By Jamie Collins, RDH, CDA
It is that time of year that we start rolling over items to a new calendar and look forward to the year ahead. Many hygienists schedule patients six months out, and I like to start planning my other events just as far out to avoid conflicts down the road. As I find myself filling in the little squares of the family calendar and looking at airfare and hotels, I have found some notable events to attend during 2017.
Attending a dental conference or CE course should be more than just putting in time to get enough education credits to maintain your license. Courses and conference are a great way to network with other hygienists and bring together thoughts and experiences, ultimately learning something new—or at the least refreshing the mind. All have a different atmosphere but share the same message: Learning ways to better our profession, ourselves, and patient care.
Start the year with the Chicago Dental Society Midwinter Meeting that is being held February 23-25, 2017 in Chicago. The “Midwinter” is known to be a great trade show in addition to providing educational courses. Nearly 600 vendors are present with an estimated attendance of 30,000 people; it is sure to have something for everyone.
Attending a CE course out of town with friends and co-workers has been a fun, and tax deductible way to spend some time to refresh and to bond with others. I enjoy escaping to a warmer climate when it’s cold and snowy at home in the Pacific Northwest. Meeting friends from college or others that have moved away, we can make an excuse to meet up for an out-of-town conference out of town.
I have attended the Western Regional Dental Convention in Phoenix for a few years (scheduled for April 6-8 in 2017). In my experience, it has offered a good selection of courses with some interesting topics, and I get to escape the snow in favor of sunshine for a short time for a relatively inexpensive registration fee. It’s a relatively small state conference with and estimated attendance of 6,000, but has offered good choices in the past.
Mix business and pleasure and consider attending one the largest conventions at the California Dental Association in Anaheim, California, on May 4-6th, 2017. Attend the courses and then have some fun at Disneyland and other nearby attractions, or extend your stay and make a vacation out of it while you are there. The CDA is known to have great speakers in addition to being one of the premier conferences on the West Coast if not the country. CDA has routinely offered some of the cutting-edge education and offers the ability to choose from a long list of courses.
For 2017, the American Dental Hygienists’ Association has chosen one of Forbes’ 20 Best Cities to Travel for its Annual Session. Jacksonville, Florida, on June 14-20 is the place on the East Coast to be. While the ADHA is the place for delegates to meet and attend plenary sessions, it also offers options for dental hygiene students and table clinics. I attended the conference in Pittsburgh last year for the first time and found it to be educational in addition to having a great trade show. I was able to see new products that I had not yet seen in other trade shows throughout the year. The ADHA is for dental hygienists and hygiene students, where other state conference entertain courses for all roles within the dental office.
Round out your summer in Chicago at RDH Under One Roof on Aug. 10-12. In my experience, Under One Roof is a more laid-back conference that draws some of the premier speakers in the country. You get a great array of course topics to choose from ranging from hygiene specific courses to events to recharge the mind all with an outstanding trade show. While attending, there are opportunities to mingle with other hygienists other than just at the courses or trade shows. Last time I attended, I made new contacts from across the country and Canada at an evening event that was engaging and honestly one of the best I had attended. Like ADHA, Under One Roof is focused solely on education for the hygienist.
The longer I practice the more I have become interested in other aspects of dentistry and the desire to learn more about them. There are endless possibilities and training available for everything from introductory to advanced training programs from tobacco cessation therapies to training focused on sleep apnea and orofacial myofunctional therapy.
If traveling to the big conferences is out of the question at the moment, look into nearby courses. There is everything from your local dental hygiene component to the state conferences, and most fees are reasonable to attend. Technology has made staying connected and educated easier by the year when it comes to new and exciting information. Having the opportunity to register and attend webinars on almost any subject or taking an online CE course makes learning easy and convenient, and are often free of charge.
No matter how you achieve your continuing education requirements for licensure, make the most out of it. Recharge your mind and spirit, make new contacts, network with other dental professionals, and never stop learning how to better patient care.
Jamie Collins, RDH, CDA, resides in Idaho with her husband, Cory, and their four children. She currently works as a full-time hygienist as well as an educator at the College of Western Idaho. In addition, she acts as a content expert and contributor in multiple upcoming textbooks. She can be contacted at [email protected].
