The Happy Dental Nurse

Dental nurse Hayley O'Neill has worked in private practice for 10 years. As @thehappydentalnurse on Instagram, she is offering trainee dental nurses and their mentors a wealth of resources to help guide them through the learning process.

Here, she outlines her inspiration and why she believes the future of dental nursing lies in your ability to adapt...

I like clinical environments. I used to work in a laser eye clinic and before that in a veterinary clinic. I applied for a trainee dental nurse position when it became available in my local town.

It is important to be able to multitask, but mostly in your head! You need to be able to focus on the patient in the chair but also know what time the autoclave is going to beep and who the next three patients are. It is also important to be very organised, but this can be learned through repetition if it doesn’t come naturally. A dental nurse should be a good communicator between colleagues and the patients and a team player.