Work Experience Flashcards
In your work experience, what skills have you learnt that you can apply to dentistry?
•good communication and building teamwork is very important and I was able to employ this e.g when being part of a volunteer team at a dementia club
•you have to be very diverse and be able to adapt to different individuals you speak to e.g a child patient opposed to someone older. I got to improve these skills when I was a maths mentor for high school students = I was able to adapt my communication skills to the needs and personalities of my students
***What aspect of your work experience did you find the most challenging, and why?
•Whilst doing work experience at a hospital, my biggest challenge was remaining positive during situations where patients seemed to be in great pain.
•I asked a doctor on how they remain positive during times like this and what they do to deal with it
= being empathetic is good and being able to deal with it will help to remain calm and composed when seeing a variety of different cases. Very important to give yourself time away e.g enjoy hobbies/exercising to maintain good mental and physical health
•I’ve actively volunteered at many different places where I dealt with people with all sorts of medical problems and it has helped me to become more composed when dealing with distressing situations and more understanding of how to deal with different situations e.g the way I talk to patients
What do you think would be the advantages, and difficulties, for a person with a major physical disability (e.g. blindness) wishing to become a dentist?
•I’ve read an article that stated ‘To have a disability does not mean you miss ability’ and through this I understand that if you are given the right support and adjustments you can achieve what you dream to do = should not be a barrier
•dentistry is such a multifaceted career in which you can branch off and do all sorts of different activities e.g research/lab/managing a business, not held down to just clinical work
•however when tacking work in a clinical environment, and having a physical disability may make it more hard and demanding as dentistry is a physically exhausting job and can cause massive strain on the body and posture= must be mindful of own limitations and work only what you are capable of working
***What have you done on work experience/ in employment previously? What would you change about what you saw, if you could, and how would you set about
•I have viewed teamwork in a dental clinic (improves patients care when all the team can cooperate)
•I have seen how it is a very patient centred career where the patient becomes part of the team (colleague) and is autonomous of the entire treatment
•I would love to have seen more procedures of course! Next time I would try finding work experience much more earlier
***Thinking of your work experience, can you tell me about a difficult situation you have dealt with and what you learned from it?
•there were not many opportunities to view patients nor shadow and it required me to wait sometimes 3 hrs, I learnt to be patient/ more understanding towards the qualities of a dentist = patient was given the choice to have students shadowing/fully autonomous and respected by the dentists
What impressed you most about the dentists in your work experience?
•how they were able to almost work in synchrony with the dental nurse e.g I witnessed how the dentist made motions that the nurse quickly caught and understood
•the dentist was able to lighten the mood instantly e.g when a patient that was very nervous came in, the dentist was naturally able to reassure them/even making the patients often laugh
•the dentist was able to use both verbal and non-verbal communication to digest complex ideas and make them simple for patients to understand
•level of precision when using manual dexterity. I got to appreciate how something as simple as a filling actually requires a lot of focus and detail to create specific shapes and make sure that the filling is durable and doesn’t fall out
*What aspect of your work experience would you recommend to a friend thinking about dentistry, and why?
•having the ability to talk to the dentist was very important as you get an insight into their day to day life. Gain advice especially for applications
•I would recommend shadowing as it helped me appreciate different tasks and skills the dentist uses throughout their day/ I loved the diversity of the job e.g work in a team, interacting with patients, doing treatment itself and also admin work = you get the opportunity to see though your whole patients treatment from diagnosis to actual treatment
*Reflect on what you have seen of hospitals or a healthcare environment. What would you most like to organise differently, and why?
•due to the great no. of patients and understaffing I saw that a lot of encounters with patients meant apologising for inconveniences and angry patients
•it would be good to have a system of organisation where perhaps patients can be given more of an accurate estimate of time that they any have to wait to be seen = ease the distress and worry
Can you give me an example of how you coped with a conflict with a colleague or friend; what strategy did you use and why?
