Health Services: Dentist
Health Services
Dentist:
Kevin Suehiro
by Mike Yoshiura
He had a dream — And nothing could stand in his way.
"Whatever you want to be in life, I would say just go after it with everything you've got. You can't let your deficiencies stop you," said Kevin Suehiro.
Suehiro, 30, is a Kaneohe native, practicing dentistry at Koolau Family Dentistry for two and a half years now. He graduated from Hawaii Baptist Academy in 1994, and set a goal for himself, seeing his dream all the way through. "When I graduated from high school I knew I wanted to be in the health services field. Throughout my educational career I was never the smartest person, but I set goals and kept pressing at it. You may not get it on your first try, you may not get on your second try, but if you do quit it has to be because you really can't do it. Not because you think you can't."
The Learning Curve
"In the last two and a half years, I found that the biggest thing that I needed to improve on was my communication skills with the patients. I learned a lot from watching Dr. Yim (Kevin's mentor at Koolau Dentistry). He has three young daughters, and he's very magnetic with the kids. It's difficult getting someone to trust you to do an invasive procedure (like a root canal) on them."
Health + Business = Dentistry
"Dentistry is the perfect combination of health and business. You're not being told how to do your job, yet you're still servicing the public, without any restrictions from the insurance companies. You're dealing with the patients one-on-one, and you provide the best possible treatment for them. Basically whatever they want you to do. I like that there's no third party telling you what to do."
A Business Decision
After high school, it was off to the University of Creighton in Nebraska, where Kevin would spend the next eight years of his life. "They have a preferred admissions program, where you go there for undergrad, and if you get competitive grades and test scores, you're almost automatically going to get into the graduate program. It was more like a business decision for me."
SO HOT, HOT, HOT!!
Kevin didn't have to make too many adjustments to campus life in Nebraska. According to him, "The people were really friendly, and the midwestern mentality is very laid back. The weather was something I never got used to. I didn't mind the cold, but the heat, I can't even begin to describe. It's worse than Hawaii. It could be in the 100's and the humidity would be in the high 90's. There was three months out of the year where we were dying. There wasn't much we could do, it was a fact of life."
A Shell Shocker
The biggest adjustment Kevin made in college was getting accustomed to the massive loads of work, and the many hours of studying it took to maintain his grades. "I went to the mainland and was shell shocked. The smartest thing someone told me was to make friends with the smart kids. You may be playing catch up, but you can't let that intimidate you. I would think to myself that I could be the dumbest person in the class or I could be the kid that needs the most help; that was humbling for me."
Yet Another Test
"I actually graduated from Creighton in 2002, but didn't start working until 2004. I didn't pass my Hawaii State Licensing Exam until 2004, which at the time, was my third time taking the test. From 2002-2004, I drove a delivery truck and worked at Mid Pac Country Club. I was a DDS, but since I didn't have my license, I could not practice."
Here's a Hint
"Details are the most important thing in this field. Everything you're doing at that moment is the most important step. Also don't listen to people who are not in a position to give out advice. You can do anything you want in life if you want it bad enough. It has nothing to with talent because if it did, most people wouldn't be in their profession."