u/Technical-College113

I’m a fairly new DA working in a corporate office. This past Thursday, there was only two of us assistants in the office and by the end of the shift, I thought my brain was going to explode. I’ve never felt that overwhelmed in my life and I’ve worked retail during the holiday season. I spent the entire weekend laying in bed crying bc I don’t ever want to feel that way again. I’ve already known this is not something I want to stick with long term but I have to go back in tomorrow and I’m dreading it. I really want to put my mental health first and put in my two weeks but one of the other DA’s is going to be gone for over a month soon and the office is going to be down to two DA’s if I quit now. I don’t want them to struggle but I’m worried about my mental health. Any advice?

I started at my office in April and I’m starting to think that my brain isn’t wired for this kind of work. Being a proactive thinker by assuming the doctor’s needs, making sure the patient is taken care of, and making sure everything is set up correctly…I know the first couple of years is tough because of the learning curve but I just don’t know if this is for me. I always end up falling short in one way or another. My office is also corporate so we frequently get slammed with patients and it gets so hectic my brain starts to lag, like I can’t keep up with the pace and prioritize what’s important. For instance, one of the Dr.’s added a filling to the schedule after the pt’s cleaning, but for some reason, my brain was prioritizing getting the Dr.’s notes done bc she likes to have them done before the end of the day so instead of going to set up the room, I focused on that but once she came into the room to start the filling, nothing was set up and ready and I could tell she was disappointed. I’ve already suspected myself of having ADHD but I also feel like there’s just too much that we’re responsible for to keep up with everything. And this being a medical profession also makes me anxious about making a mistake; I don’t want to be held responsible for anything that might go wrong (i.e. not checking if the pt. has stopped their blood thinners b4 doing an extraction😖). I know the role of a DA is to make the job easier for the Dr. by thinking 10 steps ahead but I just think I cannot do that.
I used to think anybody could be a dental assistant but that’s simply not true. I already knew I didn’t want to be a dental assistant forever but should I just go ahead and quit now?