Handing Over to Another Colleague

Handing over to another colleague supports meeting S 3.4. For dental nurses this means recognising when a colleague is better placed to continue a task safely.

Self-management here is not about dismissing pressure. It is about noticing personal, emotional or system pressures early enough to keep patients, colleagues and yourself safe.

In practice this often appears in small moments: a routine task that feels different, a patient question slightly outside your scope, an incomplete handover, a colleague under pressure, a new system, or a sense that something is not right. Professional self-management means noticing those signals and choosing a safe response.

Practical markers

• Notice: what the patient, team, task or system is showing before the concern becomes normalised.
• Check: your role, competence, current guidance, local policy and the support available.
• Ask: for advice or feedback when uncertainty, workload, emotion or change could affect judgement.
• Act: take a proportionate next step - pause, clarify, hand over, record, report, reflect or escalate.
• Review: whether the action improved safety, learning, wellbeing or confidence for future practice.

Simple speaking-up language can work: "I am worried this pressure is starting to affect safe care; can we pause and agree the safest next step?" The wording names the safety, learning or wellbeing concern clearly enough for someone else to act.

SPF behaviour links

Coping strategies such as reflection, self-acceptance, debriefing, handover, peer support and asking for help help dental nurses link self-management with patient safety, professional development and team trust.