A change is in the air

This always happens to me, when I'm happy, complacent and behaving like a frog in warm water, something has to change. You know the story right? You put a frog in cold water, slowly heat it up, the water gets warm, the frog is happy, you heat up some more, the water boils and the frog is well...tender and boiled with it. If you dunk a frog straight into hot water, it jumps right out.. Anyway, my point is me=froggie in warm jacuzzi, until now. I got news that my assistant is leaving for greener pastures and I'm in a fix.

Dentistry is very much a four handed profession. We rely on our assistants a lot, and they play a huge role. Throughout the years, I've had all sorts as assistants. Good ones, bad ones, good ones who stole money, bad ones who claimed they were possesed...ALL SORTS. It's not an easy job, a lot to do and it does require some brain matter as well. The trouble is, there is no training school for dental assistants in the private sector. There is a school for the government nurses, but they all end up working for the MOH lah. ( That's actually where my assistant is going). For us in private, we usually have to train our own nurses. So, we spend time and a lot of effort in training our assistants.

With my current assistant, I've trained her and she has gotten pretty good. From not understanding what bonding agent is, she now knows just how to tip the bottle and get the right, un-evaporated amount onto the brush. Brain matter is there, she gets the logic of doing things properly and best of all, she gets all the equipment I require before I even ask for it. Sometimes I forget and she reminds me. She is THAT good. And no one can assist me in root canals better than she can. She just gets it lah.

Which I guess is the whole problem...cos now, she wants better things. I don't blame her, the school will give her a diploma, something I can't give. But truth is, I trained her better than what she will learn in that school, trust me. Which works out very well for her I guess, cos she will be well ahead of the rest of the class, having had experience and all. She might even give her lecturer's a lesson or two. But I'm left in a bind.

Now, I have to find a new assistant, train her and hope she doesn't leave...also I hope she's not a psycho...it's amazing how many there are out there who masquerade as dental nurses.. Plus, boss is off on holiday, which means I have to do the interviews, which means I have to be responsible for hiring a person who might be good, loyal member of staff...or yet another loony. We've had a few. Sigh...I guess this means this froggie has to jump out of the jacuzzi now and into some cold water. Oh well, better than becoming a boiled frog. Maybe I should just set up my own training school...now that's an idea!

note MOH = Ministry of Health