Dental Hygienist Professionalism

Cultural competency is important in the health care field, especially in the United States, because of the great diversity. Knowing that people from different cultural backgrounds have specific beliefs on how the body works and is maintained. Researching these differences will allow the healthcare professional to use fewer stereotypes and treat each patient equally. Working in dental offices and attending school with people from the Pacific Islands has led me to develop stereotypes about their culture. I am sure not all of the stereotypes I have are true, so it is important for me to research the culture’s healthcare beliefs and practices before treating the patient. The different beliefs will affect how I approach the patient during the dental hygiene process of care, especially during the initial assessment and during the planning process.

Dentists are professionals. They remain the sixth most trusted profession in Australia2, this indicates that a dentist has a role beyond the dentist/patient relationship. But what is professionalism? The Merriam-Webster dictionary describes professionalism as "the conduct, aims, or qualities that characterise or mark a profession or a professional person”3 . This vague definition whilst understandably applied in ones profession, can also be applied beyond the scope of practice. Upon graduating, a dentist is not automatically considered a professional instead professionalism is learnt and cultivated. In the current global market this development is important as

As a witness to this issue, it is my belief that quality communication and empathy are not practiced by all health care professionals. Regardless of this experience, I continue to believe my values are directly linked to better patient outcome. I am no longer jaded and know that despite the length of time in practice and experience there will be short comings. Unfortunately, patient-centered and family care are the most

Being respectful and considerate to your patient is necessary for providing excellent patient care. It is also important to be respectful and considerate to your colleagues; arriving on time, being a team player, doing above the minimum as often as you can are all excellent ways to show this. It is essential to ensure that the workplace is an “environment in which all colleagues enjoy equal respect and where they can advance to their full potential.” (Professionalism initiative, 2012) If everyone treated their colleagues with respect, it would make the workplace very hospitable and help provide better patient care, which is the main purpose of nursing. An environment without respect can become hostile and impair the growth of your colleagues and yourself which can lead to giving substandard care to your patients and their families.

Being caring towards patients is important by providing them with the best experience. When a patient is comfortable with their healthcare provider it becomes easier to discuss any abnormal behaviors or feelings.

Dignity and respect from staff at all times. When staff are providing treatment, the intervention should also convey a sense of dignity and respect.

It is important to adhere to the agreed scope of the job role as a health care professional in order to perform the role in the most correct way possible and prevent abuse from happening as it is required by the job, employer and the law. In order to do everything in one's best way as possible, a health care worker needs to have a main motto, as powerful as a mantra which is to treat patients with dignity and respect as one's first priority. In order to make it happen, a health care worker needs to interact with the patient/client without directly interfering with their personal tastes and/or beliefs and habits. A health care professional needs to be extremely patient, caring a good listener. Instead of dictating how the patient/client should

In dispensing our duties as professionals, we shall place the welfare of others who require our services before all other consideration. We shall behave in a manner that shall not bring them or the profession into disrepute. Not only do we need to make good decisions for our patients, but we need to apply those decisions in a way that is professional and ultimately helps other and makes a difference in our

Generally, health care practitioners are considered professionals, and dentists, as one branch of health professionals, need to meet the expectations as professionals. This review introduces what professionalism is and aims for the future professionals and professionals who are looking for external organizations help build their professional attitudes or behaviours.

What is a “dentist”? To some, the mere word invokes fear, to others, it is simply a person who lectures about and “drills” teeth. To me however, a dentist is a healthcare provider that, with the proper care and skills, is an integral part of his/her community. A dentist must apply excellence, humanism, accountability and altruism, the four models that construct professionalism, to his/her actions, thoughts and treatments. A dental professional’s concrete knowledge and performance level along with an understanding of the lawful rights encompassing dentistry and their ability to explain and review these dental facets with their patients, is a few of the many ways that the four propositions of professionalism may be expressed by a healthcare provider. With that said, I believe professionalism as a dentist embodies the capacity to supply his/her local community with responsible and superior care both in the tangible, physical sense through expert level practices and the emotional sense, through considerate dentist-patient

I am being trained to be an advocate to the community. Also, I am being trained to become an individual who knows how to maintain oral hygiene. Being trained to be a role model for the community brings huge responsibilities. These responsibilities range from ones heath to the health of my own body. It is important to prevent disease transmission among patients because they come to us for help on how to maintain oral hygiene. If I were to work in an environment where infection control guidelines are not being met, I would put my patients and myself in danger from deadly infectious diseases.

Dental Care Professional have a legal duty to minimize the risk of spreading infection through poor hygiene and infection control.

There are several reason why I have decided to pursue a career in dentistry, one of them being my upbringing. Growing up in a socioeconomically disadvantaged family, I have watched my parents forgo essential medical treatment, in order to provide my siblings and I the basic necessities. For two decades, my mother sacrificed her oral health; overtime the lack of care took its toll and left her with diminished oralhealth. As a result my mother’s self-esteem suffered, greatly altering her personality. Watching my mother suffer due to a lack of proper oral care is the driving force in me to become a dentist. I want to be in a position to ease suffering and provide oral health care to those in need. Coming from an underserved community, I feel an obligation to give back to such communities.

In a society that cares about efficiency rather than safety, dentists offices often lack giving thorough and correct information about dental hygiene. Along with cleaning teeth, their job is to teach their patients about what can happen if bad dental hygiene becomes a habit. It is crucial that individuals receive the correct information about dental care at a young age to ensure that it carries with them into adulthood. The lack of education on this issue is the first and most important

Proposed Title: Unmet Oral Health Needs of Children with Special Health Care Needs: Dental Providers’ Perceived Barriers to Treatment