Step into Your Dental Career with Confidence

Throughout dental school, Dr. Kristen Ramirez always pictured herself in private practice, planning to launch her career near her hometown of Sarasota, FL, where her mom was the office manager for a dentist and close family friend. “But as I got closer to graduation," she shared, "I decided to change it up and explore a different area. I started considering a move to Chicago, where we didn't know any dentists.”

Once in Chicago, she opted to interview with Aspen Dental, initially viewing it as a stepping stone before moving into private practice a few years later.

“I quickly fell in love with everything that Aspen had to offer me,” Dr. Ramirez said. "Seven years later, I'm still here! When I talk with friends who went straight into private practice, it's clear that they didn't have the same support system or experiences that have helped me get to where I am today.” 

Getting in the 'Zone' for Success

Specifically, Dr. Ramirez highlighted the unique learning and development opportunities afforded by Aspen’s revamped New Doctor Journey program, which provides valuable continuing education, mentorship, and support to recent dental school graduates. The program places a strong emphasis on Aspen’s zones for success, which are represented by The Aspen Group's TAG University (TAG U) and its 4 Schools of Excellence: Clinical, Leadership, Business and Operations, and Service and Support.

“To be a strong provider, doctors must be well-rounded in all the different zones,” said Dr. Andrew De La Rosa, Vice President of Clinical Support at Aspen Dental. “Clinical competence is of course extremely important; however, even those who are clinically brilliant but lack strong leadership skills are bound to see failure eventually." 

He continued, "The clinical support team at Aspen Dental has sequenced a tremendous learning journey that sets doctors up for success and addresses anything they may encounter in the early stages of their careers.” Program instruction begins with virtual sessions that cover various tenets of each zone, followed by a week at the TAG Oral Care Center in Chicago. Here, participants reinforce their virtual learning with hands-on, activity-based training.

“I received all the learning and training I needed to feel supported,” Dr. Ramirez said, "including extensive education on clinical procedures such as clear aligners, dentures, and implants. There also are courses about treatment planning and patient management; for example, how to read and manage a schedule and how to be a good team member or leader in your practice—all things you don't necessarily learn in dental school.” 

Achieving Milestones Through Mentorship

Dr. Ramirez added that doctors in the program get matched with more seasoned Aspen Dental providers who help further guide them along in their journey.

“For the first few months, my mentor worked side by side with me," Dr. Ramirez said. "She helped me build confidence, and soon after, I transitioned from an associate to a managing clinical director and running one of her practices by myself."

Dr. Ramirez’s mentorship didn’t stop there. “I found that you don’t have just 1 mentor to help you; you have countless dentists across the organization to learn from, which really helped me get where I wanted to be.”

During his time owning and operating 6 Aspen Dental practices, Dr. De La Rosa mentored over a dozen doctors at once. "It felt like we had our own little family within this huge network," he said. "It was so fun and rewarding watching a doctor who I met right out of school flourishing and buying a practice a couple years later, and then continuing to grow.”

Constant Learning & Growth

Dr. Ramirez shared that she also has benefited from several other Aspen Dental learning and development programs, including Learning to Lead, Pathway to Ownership, Onboarding to Ownership, and the Academy of Leadership.

“I know people say that leaders are born, but I don’t believe that; it takes a lot of time and effort to get to a point where others view you as a good leader,” Dr. Ramirez explained. “These Aspen Dental courses focus on your personal growth—not only as a clinician, but also as a human—making sure you know how to communicate with people properly, recognize your strengths and weaknesses, and gain the self-awareness to make improvements where needed."

Support That Won't Quit

Once doctors reach the point where they’re successful and interested in ownership, that’s a whole new skill set, said Dr. De La Rosa, which is why Aspen Dental offers Pathway to Ownership, followed by Onboarding to Ownership—programs that work together to guide dentists toward taking the next steps into practice ownership.

"Then, once they have a practice they are managing easily, they can expand to a second location—and that unlocks another skill set," he said. "Doctors are never alone on their journey; with each of these programs, we keep pace right alongside them.”