North Texas Dentistry Volume 9 Issue 3 2019 ISSUE 3 DE | Page 8

On the trip to Guatemala, Dr. McNeill and Dr. Briggs shared their vision
on how they might create a practice that would benefit them both per-
sonally and professionally, while optimizing patient care and helping
their referring offices.
shared values and professional vision. Dr. McNeill notes,
“Watching someone work under less-than-ideal circumstances
is informative and enlightening. I could see that Dr. Briggs has
a servant heart and a natural gift when interacting with patients.
We also worked well together. Meeting everyday challenges is
easy with the right people on the team, and I could tell from our
time there that Dr. Briggs would be a great asset to our practice.”
Dr. Briggs adds, “I could see from his interactions with the local
people, both in the clinic and outside the clinic, how caring and
compassionate Dr. McNeill is. He is very approachable and he
was a great mentor to the students we worked alongside. In the
clinic, I found the team experience to be really satisfying. I enjoy
working collaboratively and having a chance to learn from other
professionals.”
Besides being ideal for the specialists in the group ― an oral sur-
geon, pediatric dentist, orthodontist, endodontists, and peri-
odontist ― this collaborative practice model has important
practical advantages for patients. For example, a patient may
be referred for a root canal, but on examination, an irreparable
fracture is discovered. The surgeon can extract the tooth and
replace it with an implant ― all in one convenient location ―
before returning to the referring office for restoration.
On reflection, Dr. Briggs describes an unexpected insight she
gained during the visit to San Raimundo. “I was surprised how
much I needed the trip. From the outset, I knew I wanted to give
my time to help underserved patients, but I didn’t anticipate
how much I would benefit from what I learned about myself.
For me personally, working at the clinic was a breath of fresh
air. At home, it’s so easy to be caught up in all the ancillary activ-
ities of dentistry – documenting, photographing, coding, billing,
managing, meeting expectations – the things that keep you
busy, but don’t necessarily have to do with direct patient care.
In San Raimundo, I had a chance to return to the things that
drew me to dentistry in the first place. Watching grateful
patients leave with a big smile was immeasurably rewarding.”
Dr. McNeill agreed, saying, “Life gets really busy and you can
easily get too wrapped up in that busyness. This trip was a great
way to reset, and to reaffirm my professional values and mis-
sion. We plan to take the renewed sense of purpose we experi-
enced after the trip into our practice and we are really excited
at the prospect of working side by side with our group members
to provide the best possible patient care.”
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The two doctors share the same goals for their professional
careers. They agreed that they enjoy collaborating with col-
leagues rather than competing with them and are deeply com-
mitted to ensuring that their work is more than just a job. “I
spend a substantial amount of my time at work and I want to
create an intentional professional life that is fulfilling,” notes
Dr. Briggs. “We have the same priorities ― we want to focus on
doing what we do best and to make decisions based on what’s
best for our patients.”
As it turned out, the seven-day job interview was a success for
both Dr. McNeill and Dr. Briggs. Dr. McNeill needed to adjust
to the new demands on his time related to his participation on
the Board of Dental Examiners, and with such closely aligned
values, envisioning a shared practice was easy. “I proposed a
model that merged our practices with other specialists in a
8 NORTH TEXAS DENTISTRY | www.northtexasdentistry.com
The seven-day job interview was a success for both Dr. McNeill and
Dr. Briggs and they look forward to collaborating to provide the best
possible patient care.
shared space to optimize patient care, create a collaborative
environment, and establish a one-stop shop for our referring
dentists.”