Did September Still Give You the Scaries?

September has come and gone. And maybe for the first time, you weren’t heading back to school.

No new classes. No syllabus filled with deadlines. No clinic requirements to count. No competencies to complete. No exams already staring at you from the calendar.

You’re officially on the other side.

So why did September still give you that same feeling?

You know the one.

That pit in your stomach. That Sunday-night dread. That feeling when your alarm goes off and you immediately start thinking about how many days are left until the weekend.

Except this time, you weren’t cramming for an exam or worrying about whether you would finish your requirements.

This time, it was work.

And if September brought back the scaries even though you’re no longer a student, maybe it’s worth asking yourself why.

Maybe It’s Time to Look at Your Environment

As a new grad, it can be really easy to assume that when something doesn’t feel right, you are the problem.

Maybe I’m too slow. Maybe I should be better at this by now. Maybe everyone else can handle a one-hour schedule and I just can’t. Maybe I’m not confident enough.

Maybe dental hygiene just isn’t what I thought it would be.

But before you start questioning yourself or your entire career take a look at the environment where you’re trying to grow.

Think about a flower. You can take a perfectly healthy flower and put it in the wrong environment, and eventually it will begin to wilt.

Maybe it isn’t getting enough sunlight. Maybe the soil isn’t right. Maybe its roots don’t have enough room. Maybe it simply isn’t getting what it needs to thrive.

The flower isn’t necessarily the problem.

And neither are you.

Is Your Environment Helping You Bloom or Making You Wilt?

Take a minute and think about how you feel at work.

Do you feel comfortable asking questions?

Are you given enough time to provide the care you were trained to provide?

Do you feel supported when you aren’t sure about something?

Does your doctor respect your clinical judgment?

Do you feel like you can advocate for your patients?

Are you learning and becoming more confident?

Or are you spending most of your energy just trying to make it through the day?

Most importantly: Are you starting to feel like yourself or less and less like yourself?

Your first few years in dental hygiene are such an important time. You are still figuring out your routines, building your confidence, learning how to communicate with patients and doctors, and discovering what kind of clinician you want to be.

The environment you do that in matters.

Your First Office Doesn’t Have to Be Your Forever Office

Sometimes new grads feel an incredible sense of loyalty to the first office that hired them.

They gave me a chance.

They hired me when I didn’t have experience.

Maybe I just need to stick it out.

Being grateful for an opportunity doesn’t mean you owe an office your entire future.

And an office doesn’t have to be absolutely terrible for you to decide it isn’t right for you.

Maybe there isn’t one huge red flag. Maybe it’s a collection of little things. Maybe the pace doesn’t work for you. Maybe you don’t feel supported. Maybe the culture doesn’t align with you. Maybe you’ve simply realized that this isn’t where you want to grow.

That’s okay.

Your first job can teach you just as much about what you don’t want as it teaches you about what you do.

So, What Were Your September Scaries Trying to Tell You?

Now that September is behind us, think back.

How did you feel heading into work each week?

What were you dreading?

What made you anxious?

What left you exhausted?

And what would need to change for you to feel differently?

The answer doesn’t automatically mean you need to quit your job tomorrow.

Maybe you need to set a boundary.

Maybe you need to have a conversation.

Maybe you need more mentorship.

Maybe you need to ask for more time.

Maybe you need to start exploring other opportunities.

Or maybe you simply need to acknowledge something you’ve been trying not to admit:

This environment isn’t helping me grow anymore.

You worked incredibly hard to get through dental hygiene school and earn those letters after your name. Now you get to figure out what kind of career you want to build with them.

And if September gave you the scaries this year, don’t ignore that feeling just because you’re not a student anymore.

Get curious about it.

Because sometimes the flower isn’t the problem.

Sometimes it just needs a different place to bloom.

Do you need a new place to bloom? Make your DentalPost profile today!