‘If I had learned the truth at 17’

I had just returned from my graduation ceremony at Rochester Cathedral in Kent. I was awarded an MSc in Advanced and Specialist Healthcare (Applied Dental Professional Practice). There were many other students from a range of faculties also receiving their degrees and the cathedral was packed with proud families and friends of those students. One of the guest speakers at our ceremony asked us to spend a few minutes ‘creating a memory’ of the occasion, one that would last for a long time and help us recall just how good this day was for the rest of our professional lives. As the majority of the students were around 21 years of age, and receiving their first degree, this was appropriate for them. For me – I am not so sure. This year, I will have been a dental nurse for 37 years. I will just let that sink in – 37 years. Reading the news in the June issue of Dental Nursing about the dental nurse from Dundee Dental Hospital who retired after 42 years, I realise I have a way to go. Still, it feels more appropriate to use the occasion to look at this from the other end of the telescope and try to understand what led me to this graduation ceremony. There is a regular feature in the magazine of a weekend newspaper that asks various celebrities to look at their 18 year old selves and consider what knowledge they have now that they would share with their younger selves. This is usually a mixture of ‘I wish I realised how slim I was then’ or ‘I should have known that perm was a mistake’. I thought I could do the same but from a professional point of view. I like the idea of travelling back in time and holding a conversation with myself as a student dental nurse at the age of 17.