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Clinical and technical
The capability to diagnose, advise and provide effective care
Professionalism
The conduct and behaviour to engage patient trust and confidence
Reflection
Awareness of personal impact, abilities and limitations
Development
Commitment and capability to improve the service to patients
Agency
The ability to resolve solutions independently and through others
Fig.2 Front cover of the College of General Dentistry (CGDent) Career Pathways in Dentistry, available online at: https://cgdent.uk/career-pathways/
Career pathways
The College’s carefully crafted career pathways for all members of the dental team, which are patient-and profession-centred, structured and evidence-based (Fig.2), are underpinned by the College’s Professional Framework which describes the knowledge, skills and other attributes expected of
oral healthcare professionals at each of
five career stages (Fig.3), linked to levels
of membership in the College (Associate Member, Full Member, Associate Fellow
and Fellow), and in relation to each of five domains (Table 1).
With mentoring (Certified Membership), which is in the process of being made available to all those on the career pathway, the College anticipates that the journey from Associate Member (safe/capable practitioner), to fellowship of the College (FCGDent – accomplished practitioner) could be achieved in as little as ten years. This gives oral healthcare professionals parity with colleagues in allied and other professions in which ‘accomplished’ status is typically attained, give or take a year
or two, about one-third of the way into
a professional career. Whilst FCGDent
is the highest award of the College, it is anticipated that Fellows engaged in the College community will wish to continue to
expand and develop their skills, knowledge, understanding and related attributes. Paraphrasing GV Black, ‘enjoying the privilege of being students for life.’
Standing and status
As discussed above, dentistry is the only mainstream healthcare profession which lacks the standing and status of having it own independent Royal College. Eligibility
to apply for the award of a Royal Charter is
a priority for the College. Royal recognition of the importance of dentistry will open doors for more interprofessional working,
let alone be a long overdue coming of age for the profession. It is suggested also that
it will create a more balance profession, which presently has only two of the three legs of the ‘professional tripod,’ i.e., its own professional association –‘trade union’ (the British Dental Association – not to forget
the professional associations for Dental
Care Professionals (DCPs)) and its own regulator (the General Dental Council (GDC), established in 1956) but no Royal College.
Amongst the factors which will give the Privy Council confidence in CGDent for the award of a Royal Charter is the profession getting behind and supporting the College, i.e., sustained growth in membership and engagement in the activities of the College. A case of ‘you’ve got to be in it to win it.’
The award of Royal status will be the result of a considerable collective effort. When
a Charter is granted, all those who have contributed to the Royal acclaim will be able to take great pride in the transformational achievement. Going forward, dentistry must have more standing, status and recognition if it is to realise its considerable potential in future healthcare provision.
Standards and guidance
It is an important function of a College to
set standards and provide independent guidance to promote the provision of evidence-based, state-of-the-art care. In going forwards, CGDent intends to maintain and add to its portfolio of standards and guidance, intended to be of immediate practical relevance to all oral healthcare professionals.
Setting and maintaining standards and guidance is no easy matter. For standards and guidance to be accepted, they need
to be developed by professionals for professionals and built on a solid foundation of consultation, objectivity and best available evidence. In addition, those tasked with setting standards and guidance must take account, amongst other things, of patient preferences and attitudes, any relevant regulatory restraints and unintentional consequences. The greater the involvement of the profession in setting standards and developing guidance, i.e., the larger the membership of the College behind standard setting and the crafting of guidance, the greater the impact and benefits. Such matters are too important for member of the profession to ‘opt out of’ by remaining on the sideline (i.e., leaving it to others) as CGDent grows and develops.
The future
It is anticipated that future generations of oral healthcare professionals will wonder how the profession and their predecessors manged without an independent Royal College, i.e., (RCGDent), the benefits
the College affords members, and the contributions the College makes to patient care and the standing of the profession. To generate the intended legacy, much remains to be done to fully establish CGDent, including the award of a Royal Charter,
and begin to realise the huge potential
of the initiative. Being part of the historic mission of CGDent is a unique opportunity, with the prospect of being recognised as one of the pioneers of the College. Making history, being part of the future of the profession and, in process, accessing the existing member benefits and having your professional achievements recognised is just a few clicks away through the College’s membership portal.
Your College needs you; you need your College.
Fig.3 Five career stages linked to the levels of membership in the College of General Dentistry (CGDent).
Table 1 The five College of General Dentistry (CGDent) Professional Framework domains
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