Lifelong learning – are you seeking it out?

Lifelong learning – are you seeking it out?

28th April 2025

“Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. 

Anyone who keeps learning stays young”

Henry Ford

[Source: The Probe March 2025]

Being a naturally curious person means that lifelong learning is an inevitability. But even without an innate ‘need to know’ about everything, fostering a healthy, positive approach to learning serves you on a number of levels and in different ways throughout life.  Some of it you actively seek and some of it seeks you out!

I love to learn and, equally, I love to teach. The two go hand-in-hand of course and I learn from my students at every stage of their dental careers, whether they are just starting out or are further into their individual pathways and looking to focus more on endodontics. I learned early on that it’s no good only adopting a lecture-style approach, good education combines relaying information and facts and figures with step-by-step understanding and process – culminating in practical immersion in the new things that come your way. This ‘show, explain and do’ method is key to how I work with students and young dentists.

The changing landscape and progression within dentistry is framed by education, whether that’s academically through theory and research; or via technology through cutting-edge equipment and being hands-on. I look for innovation in endodontics – to assess, absorb and share. I ran a workshop in Dubai last month and the delegates’ thirst for endo knowledge was really satisfying. Genuinely, I often wonder how many people love what they do as much as we dentists do?

Inevitably dentistry means we can’t get too involved in the work-from-home trend so we continue to be surrounded by the people who are in this with us – and that’s a great source of perspective and education. Listening to our team, looking at how we can improve together is often the kind of learning that happens within a specific context and seeks us out. The same applies when we’re with patients – taking slightly longer over examinations; asking the right questions; and giving the patient space to think and reply can nearly always teach us something we didn’t know. 

Of course formal training is a fundamental part of being a dentist – through necessary CPD, authentic interest and a desire to develop our skills. Attending lectures, conferences and workshops is a valuable part of our lives and something we should continue to seek out. The social side is quite motivational too!

There are so many things waiting to be learned – and not all of it should be vocational training. Improving our presentation skills, understanding business management, people management and taking care of ourselves physically and mentally – these are all worthy of our time and efforts. Everything ultimately feeds into the improvement pot, even if it’s just 1% each day (see a previous article for more about this concept).

Lifelong learning recharges self-esteem and kickstarts confidence. It does great things for our brains, including helping with memory strength and cognitive functionality. And undertaking new challenges and absorbing new information gives us an immense sense of achievement, propelling us forward to the next challenge.

What are you learning this month? Go seek it out – but let it find you too.