Planning for positivity

It’s been many years since I was a trainee dental nurse, but I still remember the mixed feelings of excitement and nerves which stay with you for the first six months or more. Not only was it a brand-new environment for me, but there was so much to learn both in practice and on the training course, it sometimes felt more than overwhelming. There’s something about the fact that it’s clinical that makes it more nerve-wracking as you don’t want to forget something or do it wrong, potentially putting a patient at risk.

At the time, college was every Thursday evening and the nearest course for me was an hour’s drive away. I’d work all day, leave at 5.30 pm, eat a snack in the car and arrive at college half an hour late due to traffic, sit at college for two hours and then drive home, often not getting home until 9.30 pm when I’d start making dinner. Then it was back to work the next day at 7.45 am.