Life Advice to Incoming Residents
Compiled by Kisa Iqbal, D.D.S.
The excitement in the room was palpable as I looked around the lecture hall on the first day of residency. My new colleagues from multiple post-graduate specialties were busy in murmur getting to know one another. Years later, I am sure we will look back and reminisce on our first interactions as though it was yesterday.
As we start this new chapter, Dr. Nauman Chatha, a clinical associate professor of Endodontics at Boston University, found the time to share words of encouragement and advice to the incoming residents.
Dr. Iqbal: Looking back now, what would you have told yourself when you were in your residency?
Dr. Chatha: I think the most important thing is finding out who you are and what you want to do before you graduate. You need to ask yourself: Do you want to be a clinician? Do you want be part of academia? Or do you want to be both? Do you want to be an entrepreneur? These are questions that we didn’t ask ourselves. Graduation comes quickly so knowing that in advance can help you plan. For me, I realized that I had the most fun while I was teaching and combined it with working at two different private practices. Once I did that, I felt like everything started falling into place and I finally discovered what I wanted.
Dr. Iqbal: Are there any new projects that you have been working on?
Dr. Chatha: Last March, I started my own continuing education company. It has been a great experience and I had a lot of people reaching out to me asking me about the next event. Education is at the core of my existence, and I felt that I was able to connect with so many great dentists online. COVID brought a lot of challenges but opened opportunities for me that allowed me to connect with the world through Zoom. I lectured at many schools online and now that travel is open, I am getting invited to lecture in person and it has been so rewarding!
Dr. Iqbal: What advice do you have for prospective incoming residents?
Dr. Chatha: Every year, I look for residents that will be better than me; that’s the natural cycle of life. You evolve into somebody who’s a summation of your teachers. For example, when you go to the clinic, you will be learning from eight different faculty members. Naturally, you become the sum of those eight people. I always joke with my students that they are modern day Frankensteins and have the combined knowledge of all of us.
Dr. Iqbal: Why is that so important?
Dr. Chatha: When you go out into the real world and make your mark, you are a direct reflection of your school and your teachers. I encourage all of you to set your targets very high and not to stop growing and learning. I love how every year, DMD students say, “I’m done with the last exam of my life.” In the field of dentistry, it never ends. Your formal education might stop but learning never stops.
Dr. Iqbal: I know you have traveled across the globe. What is something that has struck out to you about humanity?
Dr. Chatha: I realized that human beings are social animals and they like connecting with the rest of the world. Although we may look different, there are so many similarities. Ethical and moral standards are the same everywhere. People know what the right thing to do is in ethical dilemmas involved in dentistry. You know how you should behave as a human being in and outside of your field. It doesn’t matter what language you speak because human beings will find a way to communicate with each other. At the end of the day, you need to create that human connection and concentrate on how we are similar rather than how we are different.
Dr. Iqbal: If you had a phrase that would describe this stage in your life, what would it be?
Dr. Chatha: I always loved the Urdu poem by Allama Iqbal that says, “Elevate yourself to such a height that before any destiny comes to light, God Himself puts you in his sight and asks you, ‘what would you have me write?’” I believe that is how we should all live. You need to find that level in your life where you can write or rewrite your own destiny.
Dr. Nauman R. Chatha is a clinical associate professor at Boston University School of Dental Medicine and lecturer at the Harvard School of Dental Medicine. He is a Diplomate of the American Board of Endodontics and Fellow at The Royal College of Dentists of Canada. Dr. Chatha is a Major in the United States Army Dental Corps. He spends his free time playing guitar and trying different cuisines.
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