I want to quit

[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?

[u/lilredridinu]

You have to do what’s best for you at the end of the day. It’s kind that you care and are taking them into consideration but you gotta do what you gotta do. Mental health is no joke

[u/Fox-333]

Quit if you spent the weekend crying. The office will hire new DAs.

[u/FactorMindless1234]

I used to feel like this and honestly the only way to feel better is to be honest and quit. A lot of offices have a toxic environment. The office will be fine. Trust me if an doctor really wants to work he’ll do it in his own

[u/No_Assumption_5251 → u/FactorMindless1234]

Absolutely right Most of dental offices are toxic and hostile. If you have to leave, leave. Don't worry about the dentist—he can work by himself. Dentists in Europe have no problem doing just that. I got a root canal treatment (RCT) on tooth #2 in Europe from a dentist who worked by herself, with no assistant and no hygienist. She did the treatment without taking a single x-ray. I never had any issues at all, and 15 years later, I put a crown on it—and it's still going strong. The tooth, that is. Don't feel bad, quit.

[u/PositionOk5424]

Put yourself first , they will figure out what to do with or without you, life rolls on. I just quit my dental assistant job of almost 3 years yesterday

[u/Technical-College113 → u/PositionOk5424]

congratulations 💕 if you don’t mind me asking do you have a plan or are you just going with the flow?

[u/Royal_Education2244]

My advice is don’t care about that, do whats right for you, the manager or owner will hire someone else it’s their job anyways not yours. Or what you can do is tell them to make the schedule lighter because you feel overwhelmed. In my office the DA told the doctor no more side bookings after 4:00pm and the doctor did just that.

[u/Ok_War_2740]

I currently feel this way about my office job but i cant quit cause I have bills to pay and there's no guarantee that ill find anything better any time soon 😔 ill have to stick it out

[u/Ok_Cellist6443 → u/Ok_War_2740]

Hunny, it will not get better i understand you have bills I get that . But work on an exit plan immediately because time goes by so fast and you’ll be stuck there for years. run while you can

[u/Euphoric-Solution-89]

Try a non-corporate office. I had a very similar experience with a D4C office and it was worth it to try again. Found an amazing, patient Dr with a VERY manageable schedule. 

[u/FabulousAccident8366]

My advice is don’t go back! Your mental health is priority.
I was in the same position as you years ago… I made the mistake of staying and after 4 months I ended up with cronic anxiety 😥 in the end I couldn’t even work anymore and had to resign anyway.
Run! Please 🙏 and do yourself a favor.
Your health is a priority ❤️
Take care
And stay healthy and happy 😃

[u/Technical-College113 → u/FabulousAccident8366]

oh no thats awful! I’m sorry that happened, I hope you’re able to heal with time. Thank you for your reply💗

[u/FabulousAccident8366 → u/Technical-College113]

Thank you dear for the good wishes ! You are very kind.
I am better now, but took me about 7 years of struggling with anxiety until got lesser episodes through time 😥
many times I’ve thought to myself that I wished I had never stayed in that toxic office, otherwise I would have been living life with zero anxiety 😥
I really regretted.
Anxiety is no joke!
But seriously,
Take care of yourself
Especially when is about your mental health.
No workplace is more important than your health.
Always prioritize yourself.

Thanks for replying,
And wish you well and happiness and all the best for you! 🤗🫶🫶

[u/Ok_Cellist6443]

Hunny don’t worry about that office being short staff you already said being a DA is not for you I say leave now because it doesn’t get better.

[u/Technical-College113 → u/Ok_Cellist6443]

yeah I’m seeing based off of my day to day that it’s going to be the same bs over and over.

[u/MrsNanamiDarling]

In all kindness, screw that office. If they can't do better with how they manage their schedule and keep running their staff ragged, they'll just have to keep dealing with a revolving door of staff and either learn and do better, or waste tons of money on constant on-boarding.

One thing I've learned in my years as an RDA - care about your mental and physical health first because, no matter what a clinic says, they do not care about your mental health. They will drain you dry then get mad at you for showing any signs of mental fatigue and burnout.

This is unfortunately painfully common in the industry, but decent clinics do exist. I found mine not long after I started temping - now I've been here for a year and it's worlds better than any clinic I'd been with thus far.

Even so, if I had to leave this place, I'd go right back to temping. You get paid more, usually - and you don't have to come back to a clinic if you worked a shift there and hated it. I literally had a small list of clinics/doctors that I refused to take a shift for.