Social butterfly

Let us start with a little bit of honesty- my first day of dental nursing was dreadful! I hadn’t prepared for how much a dentist truly depends on their nurse, or how that would feel for someone just starting out. The year was 2002 and I was just 18 years old, fresh out of college and unsure of what I wanted to do with my life.

To be frank, the first week of dental nursing was tough. The practice was extremely busy, and the dentist I assisted performed serious oral surgeries. I was to assist them under the careful watch of our head nurse, which made me very nervous. There were some tears at home in my mums’ arms, and a couple of near-fainting spells from sheer tiredness. However, I’m pleased to say that despite my initial struggles, I successfully transitioned into dental nursing and all it had to offer. Before long, I was embracing taking part in more complex treatments instead of fearing them, and taking more pride in my role. I was greatly humbled by the difference that being there to assist in a procedure or treatment could truly make. In time, I found myself undertaking the National Diploma in Dental Nursing with Fiona Elwood and managed to pass- thanks to her valuable teaching efforts and patience.