 Hello everybody, Andrea Mayesca here with Dental L Tutoring. So let's talk about temping a little bit. So I became a tempie genist, I don't know, I'd say about a year ago, and I actually prefer it because I get to set my own hours, I get to set my own schedule. It's just something that I prefer because I do teach full-time pretty much, but there are some weeks where maybe I'm not teaching enough or perhaps I am teaching too much, so I just wanna take a couple of weeks off and not have to stress about having to give work notice to take time off, having to explain to them that I need to take time off or just whatever. I like to be more spontaneous. But a common concern is if your tempie genist or a temp assistant is will you make enough money? Will you have enough work to keep you steady? Now it depends on where you live honestly, it really, really does. I've lived in I'd say three different cities over the last five years. And I find in one city, it was hard to find work every day. It was like pulling teeth to find an office to work in, but then other weeks I'd be so busy where I'd be working 12 hours every day, but I didn't like that because you never know when the money's coming in. But then other cities like the one that I'm in now, currently I literally get several calls a day, messages, emails of can you come into temp today? Oh, can you come into temp all day every day next week? So there's a lot of work here. So it's quite easy to be a temp hygienist, even a temp assistant because we seem to be constantly looking for them. But what I would like to talk about is things that you should be made aware of, questions to ask that will just make your job in life basically a lot easier so that you don't find yourself in a situation where you're thinking, oh, I should have asked this question before. I'm at an office that I can't stand. I didn't know this is how they did things. Oh, it takes them a month to pay me. I wish this didn't happen, things like that. Because with being a temp, the rules aren't the same as if you're a permanent employee. You sometimes have to wait two weeks to get paid or a month depending on when you had that temp shift. So that brings me to my first point is sometimes when you're a temp, you do go in for an interview first. I've had it both ways where an office needs me say a month from now so they have time to give me an interview so I have time to ask these questions. Or I might have a job where they said, oh, a hygienist just cold and sick, forward shift in two hours, can you come on it? Yes, sure. So then there might not be time for me to ask some questions over the phone because they might be busy or there's no time for the whole interview process for me to ask questions. So you may or may not have the opportunity, but if it's a quick, oh, the hygienist just cold and sick, can you come in? Sure. So if it's quick like that, then the main question to ask is, and this way you don't feel uncomfortable because I do understand that it is hard to talk about money. I have no problem with it, but I know it's normal for a lot of people to have to talk about money. But it's a good idea to ask, oh, okay, perfect. I'll be there at, you know, let's say 1130. My first patient you said is at 12. Can I come in at 1130 to help set up? They might say, oh, you know what? You can come in at 11 if you prefer. Since you're new here, you know, we can show you around. Or they might say, well, you won't have a room until 1130. So yeah, so 1130 is pretty much the earliest that you can come in, speak to Nancy up front and she will help you. So that kind of helps to aim the conversation to what do you do when you walk in? Can you walk in and, you know, you'll let the receptionist know you're here, but who's going to show you how things are run? Because there's nothing worse than coming in saying, hey, my name's Andrea, I'm the temp for today. Okay, awesome. And then you're standing there like, okay, can I go in the back? Is somebody gonna show me around? What's gonna happen, right? Because if you're the first time there, you don't know where the instruments are, you don't know where your room is, you don't know where you can put your stuff down, you know, things like that. So that kind of gears the conversation to them telling you sort of who you can speak to. If that doesn't help, then take it a step further and say, okay, so I'll be in at 1130. Who do I ask for when I arrive? And then that should be pretty obvious. But in regards to the money thing, the money thing, ask them, do you prefer, sorry, somebody just popped up here, ask them, do you prefer I bring you a blank check to write me a check at the end of the day or do you prefer that I invoice you at the end of the day and when can I expect to be paid just so I'm aware? There's no harm in saying that you guys, because if you don't know, you might walk in, do your shift and then go, okay, who do I tell my hours to? What do you guys want? Do you want me to give me my email? Are you sending me an email money transfer at the end of the day? Do I wait two weeks to get paid with the rest of the office or maybe that office just got paid and they got paid every three weeks? Who knows? So it's nice to have an idea because honestly, I've been in offices where thankfully not me, but I have heard from other hygienists where they show up and they just are like, okay, who do I ask to get paid? Oh, well, and the staff has no idea, the dentist might not be there. So then you have to play telephone tag for the next week, talking to somebody who's going to pay you. So it's nice to get a good idea of what's happening first. More importantly, talk about your rate, talk about your wage. Don't just assume that they will pay you because they asked you to come in on short notice. They really should, but don't be afraid to say, I make such and such per hour, is this okay with you? Okay, if an office wants to negotiate with me, I basically say, oh, I'm sorry, this is my hourly rate. It's, I don't really, I don't go lower than that. I'd be happy to help you guys out some other time if you guys don't want to pay me that yet or I guess that doesn't really sound very good, does it? I just kind of talked off of the seat of my pants here because I've never had a problem with somebody saying, oh, okay, can you take 35, not 45 or whatever? I've never had that problem, but I can see people having that problem. I would simply say, no, I don't. This is my hourly rate. If it's not okay with you, I understand. You guys can call me if you ever need somebody, okay? That's what I say. That's what I say because as a temp, you should be paid a little more anyway