It’s happened to the best of us; the feeling of a complete lack of motivation for dental nursing. Whether it’s through stress or no recognition, the feeling of apathy can sometimes creep up with little to no warning in the dental nursing field. It’s easy to get bogged down, get stuck in the rut and let the bad stuff in – we’re all human, after all!
We spend a lot of our time at work, and when lethargy knocks, we have to get our mojo back, or find ourselves struggling to keep our heads above water. Dental nurses are the beating heart of the dental industry. No dental nurses means no dentistry. We’re going to take a look at some ways you can bounce back and enjoy your special and important role.
Be extra
You may be a qualified dental nurse with the relevant certification, but you don’t have to stop there. Your NVQ Level 3, your certificate in higher education, or your national certificate in dental nursing can act as a tree trunk with potential for multiple branches. You could get into fluoride application, radiography, oral health education, sedation, orthodontic nursing, or decontamination as additional qualifications. You could even take a look at dental nurse education, becoming a dental nurse assessor or a dental nurse tutor, guiding trainee dental nurses through their qualification. Perhaps you fancy stepping away from clinical practice and getting into treatment coordination roles or even management!
Change your scenery
I’m absolutely not suggesting handing your notice in. Changing scenery doesn’t necessarily have to be external; it could be your job role within your current setting. Assess your current workplace and have a chat with your manager. Would your team benefit from a treatment coordinator if you don’t have one? Could you have a trial alongside your current treatment coordinator and see how you like it? You’d be surprised by the potential of what can follow after asking your manager a simple question. If you really don’t fancy this, and you truly wish to seek greener grass, set some standards in your job hunt. Think about pay, benefits and practice reputation.
Look after yourself
Speaking of things meaningful to you, never forget to take a step back and look after yourself. Dental nursing is demanding in its physical, mental, and emotional forms through things like posture, long hours, intense concentration, high patient contact, and always having to be on top form. All these things can take their toll. If you can’t find time for self-care when you finish work, integrate it into the working days; stretches, breaks where you can, staying hydrated, maintaining good posture and ergonomics, and never be afraid to ask for help (even if it feels daunting). Maybe even talking it out with your peer, you’d be surprised by how your colleagues can rally together. If all else fails, look into mental health resources where you can and utilise them.
Build your team
If you’re lucky enough to have great colleagues, embrace that. Plant the seed for a practice outing – see what everyone fancies doing. They don’t call in team-building for nothing. If it’s hard to get everyone together (as so often happens in adult life), suggest a regular huddle if you don’t already have one. Even if all you talk about is the plan for how the day should go, it’s an informal way for everyone to check in on each other and an even better way for everyone to be refreshed on their roles, on practice news and anything informal that isn’t normally brought up in practice meetings.
Remember why you got into it
Let things come full circle: remember why you’re even in the position you’re in. Did it seem like a good idea? Did someone inspire you? Did it feel like the right path for you? Or did you have some dental work and think, you know what, this seems like something I could get into!, and the rest was history. Whatever your reasons, go back and think about your original inspiration, whatever it was. You could find your motivation get the kickstart your role needs, and once you have a positive mindset, you could find yourself coming back to enjoying your role once more.
Ultimately, enjoying the dental nurse role is about mindset, connection, purpose and growth, and you need to find these things yourself if there are external factors that brought you down in the first place. Small changes like positive conversation, learning new things, moments of gratitude, and taking pride in your work can transform your working life. You’re not just dental nurses; you’re essential and crucial professionals helping shape patient care and communities.
Written by Ellie Hilton, BA, RDN