Dental Tribune United Kingdom Edition

December 12-18, 201124 United Kingdom EditionDCPs T here are 2,241 dental nurs- es on the GDC register working in Wales and the number of trainees is unknown. These nurses are employed either at Cardiff Dental Hospital, Com- munity Dental Service or in gen- eral practice, of which there are approx 514 NHS practices. The Principality of Wales has its own Government and em- ployed within it is the Chief Dental Officer for Wales, Dr David Thom- as, who began his role earlier this year; he is a great supporter of DCPs and appreciates their role, hard work and their value within the dental team. The Postgraduate Depart- ment DCP Director for Education in Wales is Kristy Moons, and to- gether with her team they are in- credibly supportive and forward thinking in their approach to the excellent provision of training, which is available to all dental nurses working within the prin- cipality. They provide training in the Certificate in High Education for Dental Nurses, Sure Start, a course for nurses who have not started their “official training”; in addition the NEBDN Certifi- cate course and the Post Gradu- ate course in Oral Health and the NEBDN postgraduate qualifica- tion in Radiation, Orthodontics and Sedation are also available. There are also outside training providers of dental nurse educa- tion, which cover various areas in Wales; these provide NVQ quali- fications and the National Certifi- cate to nurses in practice. Some also provide the NEBDN post- graduate qualification courses. Continuing Professional Develop- ment (CPD) courses covering the GDC core topics is also provided within the postgraduate centre or within your own practice for the whole team if applicable. This will ensure that both patients and the dental team derive the maximum benefitfromthesecourses.Aswell as the core topics, Law and Ethic and Child Protection and Conflict Resolution are also provided. A recent survey highlighted courses that dental nurses would like to attend and it was little surprise that forensic dentistry was high on the list. The major- ity of nurses preferred courses or lectures aimed at their route of learning; however, the barriers to furthering their education were lack of funding, cost, venue and work cover. I feel that this is the case for all dental nurses, and not just in Wales. Nevertheless, dental nurses felt mandatory training had raised their profile and welcomed it; for them CPD was valuable for their career progress and mandatory CPD kept them up to date. There is a DCP Symposium in Cardiff, which is not only for invaluable for the interesting top- ics but it is a great networking op- portunity. Gregynog in Newtown Powys also holds a study day and it never fails to impress; keeping the audience interested it is stim- ulating from beginning to end! Dental nurses in Wales have good provision for their educa- tional and professional develop- ment needs and there are people out there listening to what they say. Not only is it a privilege to be born in Wales, but it is a privilege to be a dental nurse in Wales! DT Dental nursing in Wales Elaine Simmons discusses what’s out there for Welsh dental nurses NEW DIGIXPAD COMPACT DENTAL IMAGING AND DIAGNOSTIC SYSTEM DigixPad provides a the ideal solution for any practitioner wishing to upgrade to Digital X-ray Imaging without the need for costly and complex PC integration and networking. Providing quick and easy chairside image capture and manipulation, DigixPad from eschmannDirect will save you time and money and will easily integrate into your surgery. For details and orders call EschmannDirect on: 01903 875787 ic.sales@eschmann.co.uk | www.eschmanndirect.com from Direct *Prices excl. Carriage and VAT valid to 31st Aug 2011 LittleSisterDigixpad  High Definition, crystal clear radiographs.  Instantaneous image generation.  Rapid apex location during endo treatments  High resolution endoral sensors.  Large 4.3” integrated touch screen.  No need for specialist software.  Permanent image storage via USB flash drive or SD card.  WiFi or direct image transfer to PC.  Compact and portable for use at chairside.  DigixPad is designed to work with all digital and analogue x-ray systems.  VisualVi software upgrade provides enhanced image manipulation, ideal for implantology.  Cost effective alternative to other digital imaging systems.  Solution for practices requiring space for a dedicated decontamination room Digixpad DigixPad System £4495.00 (rrp £4995) OFFER PRICE FREE Visual Vi software included worth £750 About the author Elaine Simmons qualified at Liver- pool Dental Hospital in 1974 gaining both the United Liverpool Hospitals Diploma and the National Certificate. She later completed the Royal Society of Health Diploma in Dental Health Education in 1978, in 1999 the Univer- sity of Bangor Radiography for Dental Nurses with Distinction and the A1 A2 Assessors Award NVQ City & Guilds followed, in 2005, by the BTEC Man- agement Level 4 & C&G 7407 Tutors Course 2005 Licentiateship Award, as well as the Licentiateship in Dental Nursing. A Fellow of BADN®, Elaine has worked in Community Dental Service, General Dental Practice and the prison service.