The Educational Supervisor: I qualified from Manchester in 1999 and have been an ES since 2012. Earlier in my career I took posts in restorative dentistry
and Max-Fax, before working in a senior role in special care dentistry. I have now settled into general practice and been at Genesis South Normanton for twelve years.
I live in Nottingham with a wife and children, and enjoy trying to play sport and music. I like to provide a supportive environment for the FD to grow from a fresh graduate into an independent and competent clinician. This involves working with the FD early on to establish strengths and weaknesses, then targeting learning with these in mind. As the year progresses, we will aim to maintain regular and close contact to ensure the result of a hopefully satisfactory completion of DFT
.
The Practice: Genesis South Normanton is part of the Dental Partners family of practices. We are mainly an NHS practice that also provides a full range of private options for patients (except dental implants, for which we refer to a sister practice). We have 6 surgeries staffed by seven dentists and two therapists with, a team of friendly and industrious nurses. Currently two of our dentists are former FDs. The other dentists are more experienced and have some expertise in most areas of dentistry including minor oral surgery, orthodontics, crown and bridge, and dental implants; as well as being used to supporting FDs when required. Some facial aesthetics is also carried out in the practice. We are a fully digital practice. This includes clinical records, radiographs, consent and referrals. We also use a rotary endodontic system (Wave 1). The practice serves what might be described as an area of high dental need, and therefore we treat a large volume of caries, periodontal disease, tooth wear and edentulousness. Because of this we are able to provide FDs with a good range of clinical experience to establish and develop the basic skills gained during BDS.
The Area: South Normanton, near Alfreton is a former coal-mining town close to the Derbyshire Dales and Peak District. In addition to its proximity to rural life and scenic beauty, it is only half an hour's drive from the cities of Nottingham, Derby and Sheffield. The area is well connected by the M1 motorway, the A38 road and a train station at Alfreton. Because of its central location in the country and the excellent road links, many parts of England and Wales are easily accessible from the area.
In addition to the nearby cities, there is a large retail outlet on the outskirts of the town, close to junction 28 of the M1.