In times of inflation and higher taxes and higher social security---take less wages!

Every year there is a conference for dental professionals to receive their continuing education credits and meet with friends and product vendors etc. I find most every conference valuable. While sometimes the chairs are hard and the speaker is dry the information is golden. I enjoy learning and re-learning those things that help to make me a better hygienist.

This past week Utah held their conference in Salt Lake City. It was a great time for me to catch up with friends and those women who have helped me in school and out of school become a better practitioner.  On Friday I was able to attend a luncheon for hygienists. I noticed that not many RDH were in attendance. I wondered if it was due to the price of the lunch being more than the price for the whole conference. . . .Anyway, the president of the Utah Dental Association spoke to us. He wanted us as RDH to know that he is aware of the unemployment and under-employment of many hygienists. He was shocked to learn that day in the new dentist breakfast that there were 3 (THREE) unemployed dentists in the area. Now I am not even concerned since I know of many more RDH who are unemployed and many more who want more days/hours of work. Plus dentists have the ability to work on their own. RDH's are required to work FOR/UNDER/WITH a dentist, therefore making us incapable of working more unless a dentist will employ us. Again I digress. . .  Scott Theurer is the president of UDA and his assessment of the job market for the dental community is bleak. His solution for hygienists is to take less pay! I am not lying. He actually said---you need to be more flexible with your pay. He then changed the subject and discussed the opening of the newest dental school in the area! I was sitting there thinking-nice solution dude-ask me to lower my wage, which is already $10 less than I was making in Oregon and way less than 30% of my production, and to welcome more dental students and graduates to the area. I am irritated. Why not ask the dentist to make less in my production? Why not ask the dentist who already does not pay for health insurance, 401k, vacations, sick days, or conference fees (when he paid for the rest of the office staff-just not me) to pay what I am worth? He asks patients to pay what he thinks a prophy is worth, why not pay me? I am quite irritated with Scott Theurer. He was no help. I understand that I have been out of the dental community loop since I left Utah and now that I am back I have found the hygienist association to be not helpful. I live in Vernal and contacted them about my component so I could be active in that area like I was in Cedar City. I was told my component is Salt Lake City-3.5 hours away. I cannot justify paying for an association who requires me to drive 7 hours round trip to attend a CE for free. I mean I pay more in gas that for the fee of a non-member. I am truly irritated with the attitude of the UDHA and UDA. UGH.

I am not willing to take less wages than I already am. I am not willing to work for less. I get no perks, no benefits  nothing. I need a new job-and trust me they are few and far between here in the Basin. I feel under appreciated and under valued and not part of a team.

I miss working for Dr M!