The Compliance Divas Podcast
Our podcast covers current topics such as infection prevention and control, OSHA and HIPAA compliance for dentistry. We discuss the latest regulatory information, answer frequently asked questions and give suggestions for dental practices to make compliance easy and sustainable. The Compliance Divas are a trusted source for consistent, accurate information based upon current guidelines, standards, science, and recommendations.
The Compliance Divas Podcast
#150 Celebrating Dental Assistants Recognition Week with Julie Varney, CDA, RDH
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Special guest, Julie Varney, CDA, RDA joins the Divas in honor of Dental Assistant Recognition Week (DARW). March 3–9, 2024 has been designated by the American Dental Assistants Association as the time to acknowledge and recognize this very special, multi-talented member of the dental team.
Resources:
- American Dental Assistants Association (ADAA): https://www.adaausa.org/aws/ADAA/pt/sp/DARW
- Dental Assisting National Board https://bit.ly/3wyxoGZ
- Dental Assisting with Julie https://www.youtube.com/@dentalassisting
Welcome to the Compliance Divas podcast. This is Linda Harvey, and I will be your moderator for this episode. In this episode, the Divas are celebrating a very important member of the dental team. And actually, this person is the one that's the glue that holds the teams together and wears countless hats. In addition, we have a very special guest who's never been on our podcast before. So before I introduce our special guest, I would like to say that the compliance divas bring clarity and simplicity to compliance by navigating the regulatory world to keep you on course. We invite you to subscribe to the Compliance Divas podcast through your favorite podcast channel or on our website, thecompliancedivas.com. Any of the resources that we mentioned today will also be found on our website. And we invite you to submit any questions that you might have to support at thecompliancedivas.com. And at the end of the podcast, we hope that you will scroll down and leave us a review. Well, this week, March 3rd through the 9th, marks a dental assistance recognition week known as DARW for short. This is the perfect time to recognize and acknowledge this wonderfully talented member of your team. And as a matter of fact, my fellow divas have all been dental assistants at one time in their career. I myself have as well, but very short period of time for myself. But if we listed every single task that the dental assistants carry out throughout the day, the week, or the month, we would run out of time. So I think you get the picture. Instead, what I'd like to do is introduce you to our special guest, Julie Varney, who is a certified dental assistant as well as a registered dental assistant. Julie is a well-known leader and champion of dental assistants everywhere. Julie, welcome to the Compliance Devons Podcast.
SPEAKER_00Thank you for having me.
SPEAKER_03Well, we can't wait to hear what all you have to say and share with our listeners. So let's start off with Leslie has a question for you.
SPEAKER_01Okay. Julie, how did you become a dental assistant? And your career path has not just been chair site assisting, you've actually gone beyond the operatory. Can you tell us a little bit about you and your career and how you have come to be the established dental professional you are today?
SPEAKER_00Oh, sure. Well, let's see. I um started on the job when I was 18. I had started in hygiene school. And my second semester of hygiene school, I ended up pregnant. So I ended up going out of hygiene and into dental assisting. Someone said, You can be a dental assistant. Great, here I am. I worked through being on the job trained in the same practice for almost 24 years and just continued to learn because there was no, like nowadays, we have all these supportive measures, right? We have all these people that support us and lift us up and education that we can do. Um, so I just continued to learn and learn and learn. I then eventually opened up a school in 2007 to train dental assistants. And I got my CDA and then got my RDA, and just continued the biggest thing I think, you know, you just got to push yourself to be better than the next day. And when you have no supportive system nowadays, we have, you know, all the social media and the network of people and ways to keep connected. So it's just, you know, it's just been a journey and you just keep going with it.
SPEAKER_01Now, Julie, there's one other little piece of information that you had left out of your illustrious career, and that is with dental board experience. Tell us about that.
SPEAKER_00So I am the they give one seat to a dental assistant in the New York State Dental Board, and I am the seat for the next five years. I was recommended from the girl that previously had it for 10 years. So she reckoned me, recommended that I have it. So my seat on the board is to help with dental assistance laws, rules, and regulations from a public um perspective because our dental board's there to protect the public and work with the association to help laws, rules, and regulations for dental assistance. So it's quite interesting. It doesn't go as fast as I would like it to go. There's like a lot of things you want to do, but you have to go through the proper channels and stuff. So it'll be a slow-going five-year process.
