I was eighteen and in desperate need of a job because I wanted to move to Manchester. I was living in Bolton and had just finished my A Levels. I had decided that I really did not want to go to University. So after trawling through the newspapers I found a job advertised for a dental receptionist in the city centre. I was drawn to a caring profession and I thought maybe this was the first step to the career I wanted to build. I got the job and moved.
I joined a busy four surgery practice and worked alongside another full-time receptionist. I had no idea how the dental programme worked and no idea what a 'MOD' was. Overtime, I got to know the dental nurses, the dentists and the hygienist who I used to see pop out of her room every twenty minutes to call in a patient. She seemed busy but happy and I thought that maybe this was something that I could do. I decided that I really wanted to be in the surgery. I asked if this was a possibility on numerous occasions but I was told that I needed a Hepatitis B vaccination. I got the feeling they were trying to fob me off.
One morning I was reading the free paper on the way to work and I saw a job advertised for a dental nurse at a practice around the corner from my house. I sent my CV to them and I got an interview straight away. They offered me the job and I left the city centre practice with a weeks notice. My first thoughts were of terror, I was frightened of being in the surgery! I had to learn very fast because I was the principal dental nurse and we were constantly very busy. These were the days before mandatory registration with the GDC so I was working unaware of the theory behind all the procedures that were being carried out.
Then I had to move back home. I left my job in Manchester and straight away tried to find another dental nursing job in Bolton. I had a temporary stop gap of clerical work for an agency but eventually, I found another dental nursing job and stayed with the practice for a few years. I then began to feel like I was out-growing the position. This was when I decided to I apply to Manchester Metropolitan University to study Human Nutrition. I was a Vegan and really interested in Nutrition. I thought that maybe this would help me pursue a potential career as a Dietician.
I travelled to Manchester from Bolton everyday. Then my Mum was diagnosed with terminal cancer. It was myself and my brother who looked after my Mum with some help from other members of the family. She died three months after being diagnosed. The practice that I had left to go to University kindly offered me a part-time position for a few months until my second year, so I started working there again shortly after my Mum's passing away. I then went back to University and I found that I had no idea what was going on, I just did not have the mental capacity to cope with sitting in a Biochemistry lecture theatre. It was then I made the decision to have a year out and get myself together. In this year I went back to dental nursing at the same practice. I still had the desire to be a hygienist but it was highly competitive to get a place on a course that I wanted to ensure I had a 'back-up plan'.
I then found out that you could do a degree in Human Sciences at Bolton University which was a ten minute walk from house. It meant I would not have to commute to Manchester and I could spend more time with my brother. So I embarked on a new degree, always with the thought in the back of my head that having a degree as well as dental nursing experience would hold me in good steed for a place on a hygiene course. I was in my final year and still working at the practice to help me out financially but I still was not a officially a qualified dental nurse. I registered for the NEBDN exam at Manchester dental hospital. I had three weeks to learn all the theory behind the practical work that I was doing. For three weeks I sat in my University library and read my dental nursing book from cover to cover. I took my dental nursing exam and I passed much to my relief but my results had come a few weeks after the UCAS deadline. What was I to do?
I applied to study hygiene/therapy at the three places that were not using UCAS. They were: Bristol, Liverpool and King's College. I had interviews at Liverpool and Kings. I ended up choosing Kings because I wanted to be in London. I received my degree result from Bolton University in the summer and I had finished with a 2:1. Finally, after a lot of hard work and decision making, everything was falling into place. I then started at Kings a few months after. It was two and a half years of lectures/seminars/clinics/presentations/written exams/spoken exams and every single day was worth it.
I am now 30 years old and a hygienist/therapist. This all came about from being an 18 year old needing a job so I could move away from home. I had set backs. I even thought I wanted different career at one point but I stuck at it and it paid off. No matter what you want to do with your career as a dental nurse, you can do it. It may mean moving away from home for a job or for a course. It may mean giving up your weekends with your friends but I can tell you that it is worth it. It just takes time, hard work, determination and a belief in yourself that you can achieve. So what are you waiting for? It's the New Year, make plans, put those plans into action, you can do anything you want to do, just be patient.
Kimberly Close
