As this year draws to a close, planning ahead for individual and collective team educational and training pathways for 2015 is necessary to ensure that high-quality progressive learning is secured from January onwards.
Those involved in dentistry today do not need to be reminded that continuing professional development (CPD) has been a legal requirement for all dentists and dental care professionals (DCPs) for many years now, and has added further responsibility onto already busy people to achieve their necessary specified hours of CPD over a five-year cycle. Consequently the delivery of dedicated technical and clinical courses, lectures and hands-on training that also offers verifiable CPD has never been more important as an essential part of a commitment to learning throughout
every dental professional’s career. The continuously evolving dental landscape and the technological advances of
dental materials, equipment and technology have widened the variety of specialist courses offered.
With the constant introduction of new techniques, processes and products and the need for compliance with regulations and guidelines, there is still a real need to help guide all members of the dental team. A number of companies are involved in providing solutions to cater for the dental industry and acknowledge and integrate progressive education and professional development as a integral part of company aims and objectives.
For example, in June this year Ivoclar Vivadent held its second International Expert Symposium in London. The event, endorsed by the King’s College London Dental Institute, brought together leading dental practitioners from around the world to share and discuss their views on integrated practice-lab concepts, aesthetic restorations and the latest materials and clinical study results.
Whilst platforms such as online learning continue to grow in popularity, they cannot compensate for physically attended events. There is certainly a distinguishable difference between viewing products on screen and attending a lecture to experience the latest techniques and technological advances through real-time demonstrations and hand-on sessions.
Choosing through the offering of various learning centres and styles, it can potentially make choosing the right one for you and your team a bewildering process. However, simplify the selection process by focusing on the key components that make up CPD: study through reading, training, and attending courses and lectures with clear educational aims and objectives with experts within your specific field of interest.
An increasing variety of dental educational programmes, seminars and symposiums are available at venues across the country, providing information and training on a wide range of clinical and non-clinical subjects, as well as offering verifiable CPD hours. These types of programmes offer the chance for you and your team to practice the latest treatments using the most up-to-date materials and techniques, helping to strengthen the quality of overall care you and your practice provide. This not only supports further understanding but also encourages team bonding for internal practice development. For example 2015 will see Ivoclar Vivadent running its new core course programme – Innovation in Education. Held at the International Centre for Dental Education in Leicester, these complimentary courses will be available exclusively to Ivoclar Vivadent customers post-purchase.
Finding and completing the right dental courses for both dentists and technicians, as well as their respective teams, can really help to transform the efficiency of a practice or laboratory and deliver new levels of performance and
increased service offerings.
Whatever stage you have reached in your career and whatever position your practice is in it is important to have the on-going technical and clinical support through education and training – helping you to improve efficiency and to deliver new levels of performance to patients.