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- How can Dental Assistants deal with a Burnout?
How can Dental Assistants deal with a Burnout?
- By Peter Abelard
- Published September 16th, 2008
- Dentures
- Unrated
One can have an extremely successful career as a Dental Assistant. However, at times it can be equally stressful and overwhelming. The profession of a Dental Assistant requires a high amount of dedication and energy and if one is experiencing a huge amount of physical as well as emotional stress due to it, then one might be on his/her way to a burnout.
People often make the mistake of confusing stress with burnout. Stress is primarily a periodic issue that is generally the result of the working environment. Having a bad working day is a prime example of stress. However, a burnout is a constant feeling of dissatisfaction and discontentment. As a result of a burnout, one can loose interest in his/her position of Dental Assistant. Burnout is primarily a feeling of despair and resentment and can also lead to depression. Dental Assistants experiencing this may feel so as they are feeling unappreciated and exploited.
There are many stages of this common phenomena. The initial stage is when you feel that everyday you have to drag yourself to your work. Soon, one starts feeling an undeniable sense of exhaustion all the time which leads to frustration and irritability. Some of the symptoms of a burnout are persisting headaches, drastic changes in the appetite and inexplicably high blood pressure. Hence, a burnout affects not only your professional
life but also your personal life.
The best thing to deal with such a situation is to consult your supervisors and co-workers. One can also try to attend a few counseling sessions in order to help you get over the burnout. However, prevention is definitely better than cure and you should try to avoid this situation as far as possible by meeting all your physical and emotional needs. You should ensure that you do have your regular health checkups as well as maintain good sleeping and eating habits. Often, setting of too high goals and subsequently the inability to meet them can result in a burnout situation. One should try to avoid this as well.
Meeting all your social needs is also an important factor. Always ensure that you nurture your relationship with your spouse, children, parents and friends. Also try to involve yourself in community activities if they interest you. The profession of Dental Assistant is a good one. However, a burnout is a common phenomena in this field. A burnout isn't always a cause of extreme concern, it just means that some radical steps need to be taken in order to get over the situation before it aggravates. The knowledge of symptoms and reasons as well as the awareness of ways to improve the situation, can help one effectively deal with it. However, it the feeling of resentment continues in spite of changes then one should acknowledge that it may also be time to make a career change.
People often make the mistake of confusing stress with burnout. Stress is primarily a periodic issue that is generally the result of the working environment. Having a bad working day is a prime example of stress. However, a burnout is a constant feeling of dissatisfaction and discontentment. As a result of a burnout, one can loose interest in his/her position of Dental Assistant. Burnout is primarily a feeling of despair and resentment and can also lead to depression. Dental Assistants experiencing this may feel so as they are feeling unappreciated and exploited.
There are many stages of this common phenomena. The initial stage is when you feel that everyday you have to drag yourself to your work. Soon, one starts feeling an undeniable sense of exhaustion all the time which leads to frustration and irritability. Some of the symptoms of a burnout are persisting headaches, drastic changes in the appetite and inexplicably high blood pressure. Hence, a burnout affects not only your professional
The best thing to deal with such a situation is to consult your supervisors and co-workers. One can also try to attend a few counseling sessions in order to help you get over the burnout. However, prevention is definitely better than cure and you should try to avoid this situation as far as possible by meeting all your physical and emotional needs. You should ensure that you do have your regular health checkups as well as maintain good sleeping and eating habits. Often, setting of too high goals and subsequently the inability to meet them can result in a burnout situation. One should try to avoid this as well.
Meeting all your social needs is also an important factor. Always ensure that you nurture your relationship with your spouse, children, parents and friends. Also try to involve yourself in community activities if they interest you. The profession of Dental Assistant is a good one. However, a burnout is a common phenomena in this field. A burnout isn't always a cause of extreme concern, it just means that some radical steps need to be taken in order to get over the situation before it aggravates. The knowledge of symptoms and reasons as well as the awareness of ways to improve the situation, can help one effectively deal with it. However, it the feeling of resentment continues in spite of changes then one should acknowledge that it may also be time to make a career change.