5 Professional Benefits of Continuing Your Dental Education
Whether you are a dentist, dental assistant, treatment coordinator or dental hygienist, you may have heard of the popularization of continuing education in the industry. Continuing education may seem like a burden because school is not everyone’s forte, it can be costly and it eats up your spare time.
All of those items are perfectly adequate reasons not to go back to school, however, there are a lot of benefits to continuing education as well. Dental continuing education promotes lifelong learning, can help build your resume and network, and helps you remain competitive in a changing industry.
See below a list of five reasons why continuing education in the dental industry is beneficial to you as a dental professional.
1. Lifelong Learning
Even though you’ve completed your education, that doesn’t mean that your learning should stop! Learning is one of the many joys of life, hopefully you will be learning all your life within your field of work and in other realms.
The beauty of continuing school after you have completed your required level of education for your career is that you can pick and choose your courses. Course selection can be done based on your personal enjoyment or your specific field within your industry.
Usually, there are no more mandatory courses with continuing education as there was for a degree, certificate, diploma or other similar programs. This makes the process of school more enjoyable as your learning does not feel forced.
Lastly, continuing education courses and programs are flexible enough to fit into your hectic schedule. The classes and assignments are not as rigorous as being in school full time which makes continuous learning manageable.
2. Changing Industry
There is relatively new demand in the dental industry for continuing education for dentists and other members of a dental team. Before, continuing education was not necessarily required to achieve success in the industry or gain access to lucrative job opportunities.
Now, the industry is changing and a component of that change is a desire for education throughout your career. As with any industry, it is important to keep up with the trends to better the workforce and provide customers with a higher standard of care and service.
3. Remain Competitive
Your fellow dentists, dental assistants, treatment coordinators and dental hygienists will be seeking continuing education as a result of the rising trend in the dental industry.
Unfortunately, without keeping up with trends related to qualifications, you may miss out on opportunities that others are getting access to. Currently, continuing your education in the dental community is becoming critical to stay competitive.
4. Resume Building
Similarly to remaining competitive in the dental industry, adding completed education to your resume will make you a better candidate in the industry. Education, along with other items on your resume, can help you get that job you’ve always wanted or the promotion you’ve been working hard to get.
If you are working in the industry already, it is still important to work on your resume for growth and opportunity purposes.
5. Networking
As you get busy with your career, personal life and hobbies, it gets difficult to network and make new friends within your industry and outside of it. By taking courses in your field, you will meet other professionals in your industry.
Building a network is crucial these days because a number of job opportunities arise from a healthy network. Even if you don’t enjoy the course as much as you initially thought you would, you can always make a new friend in the class!
