Owning your career

Can you tell us a little about yourself and your early career?

I qualified as a dental nurse back in 1992 from Birmingham Dental Hospital and then worked in general practice and hospitals. I moved to Preston, working in an orthodontic referral practice for the NHS, where I trained as a dental nurse tutor. Before moving, I completed every post-qualification that a dental nurse could do – oral health education, radiography, sedation – you name it, I did it! I knew that I wanted to get involved in the patient’s journey in any way I could. It was whilst working in Preston I went to college in the evenings and gained my teaching qualification. I then taught an evening dental nursing course (the NEBDN course). In 1999 I moved back to the Midlands and worked as a full-time tutor, which was a truly rewarding time. That particular year I had the highest pass rate compared to the national average in the country. I also examined twice a year for the NEBDN. I taught for a few years before applying for the territory manager position with Oral B and got the job!