Go big or go home – Charlotte Monk is a Foundation Dentist at Rodericks Dental

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  Posted by: Dental Design      16th April 2018

 

Charlotte Monk is a Foundation Dentist at Rodericks Dental’s Mile House Dental Practice in Staffordshire. Here she shares her inspirational story of balancing the demands and pressures of dentistry with that of her other love – dressage.

I have been eventing now for several years. I decided to focus purely on dressage about 18 months ago, in order tor educe the risk of injuries for my ‘once in a life time’ horse, Bee.

Striking a balance

Along side my passion for horse riding and competing, I also wanted to work in healthcare. I felt that dentistry was a much more personal profession than medicine – you can get to know your patients really well and build a rapport with them – and so I studies at the School of Oral and Dental Sciences, University of Bristol.

I joined Mile House Dental Practice (part of the Rodericks group) last September – a practice on the FD Telford scheme, it was just about within commuting distance from my home. They were also happy to accept me on a part-time basis, which meant I could still look after my horses. The whole team is great to work with, but a special shout out has to go to practice manager Hannah Bentley and FD trainer Odessa Santos, who have been amazing! I feel very lucky to have such a supportive practice environment.

Working with Rodericks also has its benefits in terms of CPD. Training courses can be quite expensive and timely – with all my money and spare time taken up by the horses, this could prove difficult for me. The group provides great support with training, offering internal CPD days and significant discounts on external courses such as those run by Ashley Latter.

Three days a week, my typical routine involves getting up at 4.50am, mucking out, riding and feeding the horses before getting on the road for 7am. The first patients come in for 8.30am and I finish around 4pm. Once I’m home about 5.30pm, I ride the remaining of my now four horses and put them to bed, before going to the gym, eating and sleeping. Fridays are study days spent in hospital and the weekends are usually filled with competitions or training.

The highs and lows

The achievement I am most proud of in terms of competing was being a part of the team that took home Gold from the Home International 2016, despite only switching to dressage about six months previously. In my dental career so far, I cannot put into words how happy I was to survive finals and graduate! The course is hard enough as it is, but with the added pressure are travelling home to see my horses, I was incredibly relived to pull it off!

In the past few years, I have learnt that anything is possible if you want it enough and are prepared to work hard. There will always be ups and downs; you just have to keep going!

 

For more information on Rodericks and how it could help you in your career, please visit www.rodericksdental.co.uk/careers, email opportunity@rodericksdental.co.uk or call 01604 602491 (option 1) and ask for Christina Regan in our Dental Recruitment Team.

 

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