Enhance Your Career with DANB's HR Fundamentals Course

In the marketplace, versatility is key to marketability. Many dental assistants who work chairside may find themselves also working at the front desk or transitioning into an office management role. Possessing strong office management skills can position you as a valuable employee at your current job, or make you a stand-out candidate when interviewing for a new job.

Enhance your career through the Dental Assisting National Board’s (DANB) professional development opportunities. DANB’s Assessment-Based Certificate Program (ABCP): HR Fundamentals is an interactive, online course covering important human resources topics for general dental and specialty practices.

DANB’s ABCP: HR Fundamentals can be purchased at www.danb.org/learning. The course costs $100, and learners who successfully complete the post-course assessment are able to print a certificate of completion and earn 6 DANB Continuing Dental Education (CDE) credits.

The course covers topics such as planning for current and future staff, and analyzing staffing needs as they relate to office structure and develop clear job descriptions. Other important subjects include identifying legal human resources issues, recognizing components in the interviewing and hiring process, identifying elements of employee benefit and compensation plans, and more. Learners will be able to apply these concepts and obtain resources to use in their dental practices.

DANB’s ABCP: HR Fundamentals course is a great resource for those new to dental office management, as well as seasoned professionals, such as Inge Carosello. Ms. Carosello, a dental office manager with more than 35 years of experience, says DANB’s ABCP: HR Fundamentals course was “informative and challenging,” and she would “definitely” encourage others to take it.

Currently, Ms. Carosello is the manager at the dental office of Stephen T. Carosello, D.D.S., in Mentor, Ohio. She enjoys her career and the fast-paced nature of her work. “Every day is different; I am never bored.”

Continuing education and professional development are priorities to Ms. Carosello. She is a member of the American Association of Dental Office Managers (AADOM) and has already completed DANB’s first course for office managers, DANB’s ABCP: Accounts Receivable.

When asked what words of wisdom she would like to pass on to others in the field, Ms. Carosello says, “I feel the day you think you know everything is the day you should leave. I learn something at every seminar and course, and hope to be doing this for another 35 years.”

For AADOM members, DANB’s ABCPs meet one of the requirements for earning Fellowship. Interested dental office managers can learn more about AADOM membership and Fellowship in AADOM by visiting www.dentalmanagers.com/danbrequirements.

DANB’s ABCP: HR Fundamentals is DANB’s fourth online course. DANB’s Conventional Dental Radiography Review Course and DANB’s ABCP: Accounts Receivable were launched in January 2010, and DANB’s RHS Review Course debuted in September 2010. All of DANB’s online courses can be purchased at www.danb.org/learning.

In spring 2011, DANB’s e-learning courses will be rebranded and launched through the Dental Auxiliary Learning and Education Foundation (The DALE Foundation). The DALE Foundation was incorporated in March 2010, as a DANB-affiliated, but separately incorporated nonprofit foundation. The DALE Foundation was formed to benefit the public by providing quality education and conducting sound research to promote oral health.

For more information, visit www.danb.org.