Training complete

Hello everyone,

I’m very pleased to announce that I have finished VTE. I was not very good with putting regular posts on my Blog. So this news I post with some delay as I completed my training in February. Good news came from the Deanery on Valentine’s Day (not very romantic but an amazing present for me). It took me six months to complete VTE.  If you are organized , have a plan and a good support from your mentors it is an enjoyable journey. If anyone has any questions I will gladly answer them and try to help as much as I can.  I now work as associate Dentist at the same practice. There is certainly much less paper work for me now and I can fully enjoy my beloved career. 

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas everyone

It has been a while since I posted here, so apologies for not updating you on what’s happening in VTE world.

I finished  collecting evidence for my portfolio and just  get everything organize and planning to submit it in January.

Recently I attended Introduction to NHS course , it was in Bristol. One of the main courses that we need for this training

Here is a link: http://www.bristol.ac.uk/dentalpg/education/dentalcourses/introtothenhs6nov13.doc

Short description of that course: Good value for money(I think it was £20), useful, informative, relevant and cover most of the competencies in portfolio.

I truly enjoyed it , plus I met other Dentists who do VTE. Now for your information guys, every Deanery in England has different requirements for Competency Assessment, although principles are the same.

This month on the 9th of December I have attended a course in Sheffield ‘new techniques in management of endodontic   pain and dental emergencies’, it was FREE.

I would recommend to go on the courses that is organized by your local Deaneries, they cost less and speakers are usually very good.

I will try to post more frequently and buy for now.

Hello everyone,

I have now been working for 2 months. Seems like I just started yesterday. The time is flying by and makes me realise that it would not be long before I will finish my training.  So, let me share with you my professional activities over last few weeks. I recently have been on 3 courses:

1st- Endodontic workshop: this was an introduction to the new ‘mico-mega’ system.  This new system allows you to perform RCT using one file. I liked it and hope we will be using it at our practice.

2nd- Zoom Whitening: one of my favourite procedures. I love cosmetic Dentistry.

3rd- Paediatric Dentistry: was very informative. I took away 2 major points; 1 – using motivational interviewing to educate young patients and, 2 – learning a ‘Hall’ crown technique for deciduous teeth. I hope to bring both into the practice.

In addition to this I have completed three on-line courses:

1.’Comparative investigation of the efficacy of triclosan’

2.’Superior management of plaque and gingivitis through the use of a triclosan’

3.DDU Online dental ethics and law module. A good topic for my portfolio (fileit at the section for ‘GDC Standards’).

Many on-line courses are free , so I advise you to do some research on the internet before you pay for a course. All the three above courses that I have completed were free of charge.

Another good free on-line course on Motivational interviewing that may really help with communication skills is : http://www.dentalcare.co.uk/dental-professional-education/motivational-interviewing.aspx

I have not done this one as this topics were covered at one of the practical courses that I have attended.

Things are progressing well with my portfolio, I’m working 2-days per week on it. I try to do a work on portfolio during lunch break as well. However, sometimes catching up with patient’s records takes all my time.

For now that is all.

Bye everyone.

Week 5 – Welcome to Autumn

Summer 2013 was a very special for me. I turned 30  at the end of the summer and all the professional goals that I set for myself to achieve before my 30th birthday have been achieved. Of course the main one was to become a Dentist in the UK. I am reminded how difficult it seemed when I was studying for ORE. Remember, ORE is just an exam and to get a job after it is possible.

Coming back to VTE my feeling after the 1st month of working is that my confidence has grown but I have a long way to go yet. My mentor told me that Dentistry is like driving; you start slowly and carefully and then you start to speed up. So I’m very concious about not being over confident or too quick to start with. I must say that my mentors have been excellent and allow me as much time as I need for patients. Now my list has anywhere between 8 and 15 patients per day.

As I wrote in earlier post I put together my personal development plan before I started my training and now at the end of each month I write reflective log on what I have achieved. I often write a reflective practice once or twice a week  just to keep on top of all my paper work.  I have completed my first cycle of a Radiology audit (one of my key skills). In total I need to complete around 3-4 key skills over the period of VTE. I have already chosen my topics: Radiology, Record keeping , Medical Emergencies and Infection Control (Risk Assessment). I found that for each individual VTE applicant  competency requirements  vary depending on their previous experience. So my advice for those who just started VTE is to contact your supervisor  at the Deanery and ask what courses that are listed in your portfolio are mandatory for you. Not all of them are mandatory and some can be done with your mentor at the practice which will save you time and money.

