Managers, employers & educators

Employers, managers, human resource departments and education providers can all benefit from having access to resources and information to support the identification and management of health issues for dental practitioners and students.

It’s important to acknowledge that any dental practitioner or student can be vulnerable to developing a health issue, regardless of their years in the profession, position within the organisation, gender or age. It’s likely at some stage that you may encounter an employee or student that is struggling with an aspect of their health or wellbeing who require support. Knowing what to look for and what you can do when this occurs is invaluable to navigating the situation appropriately.

As employers and education providers, you're naturally invested in promoting a healthy work and learning environment. Taking some time to ensure you have appropriate structures in place can help promote the long-term wellbeing of your team.

Health issues can affect anyone

It's important to acknowledge that any dental practitioner or student can be vulnerable to developing a health issue, regardless of their years in the profession, position within the organisation, gender or age. If health issues are not identified or treated, they can negatively impact the ability of the dental practitioner or student to practice safely and competently, which may result in a notification from the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Ahpra). Learn what to do when you receive a notification here.

By openly accepting and acknowledging the personal health and wellbeing of your employees or students, you create a space for honest conversations to take place as well as reduce stigma so that people who need support seek it sooner.

Having structures in place that help create a healthy workplace or learning environment can be crucial to looking after the long-term health and wellbeing of your employees or students. Four key strategies that can assist in preventing, identifying and managing health issues include:

1. Promoting open communication about potential health issues.
2. Building the confidence of employees and students to report concerns or issues.
3. Providing education and information about the signs and symptoms of health impairment.
4. Encouraging healthy practices and self-care amongst staff and students.

We encourage you to take some time to think about how these strategies may fit into your organisation’s existing structure. Examples are raising these topics at team meetings or in the classroom, offering support in 1:1 meetings or providing information through existing communications activities such as team emails or newsletters.

In addition to your internal support options, Dental Practitioner Support can also be a resource for employers, human resource departments and education providers you can call the service yourself or you can pass on the details to someone you are concerned about.

Helping individuals

If you‘re concerned about one of your employees or students, it can be difficult to know how to support them. A great starting point is to simply ask them if they’re ok, it’s a simple question that can really open the conversation and give someone the space to share.

It’s important to have this conversation at the right time and in the right setting. The RUOK? Day website has some excellent resources for how to have the conversation both at work and in education settings. You may also encourage your employee or student to:

• take some time off if they can
• engage in self-care activities
• connect with friends and family who can support them
• speak to their GP about any health concerns they have or
• call Dental Practitioner Support so that we can help support them.

Not sure if you should be concerned about an employee or student? It may be helpful to look at our identifying health issues checklist which lists a broad range of signs that you can look for to see if someone may need some support. Our service provides 24/7 free and confidential support Australia-wide. If you would like to speak to someone, you can call 1800 667 877 or request support via email.