CATEGORY 120 AUSTRALASIAN DENTIST A: Good morning Dianne. Nice to meet you. D: Morning. A: Can we start at the beginning. Where were you born? D: In Hobart. A: And were you bought up in Hobart? D: I lived and was bought up on a small country farm. A: Whereabouts? D: In Tunnack. So that is inland from Oatlands. A: So where was your rst job? D: So, we moved from Tunnack to Richmond and I was in grade 8 and I worked at the bakery in Richmond. A: at was a part time job? D: Part time job after school. A: Where was your rst full time job? D: First full time job was with Dr Tony Weidenbach when he was in the mall. So, I left grade 10, when 16, and started there in January, February. A: You were working as a dental nurse? D: Yes. A: Why did you want to be a dental nurse? D: Well. Long story. I went there for work experience in year ten. My rst choice was actually hair dressing. Back in the days, 35 years ago, I thought hairdressing would be the thing to do and my second choice was dental nursing and I went there for a week of work experience and they actually rang me in December, when I shed year 10 and they asked me if I wanted to go there for a full time position. A: You impressed them so much. D: (laughter) Must have done. A: Well, that’s good. D: And I was with Tony for 10 years. A: So, your rst day of work as a dental nurse what were you expecting? D: But I was only very young then and I was daunted at the start and then when I started, I loved it. e patients. I loved the hands on doing things and I loved the variation of everything. A: After the 10 years there, we moved to Melbourne for two years. So, I worked In Collins Street at a dental practice there. D: And then I came back when I fell pregnant with my eldest son. We came back home. We had family help. And that is when I went to Dr Chau’s for 18 years. A: How was that? D: Good. He was crazy. I remember walking into that practice and thinking. is is busy. Like people everywhere and lot of dentists and lot of patients. A: So how were the two Hobart practices di erent? D: Chau’s was a bigger practice. Lot more dentists. Lot more sta . D: Dr Chau worked a lot di erently. He had his six hands. He came in, sat down. We passed all his instruments. And he had one assistant on that side. He worked a lot di erent. He had two girls in each room. So, he had four girls. A: So, you had to work with the other girl as well. D: Yes. A: So, you enjoyed it, obviously? D: Yes. I loved the fast pace. It was good. A: But now you are working in Sorell with Roger. D: We live here between Sorell and Richmond. It’s great. I love it here. It is a very busy practice. And Dr Puckridge and the whole team are great. A: You seem to have only worked in busy and successful practices. D: Yes. I love it. Under pressure. Getting things done. A: Are all these practices successful because of you? D: (ha Ha) I don’t know. I hope they think I am an asset. A: I’m sure you are. Always on reception? D: Yes. We go into the surgery one day a month. So, we keep up with our skills. A: So how is reception di erent from wet ngered hands on? D: I like both. I love going back into the surgery for that one day. It is di erent but still equally as good. A: In reception you have to be a matchmaker. Match the patient up with the dentist. Is that correct? D: Yes. We get a phone call and from the phone call we try and decipher who that patient is going to be good t for. A: Yes. D: And most of the time we get it right. A: How many dentists are there here? D: Six, no seven. A: at’s a lot. And a lot of sta . D: I love the lot of sta environment. A: Do certain dentist work with special nurses. D: We rotate every day. A: What is the reason for that? D: Back in the day they used to have one nurse with one dentist. A: I belong back in the good old days. D: And that was the t and that’s how you did it. D: Now the split roster and you know how everyone works. And if someone is o sick or on holidays. u To be continued … THE FULL COMPLEMENT Alan Carlton shares a co ee with Dianne Sawford My aim in this column is to understand the dental community. I want every section of the dental community illuminated. Everybody has a story to tell. Everybody has a story worth hearing.
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