The Lifelong Learner or the Learning Dodger?

I started using the term ‘Learning Dodger’ a few years ago when I began to notice a pattern among some dental professionals. They weren’t disengaged entirely, and they weren’t necessarily poor clinicians, but something was missing. They avoided growth opportunities, skipped over new ideas, and resisted updating their knowledge. I didn’t know what to call it at first, but the phrase dodging learning seemed to fit.

It’s also a concept I wrestle with personally. As someone currently completing a BA in Adult Education, I can’t get enough of learning, I’m always looking forward to my next “educational fix.” For me, growth feels energizing, not exhausting. So when I encounter professionals dodging learning, I find myself both curious and concerned. Why would someone resist something that fuels so much professional pride and purpose?

Dentistry and dental hygiene are professions rooted in science, technology, and evidence-based care. From infection prevention to new perio classifications, change is constant. Most dental professionals proudly identify as lifelong learners; it’s part of our culture and even our regulatory framework. Continuing education hours, competency assessments, and peer-to-peer calibration sessions all reinforce that ongoing learning is not optional. But what happens when a professional quietly resists? Enter the Dodger.

Who Is the “Learning Dodger”?

A Learning Dodger isn’t someone who lacks access to CE, or who has fallen behind due to circumstances. Instead, this is the professional who actively avoids growth opportunities. They attend only the minimum required courses, dismiss new protocols as “trends,” and lean heavily on “how we’ve always done it.”

This isn’t about lack of intelligence or skill. It’s about a mindset. Dodging learning is often fueled by:

• Complacency : Confidence that what worked yesterday is good enough for today
• Fear : Anxiety about not keeping up, being “exposed,” or making mistakes with new methods
• Identity conflict : Seeing oneself as fully trained, rather than always in training
• Workplace culture : Environments where ongoing education isn’t celebrated, but rather seen as a burden

At its core, dodging learning is a form of self-sabotage. By choosing not to grow, professionals unintentionally limit their own opportunities, weaken their competence, and risk eroding the trust they’ve built with colleagues and clients.

Why Do We Learn as Dental Professionals?

At its best, learning in dentistry isn’t just about fulfilling a requirement. We learn because:

• Client care demands it : Evidence-based practice is the foundation of safe, effective treatment
• Our science never stands still : New technologies, new classifications, and new evidence mean yesterday’s knowledge may not serve today’s patient
• Professional pride : Growth deepens our confidence, credibility, and professional identity
• Human curiosity : We entered this profession with curiosity about health, science, and people, and learning feeds that original spark

Yet some professionals only fully re-engage in learning when required to submit to a Quality Assurance (QA) program with their regulatory body. For these individuals, learning becomes a checkbox exercise rather than a continuous journey. It can feel reactive instead of proactive, motivated by accountability rather than inspiration.

The challenge is to shift from “learning for compliance” to “learning for competence and passion.” That requires finding the spark again, reconnecting with the moments that made us curious in the first place, a mentor who challenged us, a client case that stretched us, or a new technology that excited us.

Lifelong learning isn’t about filling a CE log, it’s about re-grounding ourselves in why we do this work, because it matters, because people rely on us, and because being a clinician is also being a learner.

Why Do Dental Professionals Dodge Learning?

Not all Dodging is rooted in stubbornness or resistance. Sometimes, it’s a response to deeper pressures within the profession.

• Burnout : Dentistry and dental hygiene are physically demanding, emotionally taxing, and often time pressured. When a clinician is drained, the idea of another course or new guideline can feel like “one more burden.” Dodging in this sense may be more about self-preservation than neglect
• Overwhelm : The sheer volume of CE opportunities can leave professionals paralyzed, unsure of where to start or which programs matter most
• Financial strain : While many CE opportunities are covered or affordable, others require travel, tuition, or time away from work, making them feel inaccessible
• Workplace culture : Teams that don’t support learning, or leaders who see CE only as a box to check, can unintentionally discourage genuine growth
• Identity fatigue : After years in practice, some professionals feel they’ve “earned their stripes” and resist the vulnerability of being a learner again

Importantly, Dodging isn’t always permanent. Many of us move in and out of it across our careers. A season of heavy personal commitments, health challenges, or professional disillusionment may pull us away from growth temporarily. Later, curiosity, new technology, or a supportive mentor might pull us back in. Recognizing this ebb and flow matters. Instead of labeling someone as a Dodger for life, we can see Dodging as a phase, one that can be understood, supported, and shifted with the right encouragement.

The Leadership Dodger: When Culture Shapes Learning

Dodging isn’t always an individual choice, it can also be a reflection of leadership. A ‘Leadership Dodger’ is someone in a position of influence (owner, manager, lead clinician, or even a faculty member) who minimizes or dismisses learning, sending a message that growth isn’t valued.

Ways a Leadership Dodger shapes the culture:

• Minimizing CE : Treating courses as “check-the-box” obligations instead of real opportunities for growth
• Discouraging curiosity : Responding with “that’s not how we do it here” when team members suggest new ideas
• Blocking investment : Refusing to fund CE, calibration sessions, or updated equipment, leaving staff unable to apply new knowledge
• Modeling avoidance : When leaders themselves skip CE or show disinterest, they normalize dodging for the rest of the team
• Creating fear : Leaders who punish mistakes or shut down questions can push team members into silence instead of growth

The result? Even professionals who want to learn may start dodging, not because they lack curiosity, but because the environment makes learning feel unsafe, unsupported, or futile. In contrast, a Learning Leader fosters curiosity, builds safe spaces to try new techniques, and celebrates team development. Leadership that champions education doesn’t just build competence; it builds confidence and trust across the whole dental team. This raises an important point: sometimes, a Dodger is made, not born. When leaders downplay growth, they unintentionally create more Dodgers in the profession.

