My journey to head nurse

To give readers a quick background, I started life as a trainee back in 2009 working in a private practice at the age of 20. I enrolled on a training course straight away, but I was let down by the course provider as they suddenly shut down just before I started! Not the best start to my journey, but I chose to persist nonetheless.

This meant I had to wait a little longer than usual to begin a course, and the only one available was over an hour’s drive away! I endeavoured to complete the course as fast as I could, and by the time I’d qualified, I’d been working for just over two years and was ecstatic to finally have that certificate in my hands. Working as a qualified dental nurse was suddenly a much more gratifying experience as I had far more confidence than I ever did before. I’d found being a trainee trying at times, there was always so much I needed to learn and retain, and a great deal of pressure due to the very high standards of the dentist and head nurse I was working with at the time. If it makes anyone going through a similar situation feel a little better, I’m not afraid to confess I hid a few times in the toilet to have a little cry and let off steam! When feeling overwhelmed, sometimes it is the kindest thing to do for yourself.