How do dentists remain professional?

Dentists need to remain professional at work and in public. You will be treating patients and professionalism is obviously required here, but this is a requirement in your personal life too.

Here are relevant examples of how to remain professional at work:

• Abide by all GDC regulations
• Be aware of the boundaries between a patient and dentist- treat them like a patient, not your friend
• Be aware of the boundaries between a dentist and other members of the dental team- avoid discriminating and favouritism

Here are some relevant examples of how to remain professional outside of work:

• You must make sure that you are not engaging with any appropriate content on social media if you have a public account
• You must maintain a professional patient-dentist relationship if you bump into your patient in public
• You must avoid sharing patient information with friends and family

It's important to stay professional in all aspects of life because you are representing the profession. You want to show the interviewer that you possess all these qualities that a good dentist has (empathy, respectful etc) outside of work too.

Suggested structure for this answer:

• Mention that dentists have to be professional at work because this is a basic requirement, the mention that this is equally as important in their personal life
• Give examples of how dentists remain professional in a dental practise
• Give examples of how dentists remain professional in their personal life
• Explain why this is important to the profession
• Demonstrate how you hold the qualities of a good dentist in your personal life, showing how you can transfer this to your professional life