IT’S a case of the apprentice becoming the master – the assistant becoming the assisted.
For 13 years Sharnie Moore worked as a dental assistant at Bright Smiles Dental Surgery in Wagga before taking up the opportunity to tackle a bachelor of oral health,therapy and hygiene, at Charles Sturt University.
“After 10 years working as a dental assistant, I jumped at the chance to go to university in my home town to study to become a qualified oral health professional,” she said.
Now, armed with her degree, Sharnie has returned to the surgery in her new role as a dental therapist.
“As a dental assistant my roles were to assist the dentist and the dental therapist,” she said.
“Now I have my own assist.”
Sharnie admits tertiary education was not on her agenda when she finished at Mount Austin High School in 1998, but has since relished the chance to study and further her career at CSU.
She admits after over a decade away from studying, she found readjusting to student life and reacquainting herself with science.
“I really had to work hard with the science subjects, as I was studying a health science degree,” she said.
“I haven’t studied for over 10 years so I had to get back into the rhythm of being a student, while the students that came straight from school were already used to studying.
“They had also just finished off science courses as part of their Higher School Certificate so those subjects were easier for them.
“My dental background did help me with the dental subjects though, so I guess while I was working extra hard at science the others were working harder at with the dental side of things.”
Sharnie won a three year scholarship through the Charles Sturt Foundation and finished her degree with mainly distinctions.
She juggled studying with motherhood, giving birth to her second child in 2009 – two days before she sat her first year exams.
Sharnie is a strong example of how CSU is fulfilling its
commitment to play a leading role in solving the rural health labour force crisis in Australia.
The attraction and retention of health professionals to regional areas, including the Riverina, is emerging an increasingly serious problem for the country.
Sharnie revealed, while she is the only one of the 13 graduates to be remaining in Wagga, the majority of the newly qualified dental therapists are set to carve out careers in regional centres.
“Most of the group are going to be staying rural which is fantastic,” she said.
According to School of Dentistry and Health Sciences lecturer in oral health Helen Tane, CSU has taken a proactive approach to combating the growing shortage of health professionals in regional areas.
The approach is paying dividend, with graduates like Sharnie inspired to remain in a regional centres.
“Charles Sturt University is providing health education to rural students in regional Australia, offering a chance to study degrees which would be difficult for most rural students if they were restricted to enrol in city universities,” Helen said.
“Nearly all of our oral health graduates have been employment in regional areas.
“I believe they will have a significant impact on improving poor oral health statistics in rural communities, as they are graduating with skills of excellence in dental therapy, dental hygiene and health promotion.”
Sharnie, who works alongside dentist Dr Neil McConnell, will work at Bright Smiles Dental Surgery from 6pm to 8pm on Monday and Tuesday nights, and from 1.30pm on Friday.
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