Professional competencies review

On 18 February 2022 the Australian Dental Council Board of Directors approved the revised Professional competencies of the newly qualified dental practitioner (the Competencies). The Competencies for the ADC’s program accreditation process will come into effect from 2023.

The Competencies are an important reference for the dental professions. They outline at a threshold level what is expected of a newly qualified dental practitioner. The ADC uses them in the accreditation of dental practitioner programs and in the assessment and examination of overseas trained dental practitioners.

Regular reviews of the Competencies are important to ensure they remain contemporary benchmarks of what is expected of a newly qualified dental practitioner in Australia.

The most significant change is the consolidation of the Competencies for dentists, dental hygienists, oral health therapists, dental therapists, and dental prosthetists into one comprehensive document. This change reinforces that professionalism, communication and leadership, and critical thinking are core skills for  dental practitioners. It also supports collaborative team practice by facilitating a better understanding of competencies across the different dental practitioner divisions.

Updates to the Competencies supporting this Domain include aligning the definition of cultural safety for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with the definition agreed across the National Registration and Accreditation Scheme in June 2018. The review has also introduced new statements into Domain 1 to ensure the definition of cultural safety is put into action. These statements outline what a practitioner must do to ensure culturally safe and respectful practice for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Other revisions to the Competencies include:

• The introduction of a definition for interprofessional collaborative practice to articulate the expectation of the newly qualified dental practitioner working across health teams within the scope of their work.
• The inclusion of a definition for ‘Groups or populations at increased risk of harm or poor oral health’ and ‘Person-Centred Care’ to recognise the shift within the broader health system to support individuals in making decisions about their own healthcare.
• The introduction of the concept of social responsibility.
• Clarification of the role of dental practitioners in supporting sustainable healthcare delivery.
• Preparedness of practitioners to practice in rural and remote communities.

Consultation on the proposed revisions to the Competencies was conducted from 27 September to 5 November 2021.

All feedback provided to the draft Competencies released for consultation was considered. The Report on the consultation of proposed changes to the ADC Professional Competencies of the newly qualified dental practitioner paper (the Report) provides a detailed summary of the consultation process, including the feedback and how this was incorporated into the approved Competencies.

All stages of the review process have been informed by stakeholder consultation and feedback. We would like to thank everyone that provided comment on the draft Competencies. Individual submissions are available below.

Consultation documents

Consultation paper: Proposed changes to the Professional competencies of the newly qualified dental practitioner
Draft Professional competencies of the newly qualified dental practitioner: September 2021

Respondents

Organisations

Individuals

In April 2021 we asked for feedback on the existing competencies. A summary for the feedback is available in Feedback received on the Professional Competencies of the newly qualified dental practitioner.