Community

Community is defined as:

Over the past few months, my thoughts have lingered on what community means to me.

I’m fortunate to be in an environment where I have rare access to a family of maxillofacial prosthodontists (three!). Additionally, I work with other dental and medical folks (specialists, nurses, assistants, etc.) within the hospital field. We are a built-in community - in the sense that our professions bring about an institutional setting where we interact, communicate, and work with one another.

This community is essential to lifelong learning. Having ready access to individuals who share the similar responsibility of providing care fosters an incredibly rich resource of ideas and lessons. I find that some of my most profound learning opportunities occur in the middle of the hallway, where, in the midst of a busy day, I will stop to say “hi” to one of my colleagues only for then the conversation of “how is it going?” leads to an exploration of the human condition. (Ok. that’s a wee bit exaggerated but the gist is that a “hello, what’s up?” can end up being a discussion on the ins and outs of reconstructing an osteolytic fibula and the anterior-posterior spread of the endosseous fixtures to support an interim prosthesis).

What’s also cool is that the world of maxillofacial prosthodontics has also brought me a global community. I find it incredible (even though we are entering the 2nd decade of the 2000s… yikes!) that a simple post on social media or a text message gives me access to those who share, understand, or want to learn about this subspecialty. Connections are made and they are shared. It makes this vast and large world a little smaller and more personal.

I find that community is important to me (and us) because it represents a sense of belonging - a group of individuals who I can call “my people”. The desire to “belong” to something, someone, or someplace is complex as one mustn’t necessarily feel that being a part of a community completes oneself. I’m trying to be conscientious of this because sometimes I feel anxious and stressed because I don’t feel quite as interconnected, not as well known and networked with the community that I feel I need to be a part of. As mentioned in previous posts, the anxiousness and the incurred stress leads to much more self-doubt and loneliness in which I determine that this vulnerability is a weakness.

In continuing to learn about maxillofacial prosthodontics and myself, I am gradually (though far from consistently) understanding that community is meant to make you stronger and not made to make you feel weaker. Community is an ally, an asset to the individual - to encourage and also to support when mistakes are made or feelings are down. In the face of loneliness, when I feel that no one seems to understand what I’m talking about or going through, it is community that brings me closer to others who know or are empathetic to the experiences that many of us are all going through.

There is plenty more to learn and experience as an individual and a member of the community of maxillofacial prosthodontics. As 2019 is ending and a new decade begins, I’ll try to embrace an open-minded sense of community as these aforementioned thoughts really are just the tip of the proverbial iceberg.

But on that note, big thanks to you, reader, for being a part of my and this community. I hope that I can bring connection to you as you do for me.

This post’s lesson: The other Community for those who are planning to veg out over the holidays (with my endorsement!)