Every Wednesday I have a teaching/meeting with my mentors. It has been very useful and I learn from them and I believe (hope)  they learn  from me. It is important that the relationship between you and the practice  is mutually beneficial. Don’t afraid to bring new ideas and share your previous knowledge that you gained during ORE exam or in your home country. I can give some examples of what I’m doing: 1. I’ve made some changes to existing consent forms at the practice, my mentors have found it is useful. 2. I ordered patient education leaflets to the practice. 3. I put together a dental history that  patients now complete along with their medical history.

I continue to  collect all relevant evidence for my portfolio and my holder is getting thicker and heavier!  I have 2 courses that I’m going to attend soon;  one on paediatric dentistry and another on periodontal treatments. Will update information on the blog after and let you know what I thought of them.

Wish a good week for everyone and good bye for now.

Weeks 3&4

Hello guys,

The last two weeks were quite busy for me. As I posted earlier I’m continuing to do a lot of work on my portfolio.  These two weeks I’ve completed an ‘Equal Opportunities course ‘, I got free access from my deanery web-site. I wrote reflective commentary on ‘Child protection practice policy’, ‘GDC Standards Policy’ and on my associate contract.  In the last week I have completed a further 3 competencies and have started 13 out of the 19 required competencies. To be honest I don’t enjoy the paper work, but need to get on with it!

At the same time my booking diary is getting very busy; I’m fully booked for two weeks in advance. The reason is possibly that the practice is in the city centre and we have many patients. However, I have also had few patients who have directly requested me to be their dentist (some of my patients recommended me), I can’t believe it! After only working only for 2 weeks I was very pleased with that.

On the other hand last Friday I had the worth day so far.  Anyway you can’t always have good days and I have put these minor hiccups down to experience. As a Dentist sometimes we absorb other people emotions, good and bad, and on Friday I reached the point where the bad was getting too much for me. Now after a weekend I’m fully recovered and ready for new week.

I received some e-mails with questions from you guys, so I just want to let you know, that I can’t answer personal e-mails. Please use this blog to ask questions. After creating an account you can write your questions on ‘commentary’ section and I will try my best to answer. This way everybody will benefit and the site will build into a knowledge base for future trainees.

 

Week two

Hi everyone, this week was very busy for me. I started to work full-time. My clinic list is fully booked everyday! The first week was mainly check-ups but this week I had many treatments. Paper work takes a considerable amount of time (detail notes, consent forms, NHS FP17 forms, practice record forms, referrals and  finally my portfolio).

I needed to complete an online ‘Child protection course’. I did it through http://www.safecic.co.uk which cost £ 27.99. Actually was quite interesting and gives you some printable materials at the end that can be added to your portfolio as evidence in addition to the certificate.

When you first start work it is normal to have some doubts as I did. You will require the support of colleagues and in the evening catch up on some reading. For me these first two weeks helped to identify my strong skills and identify areas to improve. I realised that I spend a lot of time talking and explaining treatment and prevention advice to my patients. Maybe a bit too much which then means I need to complete paperwork during my ‘breaks’. So, this weekend I spent some time putting together relevant information and I found some  free patient education leaflets http://www.dentalcare.co.uk/dental-patient-education/materials.aspx  that will be delivered to the Practice. This week I will start to give print outs to my patients to take home and read before they return for treatment.  I hope to save some time this way.

As part of completing my portfolio I have started to keep a printed record of each meeting and discussions with my mentors. It is very simple: I write a topic, date and time of discussion on the practice head letter and my mentor and I both sign it. I have realised that need to gain more knowledge on paediatric and prothodontic dentistry, so I’m going to book relevant courses. I will post the details of the course I book and eventual feedback after I have attended them.

I really want to finish with all paper work for my portfolio as soon as possible, so I’m doing as much as I can from the first day I received my holder.  I have put together a plan and trying to follow it, my aim is  to achieve one competency per week. Of course some competencies such as referrals, patient record keeping and prescriptions  will take longer as I collect many examples. However, others like infection control, understanding the NHS system etc can be completed weekly. As a BDA member I found many useful information links on their web-site including all advice sheets that they offer that are relevant to the portfolio requirements.

