This is Mary. She came to our rescue several times as a fill-in assistant over the last 6 months when we experienced a few growing pains during the re-expansion of our practice. A former figure-skater with a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of Alabama, Birmingham (my dental alma mater!), she was also licensed to practice dental assisting and dental hygiene in that state. Our paths crossed when she answered a posting for our Hygiene Scheduler position, which was ultimately assumed by Valerie, but I knew from her resume that there was a skill set there that might be useful to us if the stars should align. And they did, for a little while.
Mary answered a short-notice phone call–okay, it was more of a grown man crying–from me one Monday morning when a staff member called in sick. Instead of re-scheduling many patients, I took a chance that Mary, if available, could come pitch in and help keep things rolling along smoothly. She showed up (I could’ve swore she was wearing a white hat) and immediately made a positive impact on a day that could have become very stressful. No one really told her what to do; from her experience, she just intuitively knew where to pitch in, and conscientiously looked for other areas to help. She became an on-call fill-in for us, and has quickly become a valuable adjunct member of our staff.
I knew we couldn’t let someone like this get away, but life had other plans for Mary. She recently became engaged, and her pharmacist fiance has taken a position in Nashville, so she is moving. Too bad for us, but good for her. Mary has already found her own position as the office manager in a Nashville dental practice. They don’t fully know yet what they’re getting, but once they figure it out, they will be so proud of themselves for taking a chance on this diminutive, hockey-loving, figure-skating, craft beer aficionado from Alabama. Thanks for being there when we needed you, Mary, and best of luck!