Working on the Isles of Scilly – the inside track!
“Welcome to possibly the BEST dental job in the world!
Hi, I am Gill, and for the past two and a half years I have been lucky enough to be the Island Dentist on the beautiful archipelago that is the Isles of Scilly.
This year I will be sixty and plan to retire. I will possibly regret this forever as it will mean leaving this beautiful place. But a renovation project in France beckons, and I am a big believer in squeezing as many adventures as possible into my life.
Why would you want to work here? Why would you not…….
There is a wonderful house waiting for you, big enough to bring family too, situated behind a subtropical park and only a three minute drive to work.
The practice is well appointed with two surgeries, digital radiography and OPG, and such a supportive company. Ellie the dental nurse is fantastic and knows all the residents really well.
The patients are lovely, they are very appreciative of our dental provision and never abuse the on call facility.
During the winter the practice is relatively quiet. We see our locals for check-ups and any treatment and visit the local care home and nurseries to carry out prevention-based activity.
In summer we get a little bit busier as we have seasonal workers and holidaymakers with dental issues to sort out. But it never has the high pressure feel of an urban mainland practice.
So is it for you?
You need to come with enough experience to cope with whatever arrives through the door. Just occasionally you will get a proper emergency and need a cool head to deal with it. An example would be a 9pm call-out to deal with a resident who caught a cricket ball with his teeth – a couple of hours suturing and splinting got him comfortable and happy. Or a twelve year old patient with bilateral condylar fractures after an ‘over the handlebars’ adventure on her bicycle.
You need to be a people person. You will be living amongst your patients. They will be serving you coffee and cake or pulling your pint, checking your groceries and taking you on their tripper boats to other islands. Everyone will know who you are, everyone waves to each other. It’s a world apart from the mainland.
There is a brilliant opportunity to have a perfect work life balance. We don’t have shopping malls or cinemas but we have glorious beaches, fantastic walks, the chance to row a gig, swim in the ice cold but beautiful sea, sail, windsurf, paint, create, explore! The food is amazing, we have fresh crab delivered to our doorstep, friendly local pubs and some fantastic boutique hotels and restaurants.
I hope that you feel inspired to find out more…..”
If you’d like to keep in touch with us about future opportunities to work in our employee-owned dental CIC, making a difference to the oral health of Cornish people, simply register at https://fuel.smiletogether.co.uk/careers-portal/