Laura Lane tracks her career change from dental nurse assessor, to dental nursing academy owner.

Let me begin by giving you a little background about myself. Let us rewind to my end-of-school days.I left school not knowing which career path to take, and was torn between a career in travel and something I could do to help people in a medical setting. I applied for an apprenticeship in my local town as a trainee dental nurse, which is where my journey into dentistry began.

I qualified in 1999, gaining my national certificate in dental nursing. I then worked in several private and NHS practices, both of which gave me some brilliant experiences, including working with specialist dentists and learning a lot. I would recommend that any dental nurse should try and gain as much experience in different areas of dentistry as possible, as there is so much to learn, and this will also help you to decide which areas you may pursue in your future too.

After working as a dental nurse I had a career break, and went into assessing customer services and business courses as I loved being able to help others develop and grow their career. With years of customer-facing experience I had gained in the dental industry this was a great fit for me, gaining my assessor award in 2008.

I then moved with my husband and then three-year-old daughter to Malta for a year, where I found freelance work as a marker for trainee dental nurse qualifications for a college provider. As the role was also remote, this enabled me to work abroad which was a fantastic benefit, even though in the glorious Maltese sunshine it was hard to focus on the laptop screen at times!

We eventually moved back to the UK where I took on another freelance role at the Dental Nursing Academy in 2018. A few years later my then-manager approached me, asking if I would like a more permanent role, which I jumped at with zero hesitation.

What I loved about my role and still do, is that you get to meet so many enthusiastic young students and work in multiple practices. I felt that I was helping others to become more confident in their knowledge and skills, and got the chance to see them blossom as I did as an apprentice all those years ago. Dental nurses have so much to learn nowadays, and with them working as hard as they do it can be hard to find a healthy balance, so I always supported them as much I could, which made it so rewarding to hear when they have become GDC registered and that their hard work and commitment has paid off.

Assessing as a career has many benefits. The best of which is perhaps working remotely and being able to plan your own diary. When I had my daughter this allowed me to work around caring for her with ease. You have to be highly organised in this role, and I would say time management is a key skill to hone. When I first started assessing there was so much paperwork, but now students use e-portfolios so it’s a lot easier for them to stay organised, and providing feedback virtually to the students is a great way to stretch them further and pass on my skills.

My commitment was noticed by my manager, which led to me being promoted to lead assessor! Suddenly I was responsible for multiple other assessors in all aspects of their careers, both trainee and qualified. It was daunting and extremely rewarding to say the very least!


The next step...

Fast forward to March 2022 on a pleasant day out in Wales with my parents. We were sitting on a bench having our lunch when I had a message from my manager saying, “Hi, how would you feel about taking over the academy?” I just giggled to myself and sent an emoji back, and then carried on with my sandwich!

That evening I mentioned the text to my husband, and he asked if I was considering the opportunity. I thought, ‘Me? Run a business?’ He reminded me that I am great at what I do, and understand all the inner workings of the academy... So I took the leap!

Cut to April of 2022, and with the support of Viki who has worked with the academy for several years (who I honestly can’t thank enough) I took over the Dental Nursing Academy and have been the proud owner ever since. In a year I have learnt so much and hit the ground running in many ways, particularly with the support of amazing tutors who have remained with us, including the amazing and dedicated Preetee Hylton. I have learnt to plan, hold meetings, and make some important decisions I was not comfortable with, but were sadly necessary. I have also learnt to be more assertive and to delegate, to write business plans, and learn how to use Instagram and maximise social media (though I still have plenty to learn in that area!). I love that every day of my job is different and brings new challenges and problems to be solved.

As I love interacting with students, I decided to keep assessing along with my other duties, so have my own cohort of learners that I assess to this day. I have also gone back to further studying myself and completed my IQA course this year. This has helped the business a great deal in terms of managing the quality side of things, and I have started my ILM course and am enjoying all the learning that comes with that as well.

My advice to anyone who is starting out as a trainee dental nurse that the world is your oyster! It might seem clichéd, but you can achieve anything if you put your mind to it and step out of your comfort zone. I cannot thank the Dental Nursing Academy’s previous owner for giving me this opportunity. We are looking forward to supporting and training the next generation of dental nurses, now and for many years to come!

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