•when I was managing a book fair sale at school, we had many customers but were understaffed and this led to us having to do jobs that we had not initially signed up for = leading to slight conflicts and disagreements
•however we solved this by having a meeting and by remain calm and listening carefully allowed me to understand how to resolve the problem better
•resolved by making a list and allowing them to do the roles that they enjoyed but also rotating between jobs to allow everyone to do everything for a set amount of time
•saw that approaching things calmly and professionally is very important
How did you find the fact that dentists only get 10 minutes per consultation?
I am actually not aware of this fact as from my work experience and from my own research I understand that The length of a dental consultation depends on the type of visit and the patient’s needs, so not all consultations are 10 minutes long.
•however this may have stemmed from the fact that doctors get rewarded on the amount of patients they see (units of dental activity) which may pressure some dentists to rush appointments
What are the challenges of being a dentist?
•like most jobs dentistry can become stressful e.g when you get patient complaints/trying to meet the UDA targets
•it can put a toll on your physical health e.g as you are stood up with your back bent for a prolonged time so it is essential to maintain good exercise levels/ eye strain from looking at bright lights for long so it’s important to take breaks
•overcoming challenges such as dental inequality e.g when patient cannot go ahead with procedure due to being too expensive, can be disheartening and upsetting. / should go find an alternative solution = I’ve read about how there will be an amalgam ban soon which can cause these cases to become more prevalent as composite is much more expensive
Do you feel that the public’s perception of dentists is misrepresentative
•many may not value their oral health as much as e.g physical health, where in fact many systematic health problems can be found by looking at your oral health e.g diabetes and cancers
•many people have dental phobias which could stem from hearing bad experiences/stories = reduces dental access for many, causing oral health of our society to deteriorate
•I read somewhere that most people love their dentists but do not enjoy visits = misconceptions of the procedures hurting / people feel vulnerable lying on the dental chairs with their mouths open (use of VR to reduce nerves)
•misconceptions that dentists may upsell you = unethical way to get more money /however well serving dental clinics will be honest and uphold the values of a dentist to be thruthful
What did you notice about the skills dentists needed when they were carrying out a patient history?
•very good communication = includes both verbal and non-verbal communication to make sure the patient feels comfortable and fully understands everything asked. Non-verbal utilises things such as eye-contact and nodding which ensures the patient feels listened to
•being adaptable and insightful e.g when you notice the patient saying something different. Use this to stem your next question to gain more knowledge about your patient, making it more personal so you can gain more info on the patient
•being empathetic and being able to understand e.g the difficulties your patient may be going through so that you can comfort them and put them at ease during your check up= allows for trust to be built and they will be more truthful with their answers
What did you notice about the dentists you were shadowing in their approach to patients?
•very good communication/listening skills
•were very friendly the instant the patient came in to help put them at ease e.g a very nervous patient once came in for a root canal and were particularly nervous before the injection. I saw how the dentist was able to calm the patient by making friendly jokes and by reassuring them of the procedure/whilst also letting them know they can stop the procedure if they requested it (making the patient autonomous and in charge of the entire procedure made them much more safer and comfortable)
During the dentist’s conversations with patients, do you think that there was anything that they could improve?
•well I’ve seen for some dentists that majority of the talking is done by them. I’d say a better approach would be to let the patient collaborate in their own treatment plan and giving them more time to go through what any problems they may have= this ensures better patient satisfaction and better care
•sometimes the dentist used a lot of jargon when going through procedures which I believe may not have been easily understood by the patient. To improve on this, they can use simpler terms to explain complex ideas. As well as utilising e.g diagrams and props to better explain ideas = allows the patient to feel more safe/confident as they understand what they are going into
Did you witness any procedures that did not go to plan? How did the dental team cope with this?
•during an occasion, a patient was dissatisfied with her filling and believed it to be broken. Upon inspection there seemed to be no problem, but the patient did not want to hear it and was adamant that it was broken. She became quite angry, however the dentist remained calm and composed. The dentist sat down to talk to the patient about resolutions/problems that could arise from removing the filling right away.
