Having a really hard time training

We all have these days, don't let it get you down. Even now after 5 years of DN I work with dentists who, no matter how great you are doing will always find a fault or a negative to point out. You become very thick skinned within dental nursing!!

Stay strong, and firm... Just because you are training you do not need to allow anyone to embarrass you or ruin your day. As long as you are trying your best the rest will follow. If a colleague is ever rude I politely ask them not to do that again and instead show me how to improve or how they would like things done.

Shadowing is a very good way of learning how a dentist likes things done, make notes and pointers for when it is your turn. That way you can impress them and it feels so good when you get one step ahead of them especially if they are usually very difficult or picky

However my one piece of advice is to be strong. You are just as important in that surgery as the dentist and neither of you can complete your jobs without the other. mutual respect is a must!!

Don't give up!!! just ask for some help. Maybe ask to shadow one of the other nurses and see what they do. Say to the dentist that you are nervous and will he mind just giving you a few tips on positioning the aspirator. I promise it will all click into place. Good luck x

Hi, I am new to dental nursing and have just started as a trainee dental nurse 4 weeks ago. I am 22 and left my previous long term job to start this apprenticeship with the hopes of it helping me eventually study dental hygiene or dentistry, however I am having a really difficult time

The dentist I am working with is really difficult with me and I don't feel like i get much support or help from the nurse. Today he embarrased me in front of a patient when I was suctioning and kept purposely hitting the aspirator with the drill and saying 'you are in my way' over and over again so eventually I asked if he could just show me where he would like me to place it, he then got stroppy and when the patient left he told me not to dare ask a question during treatment again. This on top of other things that he has said/done all got on top of me and i ended up uncontrollably crying and feeling lots of regret for leaving my old job and my old colleagues, I then had to ask to leave early with a migraine as I just had to get out.

So my question is, did anyone else experience this during their training? How did you deal with this?

I consider myself quite a strong person so I'm disappointed that I let myself get upset over this. It doesn't help that all the girls that work in the surgery have worked together for years so I dont really feel like I fit in or feel very welcome. I am now thinking of quitting and starting an access course instead as I am loosing motivation already, and being paid £3.30 apprenticeship wage doesnt help either. Thanks for any advice x