The Importance of Enjoying Your Job.
Working as a Dental Nurse can be very difficult. Working in surgery can often be very hectic and running behind can become a regular occurrence in a lot of Practices. The mad dash of sterilising instruments, disinfecting worktops and setting up instruments and equipment in between patients can quickly become frustrating and demoralising. Team this with the odd patient complaining about their wait and another not bothering to acknowledge you because you "are only the Dental Nurse" and it is very easy to spiral into a miserable day in day out mind-set.
But that is not what we as Dental Nurses should be simply accepting as our role- especially in this day of age. The potential to grow and develop our careers has never been higher. We must remember that we are registered Dental Care Professionals and we have a purpose- to give the ultimate in patient care and assist the Dentist in every way we can. The days of sitting aspirating, looking pretty are over. We are capable of doing so much more.
In order to get the most from our jobs we need to make sure we.........
Know our stuff!
In other words, we must know the ins and outs of our profession and keep up to date with all the latest developments. Have you ever been assisting the Dentist or Dental Surgeon and felt nervous because you were unsure of what came next? How much better would you feel, confidently passing them their next instrument without them having to ask? Knowledge and confidence is the key to being happy at work. If you feel like there are areas you can improve on at work or treatments/materials that you could learn more about, then ask your Dentist or Practice Manager for a training session. Not only will you impress them by being proactive but you will also be doing yourself a big favour by developing your skills and knowledge.
There are certain types of Dental Nursing that require complete knowledge and understanding, such as Implant and Orthodontic Nursing. Unfortunately with Implant Nursing there are a lot of Dental Nurses that have not received adequate training and feel out of their depth when assisting the Dentist. There are courses that Nurses can go on in order to work efficiently as an Implant Nurse, basic and advanced. In order to feel as confident as possible when Implant Nursing, there are a few things that you should know:
• The Implant System that is used in your Practice. E.g. Astra Tech, 3i, Straumann. You need to be able to inform and educate your patients on your Implant System. Patients are a lot more knowledgeable these days with so much information readily available on the internet- if they phone up enquiring about Implants or come for a Consultation, they WILL expect you to know. It would also be a poor reflection on your practice if members of the team were uneducated in such a popular treatment.
• How to set up and close the surgery, the procedure from start to finish and the pros and cons of the treatment.
• The type of restorations that can be fixed to the Implants. e.g. Crowns, Bridges, Dentures.
• Basic knowledge of patient criteria. e.g. the success rate of Implants falls if the patient smokes or is diabetic and there needs to be sufficient bone present in order to place the Implant.
Similarly to Implants, Short Term Orthodontics (STO) is now becoming more popular. Invisalign, 6 Month Smiles, Inman Aligner and Clearstep are all examples of STO treatments that are in demand.
Again, if your Dentist offers these treatments and you feel unsure as to what they do and how they work, ask! You must be able to inform patients and explain the treatments if you are asked and if you are promoting these treatments in your Practice, you WILL be asked at some point by at least one patient.
Keep our CPD updated!
There are new developments in Dentistry all the time and in order to be the best we can be, we should all be keeping up to date. Signing up to dental magazines, regularly viewing dental websites/blogs is a great way to keep yourself in the know. We all need to be keeping on top of our Continuing Professional Development (CPD) and by attending courses and undergoing further training, this can be achieved quite easily. You can also count reading educational material as CPD.
Being a Dental Nurse armed with knowledge you are not only empowering yourself, you are making yourself a valued, respected member of the team- which should mean enjoyable, productive and successful job roles.
Respect yourself and speak up!
Most Dental Nurses have experienced some form of verbal abuse whether it be a grumpy Dentist snapping at us in the surgery or maybe a conflict with another team member- even an unpleasant patient giving us a hard time over the phone. Do not accept this. We are all qualified and registered Dental Care Professionals (or training to be) and we deserve respect for what we do. It is very easy to feel intimidated or insignificant at work but we play such an important role in Dentistry and we must remember this. If you feel you are being disrespected in some way, voice your concerns with the person making you feel this way and if that fails, report this to the Practice Manager. If it is the Dentist or Practice Manager causing you to be unhappy, ask for a meeting to be arranged so you can sit down and explain the way they are behaving is making you unhappy at work. By doing this, you are showing that you will not stand for being treated with disrespect and you will instantly win respect and understanding for behaving in such a mature, professional manner. If a patient disrespects you, calmly but firmly explain that you will not tolerate being spoken to in that way.
The steps to take if you are greatly unhappy at work.
• Make a list of everything that is bothering you. This could be conflict with a colleague, an issue with wages, your workload etc. Arrange a meeting and voice your concerns.
• Seek advice. If you feel that speaking to your manager has not worked then there are people you can speak to. If you are a Dental Nurse in training, speak to your tutor/assessor and explain the situation. They will either help you by stepping in and speaking to your manager directly or find you another workplace. If you are a qualified, registered Dental Nurse then the Citizens Advice Bureau may be able to help.
• Look for another job. Send out copies of your CV to Dental Practices that you would be interested in working at. Keep an ear to the ground and browse through recruitment websites and also Dental Nursing websites/magazines. There are always opportunities for Dental Nurses.
