Jill Leathen

PRACTICE MANAGER & PATIENT CARE COORDINATOR

I wanted a career change after several years as a hair stylist, my mother in law had mentioned a job advert for a trainee dental nurse position working with NHS. I decided to apply and thought what’s for you won’t go by you, dentistry wasn’t something I was ever that interested in other than I wanted nice teeth, to be honest I was terrified of attending the dentist so much so my dentist actually laughed when I told her I had applied for this position.

I started in my training position in 2013 and qualified in 2015. I was so surprised when I started my training at how interested I was in every aspect of the role and how much I loved it! When you come to work there are no two days similar, and being able to help patients through their smile journey, given that I am extremely nervous myself, allows me to empathise with patient. I have begun to realise just how much a smile means to people not only in our environment but to see the difference in patients when their treatment is complete and how it has changed their life really is rewarding to be part of. 

I furthered my knowledge by completing a PDA in Oral Health Education in 2016 with the view to obtaining a role educating others about prevention of oral disease. If I’m honest I was getting slightly bored of carrying out the same old treatments all the time and wanted to learn more. That’s when I applied for the job at Coatbridge Family Dental Care, they seemed to do all the up to date treatments with the best equipment, and let’s just say I haven’t been bored since!
I started at CFDC in 2017 as a dental nurse, learning so many new techniques and treatments I hadn’t even heard of before, literally every day is a school day! I love the fast pace and how our aim as a practice is to provide all treatments under the one roof. I love being part of all the new and exciting ideas and have since taken on a very different role in the practice.

As the practice evolves so does people’s roles, Gillian wanted to take a back seat from practice management to focus on business development so I have now been learning the role of practice manager along with doing a PDA in Dental Practice Management. I have also created the role of patient care coordinator at the practice, this involves me sitting down over a cuppa and chatting through treatment options and any worries or concerns you may have regarding treatment. I am there from start to finish of your smile journey and absolutely love seeing the transformations.
I hope to continue to grow and develop within my new role as practice manager and Patient Care Coordinator, and continue to keep driving the practice forward with the help of our amazing team.

In my spare time I just love spending quality time with family and friends, keeping fit and exploring the outdoors with our fur baby Heidi.