5 TIPS FOR THE NEW HYGIENIST
Being a hygienist can be a challenge especially when you’re new! You’re probably excited and either anxiously waiting for your license approval or applying and interviewing for your first hygiene job, but also very nervous about what’s to come. Eek, right?!
I feel that. Because I’ve been there and I wish I had these tips handy when I first started. My first hygiene job after graduation was for Aspen Dental. It was a nice location and newly renovated, which was a definite pro BUT I truly felt all over the place - mentally and physically. I remember feeling very defeated. I would think to myself, “Why do I feel like I never even went to hygiene school?” or “they never taught us this”.
I felt like I didn’t know what I was doing. But now, I feel the complete opposite. I feel confident about what I’m doing even when something new or challenging comes my way. I feel excited about my job!
In this blog post I am sharing with you a few tips that may help ease your mind about the start of your new career so you can be the confident dental hygienist you know you are. I will be covering:
Why teamwork is necessary, but with boundaries
How your gut and intuition will be your master guide
Why focusing on one thing at a time will ease your mind + reduce overwhelm
How to communicate + educate with confidence and grace
Why it’s important to create honest ownership of your schedule
Disclaimer: The following blog post does contain affiliate links which means I may make a small commission if you make a purchase on any product links.
Tip #1: Teamwork is necessary, but always have boundaries or at least try to establish some while you can. It’s great to be a team-player and everyone appreciates it. But it’s not cute when someone takes advantage of you or expects you to pick up their slack. Don’t be that person. Be the person with boundaries. I know this may feel icky because some of these coworkers may be your friends and that’s okay. Friendships need boundaries too and if you don’t make it clear from the beginning, you’re only digging yourself a deeper hole.
Tip #2: Listen to your gut. I couldn’t tell you how many times my gut was telling me something and I followed it just to find some crazy things. If something looks off in your patient's mouth, most likely, it is off. Your patients will thank you when you discover something and you’ll be a better practitioner for it. I think of it like this, if it were me or a loved one, would I want to figure out what’s going on? Most likely. Do the same for your patients. Same goes for your coworkers and boss. If something doesn’t feel right, something isn’t right.
Tip #3: Focus on one thing at a time. What I mean by this is, when you’re a new hygienist you tend to feel a lot of overwhelm. Especially when you’re on a time-crunch. If a patient needs a ton of things that should be addressed, focus on the very most important things first. Mention other areas that are of concern, but don’t spend too much time on it. Then when they come in for the next recall, you can talk about it more in depth (but, one or two things at a time!). Why? Because you don’t want to be a blabbering mouth. Think about it… remember that professor that just kept talking in circles and wouldn’t get to the point? It’s painful and your patients won’t remember a single thing. Bite size info is plenty. People love clarity.
Tip #4: Speak and educate with confidence and grace. You won’t always feel like you don’t know what you’re doing, I promise. So try your best to be as confident as you can today, but give yourself some grace and know that you will get better tomorrow. If a coworker is treating you like crap and walking all over you, be firm and communicate what your thoughts are. If they continue, try you’re best to ignore them without being passive aggressive. Karma is a b****. If you have a PITA patient, embrace it and try not to take it personally. Always remember: it’s not what you say, it’s how you say it. Kill them with kindness if you have to (even though it may feel extremely difficult). I also recommend reading the book “Let it Be Easy” by Susie Moore which can be found in another blog post of mine: 10 Books That Helped Me Survive Dental Hygiene School.
Tip #5: If you’re able to, have control of your schedule. But be honest and do so with integrity. Sometimes the front desk doesn’t understand (because they’re not in the room with the patient) that every patient is different which can reflect the length of appointment times. I think it’s super important for both you and the patient to be able to have quality time to ensure their mouths get the attention they need. But you also don’t want to abuse this either. If you’re able to adjust appointment times, then by all means do so and if your office manager doesn’t allow this, simply ask for more time and explain why. A great way to explain it is by saying something like this: “I would like more time (even if it’s 10 mins) for this patient at his/her next recall because I want him/her to get the best treatment possible which is what I would want for myself, my loved ones and my coworkers.” See how it unfolds! If you don’t say anything, you’ll never know.
BONUS TIP #6: Be empathetic, but don’t let this dictate necessary treatment. What I mean by this is when you know your patient needs scaling and root planing, try not to hold back from recommending it because ‘you feel bad’. We all have problems and it’s generous to feel their pain, but also try to understand that by NOT recommending treatment is a disservice to your patient. Let them be the decision-maker at the end of the day, but always always always discuss with your patients what treatment they need. It’s better to say something now and if they want to schedule something they can and if not, they know their risks. Make sense?
Thanks for reading. I hope this is helpful for you as you navigate #rdhlife. I could have mentioned more, but I don’t want to overwhelm you! If there’s anything I missed or if there’s anything you’d like me to address, please let me know in the comments below!
xx, Kel
OTHER RELATED POSTS:
10 BOOKS THAT HELPED ME SURVIVE DENTAL HYGIENE SCHOOL