Summer 2001

A New Committee

The PCSO would like to officially welcome all new and young members to our constituent society. To address the needs of these young members, the Society has established the New & Young Member Committee.

This committee, currently headed by Dr. John L. McDonald of Salem, OR, is composed of ten member orthodontists, eight of whom have graduated in the last five to seven years. It is the purpose of this committee to interact with the PCSO on behalf of new practitioners.

The committee is currently working on the Young Member Forum for the Annual Session in Hawaii this September. There is a speaker forum scheduled for Sunday afternoon, September 30, from 1 to 3 p.m, followed by a social hour for doctors and spouses.

Lecturers include Mr. Paul Zuelke, who will present a lecture entitled "Build Your Practice with Quality & Control." Ms. Lori Garland Parker will discuss "Orthodontic Reality 101- Initial Steps to Building a Successful Practice; Staff Selection, Management and Training."

During the social hour following the Welcome Forum on Sunday, we will have a sign-up list for those interested in forming new study club with other practitioners in their area. There will also be a raffle of orthodontic products for those who attend. We are looking forward to the Welcome Forum as an opportunity for new members to meet each other and the committee members and share ideas.

We welcome your input and thoughts about future speakers and meeting ideas, as well as practice and business concerns you may have. We are also working on a N&YM page on the PCSO website, so keep your eyes open.

A New Column

In each PCSO Bulletin the N&YM Committee will print a column addressing an issue of interest to those members it represents.

For our inaugural column, I would like to address an area I am sure we are all presently dealing with: debt. As we venture out into practice after years of education and training, most of us are faced with the unavoidable reality of debt repayment. The real problem is where to direct our early cash flow.

On one hand, there is the desire to begin reducing the mountain of education debt that seems to have taken on a life of its own while we weren't looking. On the other hand, we are all aware of the benefits of early retirement investing. Unfortunately, after our monthly bills are paid most of us aren't able to allocate significant funds to both debt reduction and retirement. Which should take precedence? This is a question that each of us must answer for ourselves based on our individual circumstances.

I would like to share with you however some ideas that became known to me recently and may be helpful to other new members. While I am in no way qualified to give financial advice, I think that some of you may benefit from reading an article that was published in the March, 2001 issue of Dental Graduate. Entitled "Investing Early vs. Debt Reduction; A Critical Look at Student Loan Repayment and Asset Accumulation," the article was written by John E. Van Leeuwen, CFP, and Stephen J. Persichetti, DDS, MBA.

This article serves as a good reminder about the power of compounding interest and the benefits of early investing. If you cannot locate this article in your archive or through your local dental school library, you can call the PCSO office at (415) 441-2410 and they will fax a copy to you.

Good luck to all of you as you work on implementing your personal financial plans.

Once again, the New & Young Member Committee looks forward to meeting you and seeing you in Hawaii. Aloha!

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