has this ever happened to you

[noctanol]

today i was at the dentist getting my molars filled. anyway to cut the story short, i was under nitrogen gas and had my mouth wide open, dental assistant to my right side with the suction tip in my mouth, dentist on my left. Dentist didn't say a lot, just "open more" "good" "very good" "were almost done" he said it was going to be a 8 min procedure but we were way past half an hour. Suddenly I found myself looking at the dental assistant or whatever her title is. I knew for a fact that if the dentist had messed up, i would note it on her face. She just smiled occasionally and at some point i guess she knew that i was scared and held my hand. I felt so comfortable and at peace. total time for that filling was hr and 5 mins. After the procedure was over, mouth still numb, i asked her if she loved working at the office, she said it was an alright job but was looking forward to starting nursing school when she finishes her pre reqs. All i thought was wow, it sure will be nice to have you onboard as a nurse.

PS: she didnt know i was a nurse

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

Moved to the General Nursing Discussion forum for more responses.

[Zookeeper3]

Not in that particular setting, but I've come across many people over the years in service jobs, bankers, realtors.. that I knew would have made great nurses because of their attention to detail and caring.

[tencat]

Nice story! I HATE the dentist (pathological fear....almost need ativan to get through a cleaning) so I'd love to have that lady as the one who assisted.