Dental services in regional NSW will get a boost this year as the first final-year Charles Sturt University (CSU) dentistry students undertake community placements before graduation.
The group of 32 fifth-year students will undertake two, 12-week placements, with each student rotating between two of the five CSU dental clinics located in Orange, Wagga Wagga, Bathurst, Albury-Wodonga and Dubbo.
Associate Head of the School of Dentistry and Health Sciences, Dr Sabrina Manickam, said the placements were a chance for the students to experience greater clinical independence before they entered the profession.
“They will be out working in the clinics for 24 weeks of the year,” she said.
“There is a real emphasis on clinical independence and networking with local dental practitioners and communities.
“The clinics are open to the public in each of the five locations.”
Dr Manickam said the dentistry school at CSU in Orange would help ensure dental services remained available in regional NSW over the long-term.
““In regional NSW we have long-established practices which will be looking forward to taking on rurally trained graduates as associates and potentially as future practice owners,” she said.
“These graduates will have firsthand knowledge and experience of the particular needs of rural based patients.”
Dr Manickam said the first CSU dentistry graduations, scheduled for December, would be a true celebration for all involved.
“Everyone is very excited and looking forward to the graduation ceremony, and seeing the graduates take their first steps into the profession,” she said.
“The students are excited because they can sense the end is near and the academic, tutoring and support staff are looking forward to it too.
“The staff have known these students since they first started with us, and I know it will be quite emotional seeing their journey with us come to an end.
“Getting to this point has been hard work for everyone involved but it has been a wonderful experience watching the program and the students develop. We all believe in what we’re doing and we’re very passionate about it.”
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