Dentistry.co.uk hears from Gemma Forsythe about the importance of organisation and note taking for dental nurses and how her new dental nurse diary can help.
Please introduce yourself
My name is Gemma Forsythe and I am a registered dental nurse from Northern Ireland, working in general practice. I enjoy using Instagram to blog about my job as a dental nurse. I also have a monthly column titled ‘Nursing Matters’ on dentistry.co.uk.
Tell us a little about your experience as a dental nurse
I started off as a trainee dental nurse in 2017, achieving my NEBDN National Diploma in Dental Nursing in 2020. I went on to complete the BDA Certificate in Oral Health Education in 2021. This allows me to provide oral health education to local facilities.
Since then I have become first aider and one of two mental health first aiders for my practice. I am one of two decontamination leads too. I also help to manage our practice social media pages. Taking on these jobs, I have great variety in my role and no two days are the same.
How did your experience inspire the dental nurse diary? What motivated you to create it?
For as long as I can remember, I have always used ‘to-do lists’, whether that be at home, school, work etc.
When I was a trainee dental nurse, I carried around a small notebook to write everything down. It became my bible. I wrote down tray set ups, procedures – anything I learnt, I wrote it down. I am definitely a pen and paper type of girl. Nothing beats ticking off your list!
I usually used a normal lined notebook in surgery, and had written out a section for lab work, important things to note, stock needed etc. I thought to myself, I could create my own notebook specifically for dental nurses to use in surgery to make their days run a bit more smoothly – so I did!
What is inside the dental nurse diary?
Inside the dental nurse diary, each page has a place for the date, lab work, stock needed and important things to note. It also has other lines for anything else you may want to take a note of.
I ensured not to have the diary dated, so no pages go to waste if some nurses don’t work every day. It has 100 pages and a stylish, on-brand cover!
There is also a really nice quote of the definition of a dental nurse at the beginning of the diary that I had created a few years ago on Instagram and a lot of people seemed to like it. There is a place for your name and surgery number so won’t get mixed up in case a practice decides to buy them for their nurses.
Why is it so important to stay organised as a dental nurse?
Organisation skills are crucial to have as a dental nurse. I love the saying, ‘either you run the day, or the day runs you’ and that is so true. It is easy for the day to run away on you if things start to pile up and you aren’t keeping things organised.
Things like thinking a few patients ahead, keeping a list of lab work due for that day (and checking it is there) and making sure the surgery is stocked up is so important. It can make or break your day. Ensuring the days run smoothly will make you an invaluable dental nurse to your clinician.
How will the diary help other dental nurses?
It will help them keep track of things and know what needs to be done during that day. If I haven’t written things in my diary in surgery, they will not get done! I forget things so easily and I think it is very easy to get distracted from what you were supposed to be doing if something else pops up.
Being able to tick things off a list will give you peace of mind that you have all necessary tasks completed for that day.
How can people buy it?
You can purchase Dental Nurse Diary via Amazon now and it is also available on Amazon Prime, ensuring you get it nice and quickly.
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