SPEAKER_01And it's good to know that you'll be part of the legislative and regulatory machine that that helps improve patient safety and patient uh treatment in the dental world by virtue of making uh uh your mark on the dental assistant career and how that impacts dentistry. Thanks so much for that information.
SPEAKER_00Yes, yeah, you're welcome. It's it's definitely going to be, you know, a challenge. Like I said, my end goal is to make sure it's mandated in New York State that all dental assistants have to be registered at some point. But will I happen to see it in my career? Not sure yet. So we'll see. Stay tuned.
SPEAKER_03Well, we will definitely stay tuned, Julie, because I think that is an admirable goal to elevate everybody on the dental team. And I think it's I think it's well worth working for. And I know you're putting a lot of heart and soul into it. You're also putting your heart and soul into a whole nother area of your life and your dental system presence. And Olivia would like to ask you a question about it. Sure.
SPEAKER_02So, Julie, we've been following you on social media and very impressed with you and your accomplishments. And we were wondering, in light of your great presence on social media, how do you engage your followers to learn more and grow as a dental assistant?
SPEAKER_00I think it's just having them believe in themselves. I think a lot of times they come from all different walks of life and they're in all different states. So, you know, always the first thing I said, you know, when they say, Oh, should I become an EFTA? Well, I don't know what state you're in, and if that's legal. So the first thing we need to do is look at our legalities and our laws, rules, regulations that we can do as a dental assistant. And if you can, yes, then become it. So, and I think challenging themselves to kind of push past their problems and how to deal with things in a positive light and a positive meaning to get them where they're going is important. You know, some often, I mean, if I could share the messages or the DMs you get from, you know, my doctor was not so nice today. What do I do? And I, you know, I'm the one that's give it back to them, you know. Hey, you're there for him, you know. So it's it's it's elevating them to the next level. And I guess feeling like they have someone they can talk to that's not going to judge them. That's the biggest thing, is that we're all judgy. We should not be judgy.
SPEAKER_02That's a good point. And and really having the dental assistant feel like that is a profession, that is a great spot in the dental field and to feel needed and important and educated and skilled. And I'm always impressed watching great dental assistants. Having been one, I never felt like I was a good assistant, but I was a registered assistant. I loved the infection control, but chairside was not my thing. So I think it's a good thing that I didn't pursue being a dentist and instead a lawyer, the general public should be happy. I'm not a dentist.
SPEAKER_00And it's also having, you know, I say at the end of the day, and I say it with my students too: if at the end of the day you put your head down and you don't like what you do, it's okay. Move on, find something. If you want to work at McDonald's and flip burbers and you're happy doing that, and you're a good member of society, sure, do that. But, you know, I always get a lot of, oh, I'm leaving dental assisting to go to hygiene and blah, blah, blah. And, you know, why would you know, if you're a dental assistant, run, don't be a dental assistant. You know, you have to block out the negativity and just kind of do what you love. Because if you don't, then you're gonna be kind of swallowed up by the people that aren't truly happy with what they do. They're just there doing it, basically.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, you've got to enjoy the journey for sure, whatever that position is in a dental office. And I think dental assistants need to be recognized for their contributions of what they do. But I also understand, Julie, that you have a CE challenge for dental assistants this year. Can you talk to us about that?
SPEAKER_00So I always find that we struggle at getting ourselves continuing education. And most of us don't do it unless we have to for our license or registration or the doctor directly rent. So I, you know, I was thinking before Christmas, I'm like, what can I do? They always ask me, where's a free C that doesn't cost them anything because you know, dental assistants can't have a lot of money out of their pocket in order to grow. So, what's a cost affordable, effective way that they can learn? So I went through 52 weeks, um, 52 different courses that you could take through Viva Learning, Chester L B's one, dental care, CE Zoom that were free and with a little bit of time and a little bit of effort, maybe one to two hours a week, they could get some continued ed in various topics. Um, I'm trying to sprinkle a lot of things about OSHA and infection control and tear side stuff. Um, but it just it was to help them feel like, oh, I I know more about what's going on in the world of dentistry in the office I work at, and kind of bring them together as a group that everybody was doing it. So I have about 972 people that have downloaded the tracker.
