Dental News - The temporary dilemma

Angie Stone, RDH, BS

Mon. 3 January 2011

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Across the United States, full-time hygiene positions are difficult to come by for the unemployed hygienist. This situation leads many hygienists to rely on working in an office only a couple days a week. If there are not enough hours available, other hygienists are forced into being a “fill in” or “temporary” hygienist for an office.

While some hygienists prefer to work as a temporary worker, the greatest share of hygienists would prefer to have an office to call their work home.

Temping has many pros and cons. On the up side, the hygienist has the ability to choose when and where she wants to work. If a requested day does not work into her schedule or if the location is too far away from home, she can decline the day.

Filling in also provides an opportunity to see how the office operates without having to commit to a permanent position. There is no need to return to an undesirable office situation. Working in many different offices exposes the temporary worker to different equipment, products, technology, etc. This is a great opportunity to learn new things.

On the other side, it can be difficult to provide a high-quality dental hygiene experience to patients when temping. When a hygienist is not accustomed to the equipment, supplies and office environment, the focus of the appointment can land on these issues when the focus should be on the patient. In addition, difficulties can arise if the office is not practicing to the same standard of care the hygienist is familiar with.

In this situation, should the hygienist practice in his usual fashion or should he fall in line with how the temporary office operates? This has the potential to be a dilemma for the hygienist. On one hand, there is a standard of care that needs to be met.

On the other hand, the office has its standard and is likely not going to appreciate a different approach. In order to keep a temporary position, the hygienist may feel the need to comply with standing office procedures. Keeping a job in this job climate is of ultimate importance, but so is standard of care.

Many hygienists have been in “the temporary dilemma.” I welcome your feedback on how our readers handle this situation. Contact me at a.stone@dental-tribune.com.

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