Dental Tribune United Kindom Edition

A powerful practice-builder Michael Sultan discusses CPD in dentistry About the author Dr Michael Sul- tan BDS MSc DFO FICD is a Specialist in Endodontics and the Clinical Direc- tor of EndoCare. Michael qualified at Bristol Univer- sity in 1986. He worked as a gen- eral dental practitioner for 5 years be- fore commencing specialist studies at Guy’s hospital, London. He completed his MSc in Endodontics in 1993 and worked as an in-house Endodontist in various practices before setting up in Harley St, London in 2000. He was admitted onto the specialist reg- ister in Endodontics in 1999 and has lectured extensively to postgraduate dental groups as well as lecturing on Endodontic courses at Eastman CPD, University of London. He has been in- volved with numerous dental groups and has been chairman of the Alpha Omega dental fraternity. In 2008 he became clinical director of EndoCare, a group of specialist practices. For further information please call Endo- Care on 020 7224 0999 or visit www. endocare.co.uk ‘The report also found that online learning is generally the preferred learning style of over half of all GDC registrants’ Endo Tribune pages 12-15 Dr Gilbert discusses how to achieve success Endodontic treatment Endo Tribune pages 16-19 Dr Campo discusses root canal treatments Lesion management Endo Tribune pages 20-22 Prof Shah discusses treatment options for specific endodontic conditions Intentional replantaion Endo Tribune C PD is a vital part of mod- ern dentistry, and like it or loathe it, is something that we all need to do. As reg- istered dental care profession- als, we have a duty to keep our skills and knowledge up to date in order to give patients the best possible treatment and care. This not only helps reassure patients about the standard of treatment they are going to re- ceive but also benefits our every- day working lives as it enables us to keep our skills fully up to date with the latest techniques and evi- dence-based thinking. Given the importance of CPD both to my work as an endodon- tist and as an employer, I was in- terested to read over the GDC’s latest study exploring what regis- trants, stakeholders and providers think about mandatory CPD in dentistry. The survey, which can be found in full on the GDC website, received more than 6,000 responses in total – the results of which were then analysed and compiled into a substantial and rather enlightening report. Among the many findings of the study, the report found that 65 per cent of all registrants gener- ally do CPD outside of working hours. It is perhaps unsurprising then, that the report also found that online learning is generally the preferred learning style of over half of all GDC registrants. From my own perspective, one of the key findings of the study re- volves around the thorny issue of cost. According to the report: “cost of CPD was an important factor for dental nurses because of their low wages and the fact that some employers paid only for a part of or none of the CPD their nurses were required to do.” When I read this, I was quite frankly shocked that some prac- tices don’t cover these costs. At EndoCare it is our policy to ar- range and pay for all necessary staff CPD. The reason for this is that CPD is just so vital in allow- ing us to provide the very best levels of patient care. In my ex- perience it can also be a power- ful motivator, and helps add to staff satisfaction, making for a far more positive working environ- ment. We should remember that relative to dentists, nurses don’t earn that much, so to place the same CPD cost burden on them as on dentists seems cruelly un- fair. It should be the duty of every practice therefore to take an ac- tive interest in the education of their staff, and provide the re- quired courses as necessary. From a practice’s perspec- tive, this shouldn’t be seen as “just another cost” either, as the benefits CPD can bring can extend far and beyond the ob- vious educational gains. Take CPR for instance. As we know medical emergency training is part of the core CPD require- ment, but it’s something we alltakepartinasateam.Forcours- es such as these we will normally pay for a trainer to come in so that we can all take part togeth- er. This has two vital functions in our practices. First, there is the obvious function that it allows our team members to complete their com- pulsory CPD requirement. Sec- ondly, and just as importantly, it helps us to build up a far better team spirit. Anything we do to- gether as a team helps produce a better atmosphere and ultimately a better practice. It’s short-sight- ed then to say to nurses “you’re on your own, you have to pay for it yourself”, as if anything, com- pulsory training sessions such as CPR are an excellent excuse to get together – normally followed by food and wine! In my opinion it is our duty to train our nurses, and it’s un- fair to expect them to pay for it. As a profession we often get too caught up in our own little “bub- bles” and forget to look at the big- ger picture as a result. We should remember that people don’t just come to work for the money (if they do then we shouldn’t em- ploy them); people come for a sense of worth, for education, for purpose. From a financial sense, it seems only fair that we pay for our nurses’ CPD, but from a wider perspective as well these sorts of things give our employ- ees something tangible they can take away from their job. They give our staff an extra reason to come into work every day. With a happy, highly moti- vated, highly trained workforce, the practice can only benefit as a result. DT CPD is a vital part of modern dentistry