Guest editorial

Pleasure in duty

Nowadays a dental professional may decide for the many options that our profession can offer, including being a clinician in a private office (as it used to be 20 years ago). I can easily remember dental colleagues working in private companies, as commercial representative, as responsible for marketing, for consulting, for public relations and for product development and research, as storage of stem cells regional representative, besides public offices, as military commander, health centers director, hospitals director, rector.

Has our curriculum of the school of Dentistry changed so much in the past 20 years so that those many colleagues managed to develop the required skills for such functions? I don't think so. In my opinion, the answer can be explained in three major changes: benefits of competitiveness, current development of Brazilian dental companies and better work understanding.

The career decision relies on the labor market. If big cities are saturated with private clinics, we have to differentiate ourselves in this competition. Continue studying is a rule to the one who graduates in the twenty-first century. A post-graduation degree, besides specializing, may stimulate a study wish in other knowledge areas never considered. Moreover, the development of post-graduation in the last years has allowed further post-graduation courses in other areas, such as administration, marketing, production engineering etc., which may be attended by dentists. Having a differentiated curriculum, dentists are the best prepared, often in exams for non-dental private and public companies.

The growth of national market of dental products and the growth of national companies has also contributed to the recruitment of dentists. Many foreign companies are expanding their branches in Brazil. And our national companies go plain sailing.

According to HLCA Human Learning, 78% of people do not like what they work with. If we spend most of the daily time in which we are awaken at work, working in something we do not like is incompatible with a happy life.

Happiness is built little by little throughout life, through our choices.

If today our profession allows us these various possibilities, it is up to us to decide which area of work will make us more complete. And (believe me!) this is regardless of salary. The money comes in the wake of the work.

With the maturity, we believe that we work in order to feel useful and recognized in the society. In order to feel worthy.

At the end of it all, what you have is your dignity!

Guilherme Carpena Lopes
Federal University of Santa Catarina (Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina – UFSC)