Happy New Year and welcome to 2026.
A new year naturally brings reflection, goal setting, and good intentions — better systems, stronger teams, improved communication, and less daily stress in practice.
But here’s what I see consistently in clinics:
Goals don’t fall over because people don’t care.
They fall over because there is no structure to support them. Without clear induction processes, simple protocols, and ongoing training, even the best intentions can quietly disappear once the year gets busy.
In December, I was honoured to be named Australian Dental Nurse of the Year 2025. This wasn’t about one good year — it reflects 28 years in dental nursing and the last five years spent building Dental Assisting & Beyond, supporting dental assistants and teams to upskill in the real, everyday clinical skills that happen in practice, and helping dentists and assistants work better together through clearer communication and shared expectations.
This Week's Tip: Staff Induction
This week, I strongly encourage every practice to revisit staff induction.
Whether a team member has been with you 10 days or 10 years, January is the perfect time to get everyone to complete an induction refresh. This helps identify gaps, update knowledge, and ensures the entire team is singing from the same hymn sheet.
When everyone understands:
• How things are done
• Why they are done that way
• What the expectations are
You can start implementing systems with confidence — knowing everyone is working consistently and correctly.
Print and complete your Quick Staff Induction to ensure all clinical team members are up to date and aligned.
Free Staff Induction Check List
Sterile Field Essentials — Online Course
One area I am especially passionate about — and increasingly concerned by is sterile field setup.
You may have seen me speaking about this on Instagram. I regularly see cross-infection breaches shared on social media, often unintentionally. My goal is not to call anyone out — it’s to help you stay compliant and confident.
Sterile Field Essentials is an online course designed to give your entire team peace of mind that sterile and surgical fields are being set up correctly and in line with current standards.
✔ Just $99 per practice
✔ Webinars and practical how-to videos
✔ Downloadable and printable check sheets
✔ Designed to help implement systems, not overwhelm
This course is an excellent foundation for ensuring everyone is setting up surgical and sterile fields the same way, every time.
I genuinely want to help you protect your patients, your team, and your practice.
In-Person Training for 2026
DAB will be kicking off this year’s in-person training with a trip to Sydney and NSW in February.
📅 Week of 9 February
📍 3 spots available
Training options include:
• Cross-infection in-house training and audits
• Surgical assisting
• Ergonomics and four-handed dentistry
All sessions are tailor-made to support your team, your workflows, and your practice goals.
If 2026 is the year you want consistency, confidence, and compliance — now is the time to put the foundations in place.
Here’s to a focused, intentional, and well-supported year ahead.
Warm regards,
Rochelle Fisher
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