Inaaya Ahmed

Meeting the High Sheriff deepened my desire to build a culturally-competent community, which I strive for by volunteering at AWARE, a charity specialising in work with SEN children, refining my communication skills. Over two years, I’ve worked 1:1 with children helping them express themselves both verbally and non-verbally. This experience underscored the importance of considering physical and psychological needs in providing care. I learnt it doesn’t always take words to support someone; sometimes compassion is enough. This experience taught me the nuances of communicating under pressure. After witnessing a non-verbal child in distress, acting under pressure was the difference between calming the child and escalating the situation, overtime, enabling me to develop the ability to recognise non-verbal cues, ensuring effective response, supporting team dynamics.

I strove to achieve a culturally competent community by co-leading a high-profile meeting with the High Sheriff of West Yorkshire, Adeeba Malik. This experience deepening my understanding of social ethics. I took on the responsibility of facilitating discussion, displaying courage to present systemic disparities within healthcare, like the disproportionately lower success rate of ethnic minorities when accessing NHS dental services. I engaged in conversation to speak about how these outcomes could be addressed through Adeeba Malik's QED foundation, emphasising cross-cultural communication to advocate for equitable healthcare.

Shadowing a dentist for three days reinforced the importance of versatility for patient-centred care, highlighted when the dentist played soft music, explained each instrument and presented the tell-show-do plan for a child experiencing dental phobia. I inquired with the dental nurse on the difference between composite and amalgam fillings, as well as the equipment used. Her explanations align now with the recent phasing out of amalgam in the UK. Additionally, this piqued my own interest in dental instruments, reinforcing the question; has dental apparatus always been this intricate and patient-focused?.

By independently organising a two-week placement at a NHS dental surgery, I observed a multidisciplinary team practicing collaboration and effective communication upholding patient beneficence. As the dentist advised their patient on risks and outcomes of extracting a decaying tooth, I witnessed the importance of autonomy, and sensitively applying GDC principle 2, ensuring transparency when making informed decisions. During my placement, I conducted a survey on patient dental-hygiene, discovering that prevention is equally important as treatment, when half the respondents admitted to not brushing twice a day.

When participating in SpringPod’s Dentistry course, I witnessed the importance of working within a multidisciplinary team to excel in providing a strong patient rapport. I gained a wealth of insight into the different roles of a dentist and the skills that make up a practitioner. The accessibility of acquiring online work experience led me to the question: Can we acquire dental services online?. From this, I discovered the field of Teledentistry, a sector of Dentistry we can develop to bridge geographical dental inequalities, the advantages of this being increased accessibility and availability of appointments, leading to improved patient satisfaction.

Working in a Multidisciplinary team to Direct and Produce a theatrical play not only taught me the profound importance of teamwork but served as a form of stress relief, molding a space many, including myself, could express themselves. As a team, we encountered internal conflicts, particularly when differing viewpoints. As the Director, I learnt the importance of empathetic communication to actively listen to each member's perspective, redirecting everyone towards our shared goal of a successful production. These skills parallel those eminent as a dentist when collaborating with a dental nurse, with teamwork contributing towards effective safety intervention to reduce clinical errors. This ensures patient confidence, thus aligning with GDC principle 6. Researching and applying Bandura's learning theory to harness a collaborative learning structure allowed for individuals including myself to feel encouraged to learn from others.