Study clubs share their secrets of success

Abstract

F or me, the classic model of a successful professional study club is Rotary International (www. rotary.org). The Rotary Club of Chicago was formed in 1905 by Paul Harris, an attorney who wished to capture in a professional club the same friendly spirit he had felt in the small towns of his youth. Today, 1.2 million Rotarians belong to over 32,000 Rotary Clubs in more than 200 countries and geographical areas. The Rotary name derived from the early practice of rotating meetings among members’ offices, a feature shared by many orthodontic study clubs today. Successful orthodontic study clubs start with a committed group of orthodontists who agree to meet regularly with their peers, often with a specific goal in mind. For Dr Heather Woloshyn (Auburn, Wash), the goal was ‘‘to share the challenges of starting a practice—such as developing employee manuals, evaluating computer program vendors, and planning treatment for difficult cases.’’ Others will tell you that it goes even further than that. Talking with current members of successful study clubs, I found that they share many traits. Historically, most study clubs had rather modest beginnings, but, with strong leadership, they can evolve into large organizations with lofty goals. In 1946, the Charles H. Tweed Orthodontic Group of Texas (the ‘‘Texas Tweed’’) had 7 members; today, the Texas Orthodontic Study Club (txorthostudyclub.com) has 147 members and 73 active associate guests. In Arizona, orthodontists met informally as early as 1943, often combined with hunting and camping trips but always with plaster study models present; their meetings became more formal when the Arizona Orthodontic Study Group (www.azortho studygroup.com) was established. When asked about reasons for their success, Bill Gaylord (Flagstaff, Ariz) noted, ‘‘In my mind, success was directly related to goals originally set up by the members. They were designed to help members prepare for board certification, which required potential members to show cases. A side effect was enhanced communication among orthodontists throughout the state. It has