This is Mary. Â 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. Â 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. Â 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. Â 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. Â 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. Â 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. Â 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. Â 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. Â She recently became engaged, and her pharmacist fiance has taken a position in Nashville, so she is moving. Â Too bad for us, but good for her. Â Mary has already found her own position as the office manager in a Nashville dental practice. Â 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. Â Thanks for being there when we needed you, Mary, and best of luck!