obligations to employees under existing provincial and federal regulations. As I’ve mentioned, improving compensation levels and offering an attractive benefits package would help increase the length of the careers of many dental assistants. So would improving labour mobility between the provinces. One thing we haven’t talked a lot about is creating opportunity for advanced training so that dental assistants can improve their skill sets. For most people, a sense of being able to be more, do more and grow more in their work is important. be exploring the required support for dental assistants in response to this survey. We will also have data from our national compensation and job market survey that will be completed later this year. We are advocating for better support for the health sector on a national level, including the oral health sector. And we’re involved in a test project to develop evidence-based initiatives to support the health care workforce. I’m excited for the professional associations of all members of the dental team to work together. If each member of the oral health team recognizes that there are issues that need to be solved and that their individual commitment is vital to improving the workplace experience of all team members, we are more likely to have positive, long-lasting impact. Personally, seeing our professional communities and associations working collaboratively to foster a healthy work environment that values all members’ contributions to oral health care would be one of the most rewarding moments in my 40-year career. CDA, CDAA and CDHA collaborated on a healthy workplace working group and developed online resources to help employers and the whole dental team participate in creating a healthier and more respectful workplace. oasisdiscussions.ca/healthyworkplace-matters Q What about attracting more people to the dental assisting profession? HB: The first step is that the oral health team has to recognize that dental assistants are a key component of the care team. The qualifications, overall range of practice and expertise of dental assistants are essential to providing quality oral health care to Canadians. The oral health professions need to work together to raise awareness with high school academic advisors to present dental assisting as a valuable career in its own right, not just as a stepping-stone to other jobs in the oral health care sector. Q Would you like to share some of the work that CDAA has been doing to help support and sustain the dental assisting profession? HB: In collaboration with CDA, we’ve applied for a ESDC Sectoral Workforce Solutions Program grant that has several components: HR training, mental health resources, an accredited online curriculum for dental assisting, and better labour mobility and integration. We recently finalized our mental health survey and will The oral health professions need to work together to raise awareness with high school academic advisors to present dental assisting as a valuable career in its own right. 20 | 2022 | Issue 6 Issues and People
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