Dental Hygienist turning Nurse (hopefully)

Published

Hi, I am brand new to allnurses! I graduated from Dental Hygiene school in 2000. I always thought I would go to nursing school but chose hygiene because of the pay and hours. BUT NOW, after all these years, I still have the "itch" to go so I think I'm gonna do it. I have 3 kids and wonderful supportive husband. I have all my pre req's but I plan on taking A&P's and micro again to hopefully get a better grade. Is anyone else here applying to Athens Tech?

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Hi RDHtoRN, I just found your post and saw no one has responded.

I am sorry it is so long after you originally posted, but I thought I would respond anyway.

I wanted to say that I am an RDH and I worked DH for 3 years before I started thinking about nursing. I now am 2 months away from completing my RN. I am so happy that I made my decision to go ahead and become an RN. Although being a RDH was great, I felt like it was a stagnant career.

If you want to be a RN, I recommend shadowing a RN to see if you really will enjoy it. Then, go for it!

Up Vote Up Vote ×
hi rdhtorn, i just found your post and saw no one has responded.

i am sorry it is so long after you originally posted, but i thought i would respond anyway.

i wanted to say that i am an rdh and i worked dh for 3 years before i started thinking about nursing. i now am 2 months away from completing my rn. i am so happy that i made my decision to go ahead and become an rn. although being a rdh was great, i felt like it was a stagnant career.

if you want to be a rn, i recommend shadowing a rn to see if you really will enjoy it. then, go for it!

omg!!!!!:yeah:i am not crazy after all hehe, and here i thought i was the only one. i too am thinking into changing careers. i am currently an rda and took my pre reqs for dental hygiene, i only needed the chemistries. our economy has taken a major plunge lately, which made me realize that with such a small amount of pts for rps, dentists will probably see the need to reduce staff, hygienists included. why pay someone to do the work when maybe thats all the pts you have for the day? so i looked into nursing, which is what i wanted to do to begin with, but somehow i ended up in dentistry which i love and enjoy to the day. i am very scared to make a change, i feel like i will be starting all over again, and dentistry feels like a security blanket to me.

anyways, thank you sooo much for replying to the previous thread, your reply made my day:d

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Hi RDHtoRN, I just found your post and saw no one has responded.

I am sorry it is so long after you originally posted, but I thought I would respond anyway.

I wanted to say that I am an RDH and I worked DH for 3 years before I started thinking about nursing. I now am 2 months away from completing my RN. I am so happy that I made my decision to go ahead and become an RN. Although being a RDH was great, I felt like it was a stagnant career.

If you want to be a RN, I recommend shadowing a RN to see if you really will enjoy it. Then, go for it!

Hi, I am brand new to allnurses! I graduated from Dental Hygiene school in 2000. I always thought I would go to nursing school but chose hygiene because of the pay and hours. BUT NOW, after all these years, I still have the "itch" to go so I think I'm gonna do it. I have 3 kids and wonderful supportive husband. I have all my pre req's but I plan on taking A&P's and micro again to hopefully get a better grade. Is anyone else here applying to Athens Tech?

Welcome to the club!!!:D I am to going from dental to nursing

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Hi, I am brand new to allnurses! I graduated from Dental Hygiene school in 2000. I always thought I would go to nursing school but chose hygiene because of the pay and hours. BUT NOW, after all these years, I still have the "itch" to go so I think I'm gonna do it. I have 3 kids and wonderful supportive husband. I have all my pre req's but I plan on taking A&P's and micro again to hopefully get a better grade. Is anyone else here applying to Athens Tech?

Are you talking about Athens Tech in Georgia? I'm hopefully applying there for Fall 2009. I'm not a dental hygienist or anything but try posting in the GA forum, you might get some more responses there! Good luck!

Up Vote Up Vote ×

VVCNurse, If you have any questions you can PM me. Things may be different here though cause I am across the country. Anyway, I understand the scary feeling of leaving your security blanket of the dentistry field. I feel that it is worth the leap, but you have to be ready for many changes. There are similarities, but definitely huge differences in hygiene and nursing. The great thing is that you don't have to leave dentistry altogether. I plan on working nursing full-time, but then working a few days a month in hygiene. I am sure you can do the same as a RDA, so you can still keep up skills in dentistry, too. You mentioned the economy as one of your reasons for wanting to be a nurse and I agree to a point. I think nursing is more recession proof than hygiene, but in my opinion, no job is completely recession proof. I think available job openings depend on your location, but I really feel that nursing will give me more choices. Good luck to you! :)

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I, too, am exiting dental hygiene to embark on a nursing career. I have been a hygienist for 10 years and am bored out of my mind. Dental hygiene has been very profitable for me and I have worked abroad, in pedo, and perio. I never felt inclined to get my bachelor's degree though because the limited number of jobs, my personal lack of enthusiasm for dental hygiene, and pay did not seem to be worth it to me. This unfortunately, has left me stuck in clinical hygiene and forced me to consider what to do.

For the past year, I have researched transitioning to a different career, and kept coming back to nursing. There are so many challenges and opportunities with nursing, both educational and professional. The possibilities are nearly endless. You can continue your education all the way to the doctorate level, you can work bedside, or have not patient contact whatsoever. Currently, I am in the process of retaking my science classes which have expired. Ironically, this week I was laid off from my 4 day a week dental hygiene job due to the economy. So my husband and I decided next semester I will go to school full-time and be able to apply to a few nursing programs here in the area to start in the fall of '09. Financially, this will be a bit rocky, but I am SOOOO excited to have concrete timeline to be working towards.:yeah:

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Thank you so much for your response.

Sorry I took forever to respond=(

I am now taking Developmental Psych, and will apply this coming Spring to Nursing. The wait will be long, but worth it=)

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I am so glad there are more people in the world that feel the same as I do!! I am in Dental Hygiene, but am looking at doing an ABSN program to become an RN-- People think I"m crazy but I want the excitement and total patient involvement- As well as the ability to move up instead of being stuck in the same position career wise forever! I think being a nurse and the career opportunities are amazing- I wish I would have done more research on the profession before I started DH school! Does anyone have any advice on Accelerated BSN programs? Or would you recommend a traditional BSN? Thanks, and it's nice to meet all of you former RDH's!:)

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in ICU.

Wow, I'm so glad I found this thread! (even if it is a little bit late to reply). I had no idea so many hygienists were going into nursing. I thought I was the only crazy one! haha I will have my RN in about a year. I too find the field of dental hygiene to be stagnant. I am bored, the job market is crap, and there is no room for professional growth. I still practice hygiene 2 days a week. I plan to temp or possibly work part time in hygiene once I get my RN to keep my skills up and get some extra $. Good luck to you all!

Up Vote Up Vote ×

HealthNut, I just came across this thread again and saw you asking about ABSN programs. I already had a BS in dental hygiene, so it was an easier transition to go to an ABSN program. I can PM the details if you like.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Hello - I have enjoyed reading all of this discussion. I am a dental hygienist and have been for 17 years. I have wanted to go into Nursing for several years and now, at the late age of 38, I plan to make my move. I have found enjoyment in Dental Hygiene but a lack of growth. I am interested in the opportunities Nursing has to offer. I recently shadowed a Nurse for several hours and was very impressed with the Nurses I met.

My fears are of the crazy hours since I have twin daughters and a need to be a Mom. I don't want to abandoned my girls for my Career. Are there any Moms out there who can tell me how they do it all?

Any comments are greatly appreciated !

Kerri

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Join the Discussion