Get into governance

CAREER DEVELOPMENT

Getting involved in governance

While jobs may not be plentiful in this space, volunteering or working part time can prove to be very rewarding. We take a look at some options.

By Melanie Hayes

Good governance is essential for ensuring that the appropriate systems and processes are in place for patient safety, ensuring high quality care and monitoring practice. While we all are accountable for safe practice, specific organisations provide governance for the dental professions.

Governing bodies and professional associations offer a career pathway that is not well understood in the oral health profession. While full-time work in this area may have limited availability, there are a range of opportunities for dental hygienists and oral health therapists to supplement existing careers with casual or part-time work or volunteering around governance.

To understand what is possible, it is important to also understand the some of the governing bodies in the field of dentistry.

The Dental Board of Australia

dental profession in Australia. They are responsible for registering dental practitioners, developing standards and guidelines for practice, and handling notifications and complaints.

The DBA is comprised of dental practitioner members from each state and territory, and community members, and meets monthly. They are supported by registration and notification Committees in each State and Territory. In NSW, due to a co-regulatory model, there is also the NSW Dental Council established to deal with complaints in that state.

You can register interest in any Dental Board vacancies on the DBA website.

The Australian Dental Council

The Australian Dental Council (ADC) is “an independent accreditation authority assigned the accreditation functions for the dental professions by the Dental Board of Australia”.

The ADC has two main functions: the accreditation of dental and oral health programs, and the assessment of overseas trained dental practitioners seeking registration in Australia.

The ADC engages with experienced dental practitioners as assessors for the accreditation of dental and oral health programs. Assessors undertake training and then join site evaluation teams, which are tasked with evaluating the programs that graduate dental practitioners to ensure they meet the expected standards (https://www.adc. org.au/Program-Accreditation/Assessor)

The ADC also works with experienced dental practitioners in the assessment of overseas trained dental practitioners, through the development of multiplechoice questions, item writing, and supervising examinations. The ADC supports interested dental practitioners with workshops and training, and there is a peer review process which helps for quality assurance and improvement.

While much of the accreditation and assessment work is on an as-needed basis, the ADC also has a number of fulltime staff, which may be suitable for a dental hygienist or oral health therapist with the right skills and experience.

The ADC advertises opportunities on the ADC website: and these opportunities are often promoted on social media and via professional associations.

Professional Associations

Professional associations such as the Australian Dental Association (ADA), Australian Dental and Oral Health Therapists' Association (ADOHTA) and the Dental Hygienists Association of Australia (DHAA). advocate on behalf of their membership, to regulation authorities (such as the DBA) as well as

GOVERNANCE

“ Governing bodies and professional associations offer a career pathway that is not well understood in the oral health profession” A personal perspective

government and industry bodies. They often have a code of ethics and policies developed to ensure that their members are well supported to provide safe, high quality dental care.

As an oral health professional your main association is the DHAA. The DHAA is governed by a board of directors, with one director from each state and territory. The DHAA Board meets quarterly to discuss issues affected the oral health professions, and how it can work to benefit its members.

As a director, there is an opportunity to develop skills in risk management, strategic planning, and quality improvement. There are also opportunities to work on state committees and special interest groups, which offer valuable networking opportunities as well the chance to develop expertise in conducting needs analysis, planning events and drafting policy.

As well as volunteering, there is also an opportunity to work for professional associations. These roles often require some management experience or qualifications, and include chief executive officer and membership officer roles. Paid positions are advertised on the DHAA website and there are annual calls for Director and State Committee Chair nominations. If you are interested in getting involved in one of the committees or groups, reach out to a member of the team. n

I HAVE HAD the personal privilege to work with the DBA, the ADC, and the DHAA. These roles have provided me with an opportunity to develop a variety of teamwork and leadership skills, as well as improve my own knowledge of the regulations, laws, standards, and policies that govern the dental profession. More importantly, this work has given me a great sense of satisfaction, as the tasks offer a real opportunity to give back to the profession through my contributions.

In all of these roles, I have also enjoyed being able to meet and work in partnership with a range of collegiate and knowledgeable dental practitioners and other stakeholders. Overall, I would encourage any interested dental hygienists and oral health therapists to explore the opportunities available to develop their careers in the area of governance.