Volunteer at least once a year for a non-profit program that offers free dental hygiene services to low-income and marginalized communities.

 

The volunteer experiences that I’ve had so far have been rewarding and have had a positive impact on my career. It’s also very meaningful to me to be able to help individuals who have challenges accessing care due to social or economic disparities. After I graduated, although my desire to help others didn’t diminish, there was a noticeable decline in the amount of volunteering that I’ve done. I realize that I need to actively seek opportunities to volunteer and drive my own ambitions instead of waiting for opportunities to come to me. Some steps that I’ve implemented so far to help me reach this goal is that I’ve connected with my colleagues at UBC who I know actively volunteer and let them know that I’m open to join them. I’ve also joined various different dental/dental hygiene groups on Facebook to stay current with news and recruitment in the community.

 

Seek out opportunities to get involved with the College of Dental Hygienists of BC in order to gain educative experience in teaching other dental hygienists.

 

My educative experience so far has focused on student learning through my role as a clinical instructor at UBC. However, I’m confident that my teaching skills can extend past the student level to also include other professionals. One interest of mine is teaching or helping with the continuing education programs for dental hygienists. The CDHBC requires that all dental hygienists in BC participate in a Quality Assurance Program to ensure that all registrants are keeping up to date with their knowledge and education. I feel that somewhere in this program would be a suitable role for me to assist in evaluation or education of other dental hygienists. I plan to stay vigilant for opportunities to join the CDHBC in the future.