because you don't get sick days. You don't get holiday pay. You don't know when you're working next. You don't get sick days, did I mention that? So if you're sick, if you're taking time off, you don't get paid. You don't get holiday pay. You pretty much don't get any benefits. No health, dental, medical, none of that, right? So that's why I get a certain amount. And if somebody says to you, oh, well, our other hygienists make this much, is it okay if we pay you this much too? If you work for us every Tuesday, let's just say. I still say, well, no, my rate is this much because I'm not a regular employee. I don't get sick days, holiday pay, none of that. So this is what I make, but I totally understand if that doesn't work for your office, just let me know. It sounds nice, but it's also firm. Please, please, please make sure to talk about your hourly pay, okay? But another tricky thing is what you might not feel comfortable asking, but you really should, is ask at this office, do we get paid for no shows? And because some offices don't pay you if a patient doesn't show up. And they might not tell you until after the fact. So here you go to pick up your paycheck, let's say, and you noticed an hour is not on there. So then you might say, oh, my paycheck is wrong. It's missing an hour. And then they might say, well, you had a no show so we don't pay you for that time. These are good things to talk about beforehand. I personally do not work in offices that do not pay for no shows, because that's not my fault. That's not my fault. I'm still there. It's not like I can sit in the back and have a coffee and relax. Who can relax fully at work? You just can't, okay? You just can't, I'm sorry, you can't. You're always doing something. So I do not work in an office where I don't get paid for no shows because the dental receptionist still gets paid. The dental assistant still gets paid. So why shouldn't I get paid, right? And they will tell you in some offices that aren't the best offices that you're a hygienist and you make a certain rate, so this is why we do it. Well, then finding another hygienist who will not get paid for no shows. So if you are one of those hygienists that don't get paid for no shows, look somewhere else, you guys, honestly, because it can turn out where half of your day you're sitting around doing nothing, but not fully relaxing, right? Because you're not at home. Not to mention you were expecting a certain amount of money that you're not making that day that you could have worked somewhere else. So it's good to ask ahead of time, oh, you know, just to clarify, does the dental hygienist get paid for no shows? If the dentist says, oh, okay. Well, thank you for asking. No, you do not say, okay, I apologize, but I do get paid for no shows. So if you would like to pay me for any no shows, then I'd be happy to work for you, but if that doesn't work for your office, then I understand. And let me know if you guys need me and pay me for no shows, basically. So that's something that I find a lot with Thames too, that some offices don't pay for no shows, but make sure you get paid. Those are kind of the main things to ask kind of on the fly. Some quick things are, which I did do a video about this too, but some quick things are just asking, do you guys have a uniform? I have all different colors scrubbed, so I can ask that, but you might not. So it doesn't make sense perhaps to ask if they have a certain uniform, because if it's a certain color that you don't have, then you don't wanna say, oh, okay, thanks for telling me that red is your uniform color, but I don't have that. So is it okay if I wear black, you know, which is still fine, but it just sort of shows that you're invested, I guess, in the office. If you do ask if they have a uniform, it just sounds professional. Ask that, otherwise that's it. You know, make sure you know who will be showing you around, so you can ask where the instruments are, who cleans the instruments, who sterilizes them, because that might be you, you never know, how the dentist likes you to ask him or her for a check. I find every office is different. Do you leave a sticky note? Do you say, hello, doctor, I'm all set for a check in room three? Or do you just simply walk in, you know, point? Just kidding. Say you're ready for a check. You know, every office is different. And I do like to ask what type of x-rays they use. Is it digital? Is it manual? Is it sensors? You know, just so you have an idea, and have them show you where the holders are. I find in so many offices, the holders are like often to a different room, totally separate from where the sensors are, where the plates are. So here I'm looking for the holders for like five minutes, because I can't take x-rays without holders, right? So ask where those are. What are some other things I ask? You know what? Those are kind of the main ones. Oh, I do ask what computer system they use, and if they like paper charts, or if they have computerized charts. Again, every office is different. It's a learning curve for sure, but that's the pros and cons of being a temp, is that you have to learn on the spot. Every office is different. There's new systems, there's new chartings, all kinds of things. Oh, and I should mention, it does help to look at in the chart what the last hygienist did, and what the last hygienist build for. Because if you're in an office where you have to put in codes, which you probably do, because you're the hygienist who did the work, check what the other hygienists put the codes through. If they do two to half units of scale every single time, you should continue that. Because if you do say three units, then the patient in the office might be like, oh, this is different, the patient isn't used to that. If you do one unit, that's a lot less, and why, you know? So I do suggest looking at the chart to see what the other hygienists did, so you can do the best you can to do the same thing. And do ask, I'm just sort of thinking of things now, how often they like you to take bite wings? Some offices every year, and some office is thankfully patient specific. So ask that. What else? Those are, I'd say the main ones. If you guys think of any other helpful tips or questions, please be sure to comment in the video below, because that does help me to kind of answer your questions as well. So good luck being a temp, I love it, but I did find that certain things I wish that I had known ahead of time, so that way it just makes our job easier. So good luck, you'll do great. And again, good luck, because it's a lot of fun, and let me know if you guys need anything. Thank you so much for watching.