Feature header Column From the chairside
ere we go again! The Annual Retention Fee (ARF) is due and Continuing Profes- sional Development
(CPD) should have been logged with the General Dental Council (GDC) by the end of July. The campaign for the registra-
tion of dental nurses began over 40 years ago and finally came into force in 2008. There are now 44,490 dental nurses regis- tered with the GDC. But with registration comes the pitfalls of additional legal and financial commitments that most dental nurses can ill-afford. The initial registration fee, depending on the date of registra- tion, ranges from £8 to £120. The ARF this year has increased to £120 and CPD can vary from £25 to subscriptions of £82, depending on the hours and additional benefits required. We are also advised to have indemnity insurance of our own, due to a potential conflict of interest which may occur by being on our employer’s insurance. A recent BADN survey showed
that two thirds of dental nurse respondents earned less than £20,000; 18 per cent earned between £20,000-£35,000; 71 per cent paid their own registra- tion fees in full and 9 per cent received some contribution from employers towards the GDC fee. In addition, 47 per cent received no financial support towards CPD costs (source: British Dental Nurse Journal, spring 2011). With these figures in mind, it’s no wonder that the less well-paid nurses struggle with the additional expenses. My f irst experience with
acquiring CPD was to pay £25 for a subscription of 10 verifiable
with Alison McKenzie
Is registration worth it? H
hours but, in reality, the first article was of little substance and lasted about 25 minutes, and the certifi- cate I received was meaningless to me as I had learnt nothing from the experience. Needless to say, I did not bother with the remaining nine hours. CPD is not regulated by the
GDC and it is up to the individual to find anything of good value and relevance. This can be time consuming and expensive and one wonders how much of the verifi- able CPD logged at the end of the year is in fact worthless in terms of knowledge gained. However, despite the added
expenditure, additional legal requirements and CPD, has regis- tration been worth it? Personally, I would say “yes” as dental nurses are now recognised dental profes- sionals. The requirement of registration has been introduced
“With registration
comes the pitfalls of additional legal and financial commit- ments that most dental nurses can ill-afford”
to improve patient protection: we now have a commitment to behave ethically and professionally and maintain the standards of the profession that we have chosen. We also now have the opportunity
to update our skills and to further our careers, be it oral health, radi- ography, orthodontics, or special care; to tutor or mentor; or to obtain degrees in primary care, infection control or oral health, to name a few. We have far more opportunities
than previous dental nurses and, as we prepare the direct debit mandates, we should all remember the changes that have been made in such a short time and play our part in any changes to follow to ensure that future dental nurses don’t ask the same question.
®
Alison McKenzie is a dental nurse from Perthshire.
Scottish Dental magazine 29
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78