Student DHT - journey so far
Hi my name is Jenita and I’m currently a third year dental hygiene and therapy student at King's College Hospital. I also work part-time as a dental nurse.
My journey to becoming a DHT has been a rollercoaster ride. When I first started in January 2019, I just graduated from university where I studied Biomedical Science and qualified as a dental nurse and was super excited to start turning my dream into reality.
The first year of the course was intriguing as it gave me a great insight of what it is like being a DHT. We did a lot of theory work and practical as well. After practising with our phantom heads and passing exams I was able to see my first patient by the end of the first year. I couldn’t believe I was actually the clinician and not the nurse and felt so good to practice what I’ve learnt and see a patient by myself. One of the best moments of my life.
My second year of the course was affected by COVID-19. We were out of action for 10 months and the feeling of not knowing what the future upholds was scary. It affected the amount of patients we saw and all of the lectures were on Teams which had a bidirectional effect. As much as I liked to stay at home and the comfort of not travelling, I did miss interacting with my friends and seeing people as well.
Now that I’m in my last year, I'm looking forward to graduating hopefully in September since it was extended and hope to be able to see lots more patients and gain as much experience as I can.