Communicating the Future
Dental nursing can lead to many career paths, as Kate Kerslake (pictured), the new CEO of the National Examining Board for Dental Nurses, suggested at the board’s recent 75th anniversary celebratory conference.
More than 100 delegates from the dental nursing sector attended the celebrations and listened to speaker share the history and achievements of the organisation, whilst its members looked to the future for dental nursing.
At the conference, Kate Kerslake outlined the NEBDN’s plans to help develop dental nursing by creating opportunities aplenty. Below, she shares her thoughts.
Kate Kerslake
The future of NEBDN will always be linked with the changing landscape of dental nursing and its commitment to the research and development of relevant training in order to deliver high quality of care.
Changes in social demographics nationally require flexibility in the way dental nursing is provided. How do we meet the needs of domiciliary patients or improve the delivery of oral health messages to children? The new NHS prototype contract is already evidencing the use of extended skills within a dental setting, and local communities are recognising the need to provide options beyond the dental setting for hard to reach groups. These provide various opportunities for dental nurses, which NEBDN will continue to support through the provision and expansion of post qualification courses.
In 2018, we developed the new fluoride application course, which will be piloted with some providers early this year before its launch. Fluoride varnish plays an important role in fighting dental decay and, with a limited clinician resource nationally, the ability for dental nurses to provide this treatment becomes more important.
We are reviewing our use of technology and investing in developing and strengthening the NEBDN supporting framework to ensure we can maintain high standards whilst moving more towards delivering our products and services via electronic means. This includes a new platform for the record of experience, which will complete in the coming weeks. We will continue to improve our approach to quality assurance and work closely with our providers to ensure the highest standards.
But we recognise that the career of a dental nurse is not just the qualification and we are reviewing networking and engagement opportunities to enable shared knowledge and increase the profile of dental nursing.
We are all proud to be part of this next step in NEBDN’s journey and I’m looking to where the future may take us.