Speaker: Danny Miller, MDA Member - 2010
What is your name and when did you join the MDA?
Danny Miller: Hi, my name is Danny Miller, I'm a pediatric dentist and I first joined the MDA when I was a dental student back in 2010.
What MDA Member benefit or service has been most helpful?
Danny Miller: The MDA Member benefit that has been most beneficial to me has probably also been the most beneficial to you whether you're realizing it or not, and that's advocacy. Advocacy is something that's not necessarily tangible, like a CE-credit or a malpractice policy. However, it's something that will affect us in our career day in day out and even beyond in retirement. And that's something only the MDA and organized dentistry can give you.
Why should your dental colleagues join the MDA?
Danny Miller: Why should you become an MDA Member? One word and that word is advocacy. We are dentists - meaning we are dedicated to delivering high quality patient care on a day to day basis. We don't have the ability to go to Lansing to discuss pending legislation that affects our profession. However, whether I am in Lansing or not, those bills are still going through the halls of Lansing and being discussed. How do I get my voice as a dentist heard? That happens through advocacy. That happens through organizations such as the MDA. The MDA has a great team of individuals that are dedicated on a daily basis to fighting on the behalf of member dentists. They need to be able to walk into these meetings with legislators and say I speak on behalf of 80% of the dentists in the state of Michigan. I speak on behalf of 5,000 member-dentists. Those numbers - that carries weight. That means something in Lansing. However, those numbers are only possible if you become an MDA member. I recommend that you become an MDA member so you can continue delivering high quality care on a day-to-day basis, but also rest assured that someone is fighting on your behalf so you can continue practicing well into the future.
What role has mentorship or other personalized supports from the MDA played in your career growth?
Danny Miller: How has the MDA helped me in my career growth? I can think of a lot of different things but the one that comes to the top of my mind is running an effective meeting. In your practice you're going to run meetings and the goal of that meeting is not to sit there and talk for an hour. The goal of the meeting is to drive results that will help improve your practice. Being a part of the MDA A. I have taken part in meetings and seeing how efficient and smooth they can run and see how quick results can be delivered. I've had the ability to take CE- courses on this topic and even have one-on-one coaching. I've taken those skills back to the practice to help run my meetings. In our meetings you may have people falling down rabbit holes in discussion. You may have debate that doesn't end. You may even have debate that turns a little unprofessional. In order to keep that meeting moving and drive results, you need to be able to steer the ship and run an effective meeting. And that's what I learned at the MDA.