When Education Itself Creates Dodgers

Not all Dodging comes from within the professional or the workplace. Sometimes, it’s the continuing education environment itself that drives learners away. Educational leaders and instructors hold tremendous power in shaping whether learning feels safe and inspiring, or intimidating and discouraging. Unfortunately, CE is not always delivered in ways that invite participation and growth. Some educators create an atmosphere where:

• Fear overshadows curiosity : Learners feel judged, belittled, or embarrassed for asking questions
• Success feels unattainable : Content is presented at a pace, depth, or tone that makes participants feel like they’ll never “catch up”
• Mistakes are punished, not reframed : Rather than being opportunities for growth, errors are spotlighted in ways that breed shame
• Competition replaces collaboration : Learners are set against one another, eroding the sense of community that fuels professional growth

I can remember this clearly because it happened to me. About 20 years ago, my sister and I, both RDHs, attended a CE lecture together. The presenter spent the entire session instilling fear about meeting the standards of practice. Instead of empowering us with strategies, tools, or solutions to achieve those standards, the message was one of intimidation.

In our experience, that lecture lacked empathy. It left us feeling small rather than capable. My sister turned to me and said, “That’s why you need to start teaching, you get it!” That moment planted a seed. It showed me that education without empathy creates more fear than growth, and it pushed me to step into teaching with a different mindset, one rooted in compassion, practicality, and respect for the learner.

Looking back, I see how easily that type of delivery could push professionals into Dodging, not because they don’t care, but because learning feels overwhelming and unsafe.

The Flip Side: Inspiring CE Leadership

Educational leaders also have the power to do the opposite, to spark passion, ignite curiosity, and make learning contagious. The most effective CE delivery creates environments where:

• Questions are celebrated as a sign of engagement and critical thinking
• Success feels unattainable through clear explanations, scaffolded learning, and supportive pacing
• Mistakes are reframed as valuable learning opportunities, reinforcing that vulnerability leads to growth
• Collaboration is prioritized, reminding us that we learn best in community, not in isolation

When CE is delivered this way, clinicians walk away not only with new knowledge but also with renewed confidence and excitement. Instead of Dodging, they lean in, ready for their next educational challenge.

Why Dodging Learning Is Risky

In health care, standing still is actually moving backwards. Knowledge gaps widen quickly when technology, research, and regulatory standards evolve. A Dodger risks:

• Competence drift : Small errors accumulate, leading to significant lapses in safe and effective care
• Isolation : Colleagues engaged in learning move ahead, leaving the Dodger behind in team calibration
• Erosion of trust : Clients and peers sense when a clinician is out of date

And perhaps most importantly, dodging learning undermines the professional themselves. It limits future opportunities, diminishes confidence, and erodes the joy of practice. It is, in essence, self-sabotage.

Flipping the Script: From Dodger to Learner

The good news? Dodging isn’t a permanent identity, it’s a behavior. Here are ways to re-engage:

• Micro-learning : Short bursts of education, an article, podcast, or case discussion, make growth less overwhelming
• Creative learning activities : Peer study clubs, calibration labs, or even teaching others can reignite curiosity
• Safe spaces for vulnerability : Normalizing that no one knows it all encourages openness to learn
• Finding the spark : Revisit the passion that drew you into this profession. That spark, helping a client smile without pain, teaching prevention, or mastering a skill, can reignite motivation to keep growing
• Tying learning to purpose : Reconnecting with why we entered dental care, better outcomes, healthier communities, reminds us that growth is service, not obligation

A Call to the Profession

Every RDH, dentist, CDA, or dental therapist is part of dentistry’s learning culture. But capturing the idea of the Dodger gives us language to recognize when learning is being set aside. Naming it isn’t about blame, it’s about awareness. By noticing these patterns, we can support one another back into growth, protect our collective competence, strengthen patient care, and elevate the identity of our profession.

For me, this conversation is more than professional, it’s personal. As I work toward completing my BA in Adult Education, I find myself constantly energized by new ideas, new connections, and new ways of thinking. I can’t wait for my next “educational fix.” My hope is that more dental professionals rediscover that same spark, not because they have to for QA, but because they want to for themselves, their clients, and the profession we share.

Because in dentistry, learning isn’t just continuing education, it’s continuing excellence.

Michelle

Michelle Aubé (Simmonds) RDH, maxill Dental Hygiene Educator

Michelle is a Dental Hygiene Speaker, Consultant and Educator with over 30 years of experience as a RDH and 4 years as a CDA. She is a professor and curriculum writer at Fanshawe College in both the dental hygiene and continuing education program sharing her knowledge in IPAC, professional practice, periodontal classification, social justice, advocacy and clinical applications. She is maxill's CE and IPAC Director and wears various IPAC hats including auditing federal correctional facilities dental clinics for IPAC standards. Michelle is ODHA's Regional Board Director and authors articles for CDHA's OH Canada professional publication and continues to practice clinically in London ON. She is a CDHO IPAC Remedial Facilitator and IPAC Expert Opinion. Her strong ethics has allowed her to serve on the Discipline Committee at Algonquin College and hold the position of a CDHO Quality Assurance Assessor for 7 years. As a lifelong learner she is completing a BA in Adult Education at Brock University. Her diverse dental background and current status as a practicing RDH offer a fulsome and realistic view of dental-related topics. As a passionate champion for the profession, she advocates for equity, professional autonomy, and systemic change, true grassroots leadership at its finest.

Michelle can be reached at [email protected]