•the dentist was fully understanding of the patients concerns and gave her ways to feel reassured, as well as solutions to her problem e.g getting her filling reshaped to make it smooth
How did patients tend to react to bad news? How would you manage this?
•upset and worried. Important to be able to show empathy to the patient and actively listen in order to understand their concerns better so that you can come with a good solution
•some patients may become angry. In these circumstances (if no immediate threat) you must remain calm and composed and be able to speak to the patient with empathy to help calm them down
•it is essential to be able to use good communication to e.g be able to comfort a patient better or be able to explain and help your patients understand better
What did you learn from your work experience?
•good communication skills are pivotal (verbal/non-verbal to help the patient feel more at ease/understand everything= complex ideas into simpler terms by not using technical jargon)
•teamwork is very important = keep the workspace harmonious to improve patient care and to maintain good social interactions, making it more fun to work. Everyone was able to do the best in their role and this improved standard of care
•very patient-centred, the patient can be seen as a colleague as you must collaborate with them for their entire treatment plan and they have full control over what they want e.g can stop the procedure whenever they wish. This means that the patient is fully autonomous and respected = helps build trust and reduces the chances of dental phobia
Tell us about your work experience
•manual dexterity was used in almost all procedures= I viewed a filling being done which required the dentist to be very accurate and drill I a precise manner to maintain as much tooth as possible. I myself have very good manual dexterity though my hobbies and have picked up on acrylic nails = quite similar
•good communication skills shown, they were able to use non-verbal and verbal to reassure the patient before procedure and utilised simple words instead of jargon to explain complex ideas into simpler terms. I’ve also improved my communication skills by volunteering at a dementia club in which I needed to adapt my way of speaking to suit the patients and we also had many pleasant conversations with patients and volunteers alike
•I saw that the dentist would change their mannerism to accommodate to who they were interacting with e.g a child or an older person e.g making jokes with the child to calm them down. This showed me it is imprudent to understand everyone’s needs and to treat everyone as an individual
(I saw both the scientific and social side of dental treatment, which has cemented my passions to become a dentists)
What makes a good working relationship?
•teamwork= fairly allocating and completing your assigned tasks to the best of your ability ensures you are a responsible and reliable teammate and leader
•good communication
How did your work experience change your views of dentistry?
•the dentist didn’t just speak but the patient also took a proactive approach to their treatment and the dentist gave a lot of time for the patient to speak freely e.g when someone came in and they were anxious. The dentist explored their worries a bit more and let them speak about their concerns without getting straight into the procedure. Dentistry is really a patient centred career which I appreciated more
•moving towards more restorative care rather than just giving treatment. The dentist let me know that he tries to assess many different treatment plans/options to find the one that saves the most tooth
How did patients tend to react to bad news? How would you manage this?
Did anything surprise or shock you during your work experience placement?
•some patients would become agitated and frustrated with the dentist and it made me appreciate how the dentists duty is much more diverse than simply dental care. They must also effectively communicate to calm down situations
What experiences have given you insight into world of dentistry?
• work experience = learnt about different skills used e.g communication, adaptability/ different tasks that have to be done e.g admin work
•I also saw it from a patients perspective when I observed my family member going though a painful treatment= I saw how reassuring the dentist was and how good they were with their hands = manual dexterity
What would you change about the practice that you shadowed in?
•I did see very long wait times for patients which is quite understandable as the practice was quite busy and there were only 2 dentists in for each shift. I’d say that the better organisation could be used to better improve how much time patients are waiting. However overall the clinic was run well and the care for patients was wonderful, where I saw that the patients had lots of trust for their dentist and were honest with pointing out problems
How did you organise your work experience?
•I met some aspiring dental students in an access programme and I asked about where they got their work experience placements. I then emailed a few dental clinics and heard back from one which I did shadowing for only 2 days due to limited availability, but I learnt a lot on what a dentist does and the different skills needed. It also cemented that dentistry was really my passion as I was a bit skeptical
•I also did work experience in a care settings. I was a volunteer for a hospice charity shop and then after a few months I enquired on how I could go volunteer at their hospice. I became a hospice volunteer for around a month
