4 minute read
Aim High
Robert M. Lamb, DDS President of the American College of Dentists
“Aim High” is the Air Force motto. As a retired US Air Force dental officer, I love this motto. It should guide us in everything we do. We should strive for the best. Based on our training and experiences, we can often make some decisions very quickly. The stoplight has turned yellow, and we stop. Some decisions are very difficult. We gather all the facts, we seek guidance from respected mentors, we discuss with close colleagues, and we make decisions based on reason and evidence. We all make difficult decisions for the best of a patient, family member, or ourselves. Board members are fiduciaries, so organizational decisions must always favor the organization and cannot be made for personal gain.
In my President-elect’s speech, I talked about two lifelong friends, Patrick Gray and Justin Skeesuck. Justin had developed a neurologic condition and was wheelchair bound. Justin watched a travel show on the Camino de Santiago Compostela, a 500-mile journey over three mountain ranges. Justin asked Patrick if he wanted to make this journey as a guy’s trip. Patrick replied, “I’ll push you.” Patrick probably didn’t know all the facts or difficulties of this journey. It took 35 days to complete the pilgrimage. Towards the end of the trek, the final mountain pass was very difficult. Patrick and Justin had seen pictures of O Cebreiro and they had thought about taking a lower road, an easier path, but they decided to “Aim High” and take the higher, more difficult journey. They had made friends along the Camino and twelve friends were waiting in the last town before O Cebreiro to assist them on that difficult climb. Patrick, after pushing Justin in a wheelchair (total weight 250 pounds) over rocky trails, up and down steep paths, through mud, made the decision to take the high road over the last mountain pass.
– The Cadet Prayer at the United States Military Academy
Patrick and Justin had a goal higher than themselves. They could have given up anywhere on their journey. They were tired, cold, wet, muscles cramping, facing all types of adversity, but they not only finished what they started, but did so with grace, dignity, and courage. They chose the hard path, but it was the right one for them, inspiring millions of others to do bigger, better, more courageous acts.
Other military services have mottos and sayings that they live by. Over the chapel at the US Naval Academy in Annapolis is the phrase “Non sibi, sed patriae” translated “Not self, but country.” Our mission at the College is to advance excellence, ethics, professionalism, and leadership, not for our gain, but for the betterment of our profession.
Most of our Fellows exemplify this in all they do within our profession as well as in our communities. Taking the high road means to behave morally, even when others do not.
Life can get messy—we often speak of how to better support new dentists. They face the challenges of massive student debt as they start their careers. We encourage and, admittedly, often lecture about staying focused on the future and what is at stake when we fail to make ethical decisions or when fear overtakes moral courage. The Cadet Prayer at the United States Military Academy begins with these words, “Make us to choose the harder right
instead of the easier wrong, and never to be content with a half-truth when the whole can be won.” These are words to live by, and managing relationships when not everyone is committed to the harder right, the bigger vision, and our century-old mission can make things messy.
The College is going through a time of transition, and the Board of Regents is staying focused on the mission, on doing the right thing for the future of the College and profession, and on always taking the high road. Remember—Aim High!