Working as a Dental Nurse can be very difficult. Working in surgery can often be very hectic and running behind can become a regular occurrence in a lot of Practices. The mad dash of sterilising instruments, disinfecting worktops and setting up instruments and equipment in between patients can quickly become frustrating and demoralising.Team this with the odd patient complaining about their wait and another not bothering to acknowledge you because you "are only the Dental Nurse" and it is very easy to spiral into a miserable day in day out mind-set.
But that is not what we as Dental Nurses should be simply accepting as our role- especially in this day of age. The potential to grow and develop our careers has never been higher. We must remember that we are registered Dental Care Professionals and we have a purpose- to give the ultimate in patient care and assist the Dentist in every way we can. The days of sitting aspirating, looking pretty are over. We are capable of doing so much more.
In order to get the most from our jobs we need to make sure we.........
Know our stuff!
In other words, we must know the ins and outs of our profession and keep up to date with all the latest developments. Have you ever been assisting the Dentist or Dental Surgeon and felt nervous because you were unsure of what came next? How much better would you feel, confidently passing them their next instrument without them having to ask? Knowledge and confidence is the key to being happy at work. If you feel like there are areas you can improve on at work or treatments/materials that you could learn more about, then ask your Dentist or Practice Manager for a training session. Not only will you impress them by being proactive but you will also be doing yourself a big favour by developing your skills and knowledge.
There are certain types of Dental Nursing that require complete knowledge and understanding, such as Implant and Orthodontic Nursing. Unfortunately with Implant Nursing there are a lot of Dental Nurses that have not received adequate training and feel out of their depth when assisting the Dentist. There are courses that Nurses can go on in order to work efficiently as an Implant Nurse, basic and advanced. In order to feel as confident as possible when Implant Nursing, there are a few things that you should know:
• The Implant System that is used in your Practice. E.g. Astra Tech, 3i, Straumann. You need to be able to inform and educate your patients on your Implant System. Patients are a lot more knowledgeable these days with so much information readily available on the internet- if they phone up enquiring about Implants or come for a Consultation, they WILL expect you to know. It would also be a poor reflection on your practice if members of the team were uneducated in such a popular treatment.
• How to set up and close the surgery, the procedure from start to finish and the pros and cons of the treatment.
• The type of restorations that can be fixed to the Implants. e.g. Crowns, Bridges, Dentures.
• Basic knowledge of patient criteria. e.g. the success rate of Implants falls if the patient smokes or is diabetic and there needs to be sufficient bone present in order to place the Implant.
Similarly to Implants, Short Term Orthodontics (STO) is now becoming more popular. Invisalign, 6 Month Smiles, Inman Aligner and Clearstep are all examples of STO treatments that are in demand.
Again, if your Dentist offers these treatments and you feel unsure as to what they do and how they work, ask! You must be able to inform patients and explain the treatments if you are asked and if you are promoting these treatments in your Practice, you WILL be asked at some point by at least one patient.
Keep our CPD updated!
There are new developments in Dentistry all the time and in order to be the best we can be, we should all be keeping up to date. Signing up to dental magazines, regularly viewing dental websites/blogs is a great way to keep yourself in the know. We all need to be keeping on top of our Continuing Professional Development (CPD) and by attending courses and undergoing further training, this can be achieved quite easily. You can also count reading educational material as CPD.
Being a Dental Nurse armed with knowledge you are not only empowering yourself, you are making yourself a valued, respected member of the team- which should mean enjoyable, productive and successful job roles.
Respect yourself and speak up!
Most Dental Nurses have experienced some form of verbal abuse whether it be a grumpy Dentist snapping at us in the surgery or maybe a conflict with another team member- even an unpleasant patient giving us a hard time over the phone. Do not accept this. We are all qualified and registered Dental Care Professionals (or training to be) and we deserve respect for what we do. It is very easy to feel intimidated or insignificant at work but we play such an important role in Dentistry and we must remember this. If you feel you are being disrespected in some way, voice your concerns with the person making you feel this way and if that fails, report this to the Practice Manager. If it is the Dentist or Practice Manager causing you to be unhappy, ask for a meeting to be arranged so you can sit down and explain the way they are behaving is making you unhappy at work. By doing this, you are showing that you will not stand for being treated with disrespect and you will instantly win respect and understanding for behaving in such a mature, professional manner. If a patient disrespects you, calmly but firmly explain that you will not tolerate being spoken to in that way.
The steps to take if you are greatly unhappy at work.
• Make a list of everything that is bothering you. This could be conflict with a colleague, an issue with wages, your workload etc. Arrange a meeting and voice your concerns.
• Seek advice. If you feel that speaking to your manager has not worked then there are people you can speak to. If you are a Dental Nurse in training, speak to your tutor/assessor and explain the situation. They will either help you by stepping in and speaking to your manager directly or find you another workplace. If you are a qualified, registered Dental Nurse then the Citizens Advice Bureau may be able to help.
• Look for another job. Send out copies of your CV to Dental Practices that you would be interested in working at. Keep an ear to the ground and browse through recruitment websites and also Dental Nursing websites/magazines. There are always opportunities for Dental Nurses.
