A big part of my daily work as a recruiter is talking with dentists who are interested in starting a career in the Netherlands. Most of these dentists are either recent graduates, or people who already have a few years of work experience under their belt. However, I regularly get into contact with students who want to get the most out of their education and are already exploring the opportunities that await them after they finish their studies.
The cheerful Croatian student Borna falls into the latter category. A student of the University of Rijeka, he is already preparing himself for his future career as a dentist.
A family of dentists
Dentistry has been a part of Borna’s life since the day of his birth: his grandfather was a dentist, and his father still works as a dental technician. Borna himself likes working with his hands, so he chose to try and continue the family tradition.
Even though he has been able to learn a lot from his father and grandfather, Borna also decided that this would be the right moment to see more of the world, discover new things and experience how dentistry works in other countries. This is the reason he started looking for a clinic abroad where he would be able to do a dentistry traineeship of a couple of weeks.
As he had been used to Croatia’s pleasant climate, his first idea was to look in warmer countries such as Spain. However, after doing some more orientation, he found out that not everyone spoke English, which would of course make his traineeship more difficult. Borna then set out to find a place where he would be able to do his work – at least initially – just speaking the English language. This is how he ended up looking in the Netherlands, and we got in touch with each other.
We got along quickly, so I got the question if I would be able to find him a Dutch clinic that would allow him to do a traineeship during the summer months. To accomplish this, I was helped by my colleagues, who are in touch with a large network of Dutch dental clinics. They are also the ones who guide our dentists after they have concluded our Dutch course and the other necessary preparation to be able to work in a Dutch dental clinic. They explored the options within their network to see if there were dental clinics that would offer Borna a traineeship. Soon, we received good news from the East of the Netherlands, which meant that, in the summer of 2019, Borna could spend a few weeks working at Dental Centre Zuiderval in Enschede!
Arrival in the Netherlands
Soon after arriving in the Netherlands, one of the things that stood out to Borna is that everything is very organised and structured. The work instructions were clear, and there was a positive atmosphere. In the clinic where he would do his dentistry traineeship, he was informed in advance on the best ways in which to spend his time there.
Efficient dentistry
Seeing as Borna was not yet a graduated dentist, nor spoke Dutch, he could not treat patients without supervision. After all, a dentist needs to be registered with the Dutch register for healthcare professionals (BIG), to be allowed to do that. One of the requirements to be included in the registry is, of course, a valid diploma. In addition, dentists from outside of the Netherlands must prove that their level of Dutch is adequate by successfully completing the B2 Dutch language exam.
For Borna, however, the purpose of this traineeship was, above all, to get a sense of how the Dutch perform dental healthcare, and of course to learn a lot while doing so. He spent a lot of time observing the treatments of other dentists and talking with patients. Apart from that, he also made diagnoses, worked on prostheses and assisted in the laboratory. As you might expect, this was a very interesting experience for someone whose father works as a dental technician. His time in the emergency department was another valuable learning experience, as he was able to see and learn a lot during the busy hours.
Looking back on this period, one word that Borna uses to summarise what he saw is ‘efficiency.’ Through good communication and cooperation between dentists and assistants, there is a strong sense of organisation and structure. The colleagues talk with each other a lot and the assistant knows which materials the dentist needs, which allows them to offer high-quality dental care.
Dental treatments are supported by a strong basis of blueprints, guidelines and protocols, which leads to a pleasant work atmosphere in which it is clear what needs to be done by everyone involved. Borna points out that this is enhanced further by the high quality of the available materials, such as the presence of rotatory systems.
Another thing that caught Borna’s attention is that dentists see many patients per day, yet this does not affect the quality of the treatments. He himself is someone who likes to learn and improve his skills by treating many patients and working efficiently. After all, that is the best way to become a good dentist. An additional advantage offered in the Netherlands is that the costs of treatments are fixed, so it is not necessary to try and attract customers with budget pricing. If you are a good dentist, the patients will return.
