Any questions related to dental nurse practice

[dentalnurse]

For any issue's that you are unsure about related to dental nurse practice please visit www.dentalnurse.org.uk

[Which Course]

Hi,

I wish to become a dental nurse, which course is the best to start on?

I looked on your website www.dentalnurse.org.uk and found it useful but there are quite a few courses to pick from.

Emma.

[sally]

Hi Emma, Go for the either the NVQ or the National Exam

[nurseassessor]

Hi I would recommend the level 3 NVQ.
you would most properly need to do your keyskills at level 2 unlesss you have GCSEs A-c maths & English in the last 5 years.
Ask the Dental nurse Association for any courses to recommend to you.
get yourself in to a practice for work experience see if they use a training provider. But I also say have at least 2 parts of your Hep B jabs as well you do need 3 and a blood test.
Where do you live??

[GOLLUM]

???HII I JUST WONDERED IF YOU COULD HELP ME? I HAVE BEEN TOLD THAT THERE ARE NEW NVQ LEVELS THAT STARTED IN SEPTEMBER AND THAT THEY INVOLVE TEC CERTS. CAN YOU TELL ME WHAT THEY ARE? I'M SO CONFUSSED!!!!!

[Cat]

I've sat the national exam 3 years ago, sadly i failed this. I have just qualified after doing the NVQ level 2 and 3.
From my experience the national course is good for teaching you how to pass an exam, where as the NVQ teaches you to be a great dental nurse. It does take longer but you gain so much more knowledge that your bosses and colleagues will be really impressed with. I've felt so much more confident in the surgery since starting the NVQ even though i had 2 years previous experience. I really think the NVQ is the better course.

[Louise]

Sorry, but I have to disagree with you Cat.

I have the national badge/certifcate (qual- 1997) and I had to work bl**dy hard for it! You have to be self disciplined and dedicated to do the studying and the exam is hard, but not as hard the hospital exams (Eastman).

NVQ's (for me personally and my colleagues) don't have the value that the national badge/certifcate has and most employers will employ a dental nurse with the national than an NVQ.

If a student Dental nurse asked me which one they should follow, I would say the national everytime, especially if you want to work in a hospital or specialist practice.

[keenie]

Hi
In regard to this post. I also tried training to sit the national and a service provider came into my practice to tutor me. I found it very stressful to the point that I bailed out 1 week before actually sitting the national through being scared I would fail due to lack of knowledge . I am now doing the NVQ level 3 and I have to say that it has given me a greater understanding of the whole concept of why I have been doing what I do on a daily basis. I have also learned a lot of things that I did not cover with the service provider for the national, which I have passed on to my colleagues at the practice where I work. I realise that this was possibly down to the original service provider but, I personally feel that because I am sat in a classroom once a week and doing a portfollio I find it easy to absorb. I might add that I am not taking anything away from those who sit the national but a whole lot depends on the service provider you choose to help you.
Can I also add that the NVQ qualification is just as well respected by dentist and orthodontist alike as the national qualification. And I have that on very good authority. At the end of the day its down to the individual and how they like to learn.

[Rachel]

There is a facebook group for all you facebookers:

www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=26263591439&ref=mf

[Louise]

I'm puzzled as to why both of you gave up at the first hurdle?? I feel a lot of you new nurses seem to forget that up until a few years ago, the only qualification open to Dental nurses was the National (or a hospital certificate, which still is very exclusive and desirable with hospitals and the WC1 practices). I had no choice but to do it or be sacked. Reading comments such as Cat’s makes my blood boil, especially that the NVQ makes you a better nurse….. that to me…. is a crock of sh*t.

However I do stand my comment about the national being the most suitable if you would want to work a hospital (dental, general or specialist) or specialist practice, if you don’t believe me check out the hospital jobs for dental nurses on NHS jobs, they only want nurses with the hospital or national. CDS jobs are open to nurses with the NVQ though. Specialist practice usually requires you to have many years of experience in a particular field, which includes but is not limited to orthodontics, paediatric dentistry & special needs, maxillofacial & plastics, etc and experience has taught me, that most of the specialist practices belong to consultants, who poach their nurses from hospital anyway.

I am extremely grateful, that I studied and passed my national because without I would not have the experiences and opportunities that I have had! I’ve worked in not one, but two world class hospitals in London. I have had the opportunity to work with some of the finest surgeons, consultants’ and professors in Britain, watching faces (not just teeth) being reconstructed, patients with serious and life limiting conditions and illnesses being treated to improve their quality of life, including those who are terminally ill. I wish I could write all of these experiences on here but I can’t.

At the end of the day, the best Dental nurse is one who communicates with his/her patients and the dental team, anticipates the needs of their patients and the dentist/surgeon/etc, foresee any potential problems and in some cases avert catastrophic incidents!!

P.S I hate facebook