488: The Pathway to Bigger CE - Dr. Steven Vorholt - a podcast by ACT Dental

The Pathway to Bigger CE

Episode #488 with Dr. Steven Vorholt

If you're listening to this podcast, you already know the importance of continuing education. And today, Kirk Behrendt brings in Dr. Steven Vorholt, course instructor from The Pathway, to answer every dentist’s burning question: is bigger CE worth the bigger cost? He shares his journey to explain the benefits of big CE and the mistakes you should avoid as you get started. Start CE early and take it often! For more advice on choosing high-value CE, listen to Episode 488 of The Best Practices Show!

Episode Resources:

• Dr. Vorholt’s website: https://www.stevenvorholtdds.com/
• Dr. Vorholt’s Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vorholt
• Dr. Vorholt’s social media: @vorholtdds
• The Pathway courses: https://www.thepathway.com/courses/course-catalog
• Subscribe to the Best Practices Show Podcast
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Main Takeaways:

CE keeps you from stagnating.

Start big CE as early as possible.

Every successful dentist takes big CE.

Travel for CE to get into a different mindset.

Meet people — the pearls are after the course.

Quotes:

“You cannot do big CE until the office is running well. If you go out and learn something, and then you try to bring that into a ship that's already casting to one side, you're still losing water.” (4:19—4:30)

“When I look at the landscape of dentists that I consider my colleagues and that I want to be around, all of them have taken large continuum CEs, high-value and high-cost. And when you look at people who you might consider really successful in your own local area or maybe in your state, they’ve probably taken big CE. So, it’s not the people who are going to their state dental association to get their 40 hours checked off or doing stuff one webinar at a time to get 40 hours over the year, or the back of a magazine.” (10:17—10:52)

“I [got my 40 hours checked off] the first three years out of school because I thought that's what you did to keep your license active. And that's one of my biggest regrets was, looking back, that I didn't dive in sooner.” (10:53—11:03)

“I'll hear from a lot of young dentists, ‘How can I afford [CE]?’ I don't know if you can afford not to. You've got to think, a $20,000 CE — and there are companies out there that let you finance this stuff too. Like Proceed Finance, it’s a patient finance, will also finance dental CE for the dentist. And there are other companies. And most companies like The Pathway have payment plans and such like that. So, you can work it out on a monthly basis that's comfortable for you. But the jumping off the trampoline of that CE back at your practice is what really counts.” (11:04—11:40)

“When someone says, ‘Is it worth it to spend $20,000 on CE?’ The answer is, well, what's the CE? What's it going to give you?...

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