Understanding the role

I recently started working as a locum nurse and I found a familiar pattern had begun to arise. I would often arrive at a new practice and the other members of the dental team members would chorus, “I’m really sorry, you’re just in the decon room today”. When I had worked as a dental nurse in my previous practice before deciding to become a locum, we always did our own instruments. So, the fact that a practice would book a locum just to work in the decontamination room was utter madness to me!

But I’ve come to learn that a ‘decon nurse’ is an amazing asset to rely on! It can in fact be great not having to think about when you will have time to go and do your instruments, instead concentrating purely on the task at hand. Ultimately, the day runs far more smoothly, and the practice can book more patients in as they do not have to allow time for nurses to sterilise instruments. It gives the nurse who is working in the decontamination room that day enough time to get all the testing done. It is often hard work for nurses to perform these tasks between patients, so to have someone dedicated to this each day assures that everything is done as it should be. It also allows the dental team to get more done as we go, such as stocking up a nearby surgery or even giving it a clean while waiting for an autoclave to finish.