll try to reference those great mentors along the way. If you’re a young dentist wanting to grow and you’re putting the work in, then this is for you.

Key moments

• 0:02:30 – Definition of a mentor: “Someone who supports you along the path you’re already going on”
• 0:04:00 – How to find a mentor: networking, reaching out, being humble
• 0:05:20 – Sponsor mention (Dental Protection Limited)
• 0:06:00 – First key lesson: “The buck stops with you” – taking responsibility for your own growth
• 0:07:30 – Importance of consistent effort in growth
• 0:08:30 – Advice on preparing before asking a mentor for help
• 0:10:01 – Don’t reinvent the wheel immediately, learn fundamentals first
• 0:12:00 – Importance of thinking critically and not blindly following advice
• 0:13:30 – Finding a mentor who aligns with your values
• 0:17:30 – Stay coachable and maintain a humble, open-minded approach

Dental Protection Limited

Dental Protection have proudly been supporting the Dental Head Start podcast since day one! The Dental Protection team under