Why do you attend so much continuing education?

In the last 12 months  I have participated in a great deal of continuing education; probably I spent in excess of 90 hours attending courses, watching videos and participating in study clubs.  I have learned a lot and probably have become a  better dentist as a result of my participation. Sometimes participating  makes me uncomfortable because even though I consider myself a competent dentist, with high standards, it is clear that dentistry has many aspects and there are many great dentists, some of whom are better at certain aspects than me!

While attending  continuing ed courses,  I sometimes experience an emotional rollercoaster. First. I want to find fault with them. Why are they doing their procedures that way? Its different than the tried and true way I normally do it!  As I continue to watch , and see their results,  I may start re-evaluating my procedures.... maybe I should make some changes?... At breaks I invariably find other dentists to discuss the presentation. What do they think? By the end of the presentation I usually have decided to make some minor changes in a treatment protocol. I probably won't do everything exactly the way the presenter does, but usually I can take home some information that will allow me to make some changes that will result in improvements in  treatments for my patients.

I wonder how did  others  feel when they first read Einstein's Theory of Relativity? It couldn't be true!  Initially it was not accepted and  probably many were  upset, but as time went on scientists accepted his theory.

I often feel this way when attending my courses.  Even though they can make me initially uncomfortable, I am sometimes forced to  re-evaluate my procedures and  this tends to make me a better dentist. I am excellent at what I do, but there is always room for improvement.  Keeping this in mind is what we as dentists need to motivate ourselves and not become complacent. I try to remain  open to new ideas  and make small improvements after attending a educational seminar.  Really good continuing education is a terrific way to stimulate us to continued improvement, no matter what skill level we currently are at .