Spotlight - 11.2019

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Fotos: Julie Collins; iStockphoto, TARIK KIZILKAYA; Dirk Freder, molloyketh/iStock.com

Spotlight 11/2019 A DAY IN MY LIFE

i! My name is Bernie Shaw. I was born

in Tyabb, in the Australian state of Vic-

toria. I’m 57 years of age and a dentist for

a small community south of Brisbane.

My day is like this: I wake up around six

o’clock in the morning. The first thing I

need to do is feed my cat, because she’s

very bossy and loves her food. Then I do

some ironing and get myself ready for the

day at my dental surgery.

I’m only a 12-minute drive from work,

so it’s an easy, low-stress trip. I normally

see about 12 patients a day in my surgery.

I always have two helpers with me, two

dental assistants. One does the reception

desk and helps with the admin of the prac-

tice, and the other helps me chairside with

managing patients and treating them.

Most of my patients tend to be in the

older age brackets because I’m in a com-

munity with several retirement homes

and nursing homes around. So I do see

quite a few older patients. We like our

morning tea at our practice, so we always

stop for that and have a little snack. We

talk about the day ahead or things that

have happened personally in our lives.

We’re a small practice with three em-

ployees, and it’s good to help each other

age bracket

[(eIdZ )brÄkIt]

, Altersgruppe

bossy [(bQsi]

, herrschsüchtig

chairside [(tSeEsaId]

, am Behandlungsstuhl

clean [kli:n]

, hier: Zahnreinigung

dental surgery

[)dent&l (s§:dZEri]

, Zahnarztpraxis

elderly [(eldEli]

, älter, betagt

filling [(fIlIN]

, Zahnfüllung, Plombe

flattered [(flÄtEd]

, geschmeichelt

keen: be ~ to do sth.

[ki:n]

, etw. unbedingt tun

wollen

lately [(leItli]

, in letzter Zeit

log cabin [)lQg (kÄbIn]

, Blockhaus-

meticulous [mE(tIkjUlEs]

, sorgfältig, übergenau

molar [(mEUlE]

, Backenzahn

pat: get the ~ [pÄt] ifml.

, hier: Schmuse-

einheiten bekommen

pearly whites

[)p§:li (waIts] ifml.

, Zähne

spoilt [spOI<]

, verwöhnt, verzogen

X-ray [(eks reI]

, Röntgenaufnahme

Caring for

your pearly

whites

Ein Zahnarzt, der seine Katze, gute Bücher

und vor allem Zähne liebt. JULIE COLLINS

spricht mit ihm über seine kleine Praxis und

den Stellenwert, den Liebenswürdigkeit hat.

MEDIUM AUDIO PLUS

A DAY IN MY LIFE

H

get through things. We always take an hour for lunch and I often

use this time to get some admin things done or letters written, or

I write e-mails that need to go out, and also feed myself. So, that’s

a good break during the day.

In the afternoon, I see six or seven patients before I go home at

five o’clock. Today, for example, I’ll be going to see my elderly par-

ents again on the way home to make sure they’re OK and have

a cup of tea with them. Then I go to my little log cabin home.

I love my home — that’s where I do my hobbies and other things

I enjoy. I like reading. I read a bit of psychology, as well as pho-

tography books and novels. I’m reading a novel by Mitch Albom

at the moment called The Five People You Meet in Heaven.

Then I’ll watch a few YouTubes. I’ve been particularly inter-

ested in [Canadian psychologist] Jordan Peterson lately and

have seen some of his YouTube videos. I also enjoy watching

photography and guitar YouTubes — those are my favourites.

Of course, my cat is next to me the whole time getting the pat;

she’s very well looked after and rather spoilt. Then I’ll retire for

the night at about 10 or 10.30.

Besides check-ups, cleans and X-rays, most of my appoint-

ments also involve fillings. I’m meticulous with my fillings, and

I rarely get any complaints from my patients. I’m really proud

of the work I do. I’ve been a dentist for 34 years, so I’m very ex-

perienced at taking out difficult teeth. Today, for example, after

lunch, I did a root canal for a patient. He had a toothache, and we

cleaned out the nerve in his lower molar. He was keen to keep

the tooth, so we did the first part of the root canal. That was a big

appointment, but he’ll be a lot happier tonight. He was in quite a

lot of pain last night and couldn’t sleep because of the toothache.

My favourite part of being a dentist is interacting with my pa-

tients. I like to run a happy practice, and I chat to my patients and

share a little story or two. And occasionally, a patient will have a

joke. That’s the best part: just getting to know people and helping

them in one little aspect of their lives. From time to time, a pa-

tient will bring me a card or flowers, or a chocolate or something.

I’m very flattered by the love and care that some of my patients

show me as their dentist.