The fine art of doing nothing

It would perhaps be an understatement to say that dental nurses are juggling a multitude of roles and responsibilities. There remains a relentless struggle to keep up, time manage and multitask. Inherent in our profession is the great amount of stress caused by the nature of our work. It is time to cease the opportunity now and incorporate the concept of mindfulness in dental nursing.

What is mindfulness?

Whilst a multitude of definitions exist for mindfulness, simply put it is intentionally non-judgementally paying attention to the present moment. Upon hearing this definition one may gather it is a philosophical tenant, which in part would be correct. The concept perhaps has arisen thousands of years ago from Buddhist teachings of awareness, self-knowledge and enlightenment. In the modern premise mindfulness has been popularised by many people including Jon Kabat-Zin. There is now an abundance of evidence-based research of the positive impact of mindfulness. According to the organisation Mind, this important way of thinking involves ‘making a special effort to notice what’s happening in the present moment (in your mind, body and surroundings) – without judging anything’.