14 CAREER DEVELOPMENT
The important influence of oral health promotion If you’re not loving hands-on hygiene, there’s a myriad of opportunity outside of the dental practice By Melanie Hayes
WE ALL LEARNT a great deal about the importance of oral health promotion during our dental hygiene or oral health therapy training. In fact, the competencies of our profession specify that on graduation we must be able to understand the determinants of health, risk factors and behaviors that influence health, the theories and principles of health promotion, health promotion strategies and how to design, implement and evaluate evidencebased health promotion (Australian Dental Council, 2016). Many practitioners implement health promotion initiatives alongside their current clinical roles; I know numerous colleagues who regularly visit pre-schools, schools or aged care facilities. Despite loving their work, some hygienists and OHTs will not practice clinically for the entirety of their working lives. Firstly, its tough on the body! Just like an athlete who retires from sport due to aches, pains and injuries, we may look to step away from clinical work to pursue alternative, but less straining, work. Secondly, we may simply be looking for a new challenge, or a chance to try something different. Or, we may be unlucky enough to be a casualty of a company restructure. Whatever the reason, you don’t have to step away from the dental profession entirely. If you enjoy health promotion you might consider pursuing work utilizing your skills! If you aren’t sure what you could do, or where to start, this edition is full of health promotion focused colleagues – reach out, have a conversation, and explore this potential career path.
Dr Melanie Hayes (PhD) is a dental hygienist who has enjoyed a diverse career in clinical practice, teaching, research and management. She has a Master of Education majoring in Career Development, and is now working in an interdisciplinary role at the University of Sydney.
Changing for better
Project Officer for the Centre for Oral Health Strategy, Joanna Mohammadi, gives some insight into her role in health promotion and policy Tell us about your current role. I’ve recently started a secondment as a project officer in the Primary School Mobile Dental Program. My role also sits within the Oral Health Services and Strategic Planning team at the Centre for Oral Health Strategy so I do some policy work too. What education or experience did you need for this role? I have a Bachelor of Oral Health and a Master’s in Public Health, but neither were a requirement for this role. Prior to this secondment, I had worked as a policy officer for priority populations. An understanding of the Australian dental system in the context of state and federal governments would be useful to have for this role. It’s important to remember, knowledge doesn’t have to always be through a formal qualification. It can be as simple as exploring a topic you’re curious about! What are the day-to-day activities? A key component of my role is