Looking forward to week 3 and will let you know how I get on.

 

Week One

Hello everyone!

Apologies, I had intended to write a little everyday but I now realize this was a little ambitious. This week has been a very busy time for me.  As you know last Monday was my first day at work and I was asked to come in for a further 2 days before I start work full-time from tomorrow. I want to start thanking everyone who is following the blog and those who have visited it. I was very impressed when I checked the stats ‘1003 views in 3 days’.

So let’s get back to Dental world.

WEEK ONE DAY ONE

My first day was finally here after what seemed like years of studying. I felt excited and a little nervous at the same time.  My mentors were very kind and I had very light list with plenty of time to spend with my patients. I found that this was very important as it had been a while since I treated a patient and I don’t think I would have managed with a packed list. Thankfully the practice I am working at is aiming for a quality service so I can take my time and don’t feel any pressure.

At the end of the day I didn’t feel tried, surprisingly I was full of energy. Possibly as a result of the satisfaction I had knowing I had finished my first day. I love being a Dentist now more than ever before. Sometimes to realise what is important to you it needs to be taken away

WEEK ONE

This week I was working only 3 Days, sort of light enrolment into the practice. So let me share with you my feelings of the 1st week.  Like most people who are starting a new job I felt slight anxiety, but only for the first day. The team seems very nice and everyone is very supportive. I feel that I can come to any of my colleagues and ask for a help.

I have also received my portfolio holder from the Deanery. It is a paper-based system; I thought it would be e-portfolio. It is a big holder and there are 20 competencies that we need to learn and prove evidences of completion. The main domains are: professionalism, managerial, health&safety and clinical skills.

 This week I completed an IRMER online course (otherwise I would not be allowed to take X-Rays). I did it with  http://www.elearning-mkupdate.co.uk     and it cost £72. To be honest it is a long tutorial and I found it dull, but needed to do anyway.

I have started to learn Dental Photography from one of my mentors. It is a very interesting and helpful tool for treatment planning or monitoring individual conditions. This weekend I have started my portfolio by putting together my Personal Development Plan. You can find a template in the ‘Useful Information’. A PDP is very important to show reflective practice and will help you to indentify your strong as well as weak points and how you will set about improving them.  A goal without a plan is just a wish! So I would advise to spend few hours and add a PDP for a year,  it will make your life easier and save time and money.

What I realised this week is that there is a lot of work to do during VTE. Some of you who have had work experience in the NHS (like me) might find it slightly easy.  Again my previous Dental Nurse experience helping me and would really recommend it you anyone studying for ORE if you are living in the UK.

So that it’s for Week 1. On to Week 2 and the return to a five-day-week!.

 

Starting Work Tomorrow

I have submitted all my applications and am waiting for all the paper work to be ready before I start.  I have official start date the 1^st of August.  I have already visited the practice for a few days per week, to observe and to become familiar with computer system. I also prepared my own templates for notes to give myself some breathing space when I will start.  You can find my Dental templates in ‘Useful information’.  If you have a better ideas please don’t hesitate to post your comments.

On the 18^th of July got a phone call from my Mentor and Principal, who broke great news that all my papers are ready and he’s happy for me start earlier. I am really excited and a little nervous.

I will share with you my first day at work and my progress though VTE in the hope that you may find it useful and know what to expect when starting out after ORE. Watch this space. …

Hi and welcome to Life After ORE!

Hello and welcome to my blog. Thank you for taking your time to read it. If you are a foreign Dentist and have recently passed ORE (Overseas Registration Exam)/LDS (Licence in Dental Surgery), or you are just looking to sit your exam, or if you are  a newly qualified Dentist in the UK you may find some interesting and relevant information here.

This blog will be about my personal experiences as I set out my professional life and will track my work experience as a 1^st year Dentist doing VTE (vocational training equivalent) or now it is call Competency assessment.

I hope sharing this experience will motivate and help other overseas Dentists to understand what life is like after ORE! You will be able to find information about Dental courses and conferences, CPD’s and hopefully  some interesting cases.