Scenario 1 (10 marks)

Shirley, who was 16 and just about to finish her schooling, told her dentist, Dr Phil Ling, that she would really like to become a dental nurse. Since he undertook complex surgical procedures, she felt that she could learn complicated and difficult procedures from him if he would be willing to teach her. He agreed to do so for a period of one year.

Shirley signed a 12 months contract to study dental nursing with Dr Ling, which included close observation, followed by a period of undertaking practical nursing skills under supervision. The contract stated:

1. Dr Ling would teach Shirley dental nursing skills for a period of one year, free of charge.

2. During those twelve months, Shirley would not be allowed use her dental nursing skills in another dental practice.

3. Once she achieved a high level of competence, Dr Ling could use her to assist him when his regular, experienced dental nurse was unavailable, but there was no requirement for him to offer any payment.

After nine months, Shirley had become very competent, and she accepted an invitation to do some paid weekend emergency dental nursing in another practice in the same area. She argued that she did this because she was not paid by Dr Ling for the work she did for him when his regular dental nurse was away, and she needed the income from the other practice to support herself. Dr Ling now intends to sue Shirley for breach of contract. Can Dr Ling enforce the contract against Shirley? Why/Why not?

IRAC