Maroubra NSW - Jamie Workman BDS (Cardiff)

Age

28

Previous job in the UK:

I did my vocational training year in Cardiff and then went back to Birmingham and locumed there.

How did you end up in Australia?

I took a year out to go travelling around the world and stopped off in Australia. I worked in Gladstone, which is 6 hours north of Brisbane in QLD, on the east coast of Australia. It was a pretty 'different' place, with a back drop of high rise industrial buildings. I only stayed there for 3 months, joined a local soccer team and beach volleyball team; everyone was so friendly... I fell in love with Australia.

I went back to Birmingham after travelling and worked there for a couple of months. The stress of work in the NHS was never going to give me the life I had experienced in Australia. I also met a special someone whilst I was travelling and this was an extra incentive to return! I just loved everybody's outdoor nature. Everyone is so active and happy! And then there's the sun, sea, sand and surf... hmmm Spagetti junction?!?!

Where do you work now?

When I returned to Australia, I wanted to live in Sydney. Within two weeks of getting here, I was offered a job in a practice in Maroubra, which is a small beach-side community about 4 beaches up along the coast from Bondi and right next door to Coogee. I have now been working here for 2 years from April 07 to April 09.

Describe your current dentistry work:

I currently work Monday and Tuesday 9-6pm and Wednesday - Friday 9-5pm.
We do all aspects of general dentistry, including root canal and any crown and bridge work. The only things that are really referred out are orthodontics or anything requiring specialist care- for example oral surgery. It is a great opportunity to develop and refine your skills and with the extra time you are able to spend with each patient the quality of your work dramatically increases. There is freedom to act within your clinical competency in all fields of dentistry.

What are the advantages of working where you do?

I went from seeing between 30-45 patients a day in the UK, to a maximum of 20 in Australia, most commonly between 10 and 15. I didn't take much of a drop in pay and the returns in terms of lifestyle are phenomenal. While the practice is not incredibly high tech, the love and care offered is by far the best I have come across. I have the time to do quality dentistry and take pride in what I do.

There is less of the treadmill effect I experienced in the NHS back in the UK. It is a really great pace of life and work and I couldn't imagine going back unless I could work in a nice private practice, and I'm not sure how I would cope without a beach!

I have also fallen in love with Sydney. I live at Coogee beach, which is great and only a five minute drive from where I work in Maroubra. If there are any cancellations in my day, I will try and get out for a run or a swim in the ocean. And after work I will go and run by the sea... only takes a couple of minutes to forget what I did during the day. We even went kayaking in Sydney harbor last week, it was incredible - the bridge, the opera house, the boats... Amazing!

How did you go about getting a job in Australia?

I heard about DJS through the BDJ magazine and contacted them as I was travelling around Australia. It couldn't have been an easier process. I just called them, they promoted me to this great practice and then I started work. I have been on a 457 visa for the last two years, but just recently received my permanent residency, which didn't take long at all to get processed... which is great.

Apart from the sponsorship side, one of the biggest benefits of working with DJS is that they have a relationship with Prime Practice who provide continued education courses in Australia. These courses are offered free of charge to Dentist Job Search dentists and I found these to be fantastic! You have the opportunity to be inspired by peers who want to be at the top of their game. One course called Transitions was great and I was blown away by how you could 'transition' into buying a practice. The information was gold. I also did PrimeSpeak (a 3-day advanced communication course) which was great. I plan on doing more courses with Prime Practice independently of Dentist Job Search as soon as I am ready.

If you are interested in having an Australian experience like this one, contact Dentist Job Search at www.djs.com.au / info@djs.com.au