RING GENE
PDA president Dr . Cary Limberakis and Dr . Kelsey Dagenhart spoke to students at Delcroft School Career Fair in Chester where they shared their personal experiences and knowledge of the many opportunities available in dental careers .
PDA president Dr . Linda Himmelberger , our merry band of dental career promoters again engaged the attendees with our stories and experiences with the dental profession . As with the previous conference , our group was told over and over that dental careers were not “ on their radar ” when speaking to students about career choices .
Attending these conferences and interacting with counselors was a very sobering experience . If these professionals are not mentioning our profession to students , then who is ? Having a presence at events such as these across the state is paramount to any effort to increase the numbers of staff available to all dental offices in our state . Since the professionals who help guide our young people into career paths do not know about our profession , then it ’ s no wonder that we are in the staffing predicament we are in now . I have brought these observations and experiences to the Board of Trustees . With the help of Dr . Himmelberger , former PDA president Dr . Charlie Incalcaterra and several other concerned dental colleagues , the hope is to expand this effort . The goal would be to ultimately be a regular attendee to these counselor events , as well as some of the major career fairs held across Pennsylvania every year .
I urge all of our members to get involved in career efforts in their area . Almost every school district in Pennsylvania holds some type of career fair . ADA and PDA can certainly help supply career information for these events . Listings of educational opportunities , such as dental hygiene and dental assisting educational programs are available on PDA ’ s website on our Dental Career Center ( padental . org / careers ). If you are so inclined , I would love to have more participation at these large events . All of us have information and experiences that we can share with students and counselors . Help get the message out that our profession is a great career choice ! Reach out to your trustee , or directly to PDA , with any ideas that you have . The lack of dental auxiliaries is not going to be solved overnight . But with effort , it can be solved in the near future .
SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2024 | PENNSYLVANIA DENTAL JOURNAL 13