Reflection Paper On The Dentist

It was a sunny Monday morning when I rolled out of bed, took a shower, put my blue scrubs on, and headed out to work. When I arrived to my dental office in Downtown Summerlin, I could already see the smiling faces of my co-workers, Jackie and Tammy, and I could hear the subtle noise of the dental suction. As I was preparing for the day, the dentist arrived and so did the first patient; a grumpy old man. After what seemed like an hour of dealing with the old man’s attitude and complaints, I finally sat down to assist the doctor with the root canal procedure. As I was sitting in the dental chair, I could only focus on my throbbing back pain and negative attitude. I stopped for a brief moment and looked around at our beautiful tulip wallpaper

When I arrived, my eyes immediately filled with tears and I felt my heart race once again, this time with pain and not excitement. As I wiped the tears streaming down my face, I told myself, “I’ve had enough.” I thought about how I am belittled on a daily basis and how the patients thought it was okay to harass me. How the dentist did not protect or appreciate any of his staff. But I would not allow anyone to make me feel small again. So I decided to quit. I grabbed my things and went up to the front desk. I returned my keys to the manager and told her I would not be coming back and I left. From the second I walked outside, I felt a great sense of relief. It was like an enormous weight was taken off my shoulders and I could finally move forward with my

I did not want to think about the grumpy old man who was uncooperative and made me angry, how the front desk overbooked the appointments yet again, or how the dentist yelled at me and made me feel worthless. I especially did not want to think about the way I quit my job or what I will do from this point on. All I wanted to do was take a long bath, have dinner, and watch my favorite show with my dogs. I felt it was necessary to give my body time to relax. After two episodes of my favorite show and a delicious dinner, I had to think about the consequences, if there were any at all, of leaving what I had hoped to be my long-term job. My feelings were so conflicted, I did not know if I should give up dental assisting for good or give it a second chance at a different office. Maybe it would be great somewhere else and I would find a “second family”. Or maybe it would be another bad experience and I dreaded the thought of going back. I called my parents that night because they always have good judgment and can guide me in the right direction. I explained to them what happened and they were very sympathetic. This was not the first time I came to them about problems at work so they were not surprised by what had happened. In the end, they were supportive of whatever decision I made and they advised me to do what makes me