These are exciting times for dental hygienists on many levels. For this blog, I would like to focus on the opportunities that we have as far as workplace options go.

I was asked to speak with a group of dental hygiene students, for their business class, who are in their final semester of school. This will be coming up next month and I look forward to the discussion. The instructor mentioned that many are looking at the Independent option since the Self-Initiation has been rescinded by the CDHO. It opens the door to independent practice and can also assist us in providing the under-served communities.

Initially, I thought, new grads should all be working in a general practice out of the gate to get that experience; however, is this me being close-minded? I am not sure. Just because it was the way I did it and I am sure many of you did, does that mean that it is the way of the future? It is time for change, embrace new thinking, and new opportunities.

Another option that we hear so much about these days, is the dental hygienist leaving employment and becoming a Temp so that he or she is in charge of what days they would like to work and not work.

Collab Dentistry is another great opportunity and a new concept where it connects dental hygienists with available operatories. This is for the dental hygienist who wishes to work independently but without the financial burden of starting up their own brick and mortar business. It also gives the opportunity for dental hygienists, who may be from a different city and would like to head back to that city from time to time, to use as an opportunity to work on friends and family. The possibilities are endless, really.

For some, working full-time in one office may be a great option. There is something great about being with a team full-time and giving it your all to help grow a practice and treat this practice like it's your own! I consider this type of dental hygienist an "intrepreneur" rather than an "entrepreneur". When I was working full-time in many practices, I always treated it like I was an intrepreneur. I always really cared about the success of the practice, looking for processes to put in place to help with costs and growth of the practice. It is about treating it like it's your own business, but essentially, you are an employee, not the owner. Some may read this and think that their voice doesn't matter and they can't implement any change in their practice and if that is your case, you should arrange a meeting and have your voice heard. Share the things you would like to implement and have a plan. Share that you are all in and play full out! And then, if you are working in a practice where you still feel you are not being heard, if you are unhappy, there are so many options for you. We spend 1/3 of our life working, you better believe you better be happy! Now is the time for you to explore all the options that are available to us.

In every On-Track Tuesday, we offer career postings and practices that are looking for great dental hygienists to join their team. Other companies also share when they are looking for sales reps, etc. The career postings are found at the bottom of the On-Track Tuesday emails and links to a designated page on our website as well. Always feel free to reach out to us when you are looking for that perfect someone to join your team. We are happy to share with our members. Please email pearl@rdhu.ca for any employment posts.

Over the weekend our friends at the dental clinic, from Etobicoke, ON, reached out as they wanted us to share that they are looking for a full-time RDH. I just loved the positive culture that is shared. It made me want to join their team! :) They are looking for an awesome dental hygienist to join their already awesome team! "If you are passionate about what you do, extremely gifted with people skills and would like to be a part of close knit team, we want to meet you!" Pretty compelling, right? I thought so! If you are interested in a full-time position with a team, where they have a 'putting their people first' culture, you may want to reach out to them! Email @: practicemanagertdc@gmail.com I have attached the image from their post below so you can either apply if you are interested, or see a very positive post that perhaps you could use to help you attract a RDH to your practice when hiring! There are still many great practices out there. You just need to find the one that fits you. Click here for more career postings, events and courses coming up!

Thank you for your support and for reading! Please take a look below for upcoming live streaming courses, events, hands-on courses, career postings and our partner specials.

Have a great week!

Kathleen

Kathleen Bokrossy, RDH ~ President