SPEAKER_04That's incredible, Julie.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, so and then I was like, oh, I was trying to put it up every week, and I'm like, you know what, I'm just gonna put it on the tracker and give them the first 20 weeks that they can download, and then the next 20 weeks and then 12 weeks, I'll have three trackers and it has clickable links where they can just click on the link. They want to download it and take some right in there and takes them right to the course, they can take it. And then I told them just to save, you know, start a folder on your desktop. So if any of you have any CE out there that's free for dental assistance, let me know and I'll put it on my tracker.
SPEAKER_03Sure. Well, you know what struck me, Julie, is when you talked about elevating dental assistance, and I'm gonna jump in real quick to this conversation. So it just reminds me that dental assisting is not a dead-end career. I know that oftentimes everybody thinks about a career ladder where you start off maybe as a trainee or an intern during the summer, you become a dental assistant. You maybe you do fulfill your state requirements to move for further, maybe you don't. Just depends. Some states you can sort of remain on the job trained and do a limited amount of tasks and skills. But it's not dead end. I I work with some dental practices where I see a lead assistant just really flourish. You know, they're proactive and looking for products and researching things and just managing things in advance and and they're using their critical thinking skills. So it's not just about sitting in a chair side and assisting the dentist and nosing off or you know, daydreaming. There's so much that's involved in the, you know, because every time a patient sits in your chair, Julie, I firmly believe that you have a patient's life in your hands. It's so impactful. Every role, every member of the team, every role plays an important part. And so the dental assistant, we just want to elevate them up this week. So we're so happy that you're helping us do that.
SPEAKER_00Oh, thank you. I'm glad to be on, you know, anything I can help you guys out with too. You know, I value your courses that I took, gives me knowledge, you know. It's definitely helpful for any offices out there.
SPEAKER_03Well, thank you. Murray would like to ask him some additional questions, Julie.
SPEAKER_04Hi, Julie. You know, I am a huge fan of yours and everything you do for I'm a huge fan of yours.
SPEAKER_00You like came through at the last minute for me, and I appreciate it forever.
SPEAKER_04Mutual admiration society. Don't get frustrated with the time it takes in in your role on the dental board. I served on the board in Michigan as the dental assistant rep for two terms in the 1990s, which now feels like a previous life. Nothing in that regulatory arena happens quickly, but there are not a lot of states. I don't know exactly what the number is. I think the I think Danby would would know how many boards actually have dental assistant members. And at the time I served, there were very, very few. And one of my dental hygiene mentors, who was actually the program director at Lansing Community College in Michigan, where I went to hygiene school, was the first dental hygienist to chair a board of dentistry. And that that shook up a lot of dentists that you know that they want to be in control of everything. Something else before we get to talking about your transition story, we want our listeners to know that the dental assisting national board, I think this week is convening uh a work group to look at how to standardize dental assisting functions in all state dental practice acts. And that's huge because it varies so much from state to state. So that could then be a stepping stone, hopefully, to getting uh only we could, a nationalized type of credential. So more power to usually position.
SPEAKER_00I looked at you know, the whole the Bambi, the I think it's called the coalition workforce thing. Yes. Um thing I think they missed out is including someone from every state, a dentist from every state that's from the dental association, the people that make our laws, the people that hold our scope in their hands, being part of that. I think they really should have been. I think they got people from the American dental boards, but they didn't get anybody from like the states, like somebody from California, someone from New York, a dentist that because ultimately, if you think about it, the dentists and all those laws, they're the ones that hold our scope of practice, our moving forward in their hands. They're the ones that have the power to make all the laws with their association. So I'm hoping that they kind of realize that. And I hope they do come up with a national set of standards like they have in the past, but something more for every state, so that it moves forward and is beneficial to all the dental assistants out there.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, I I hope so too. And I think the rationale with starting with the dental boards is because that's really where the regulatory changes come from. And having chaired the task force for the American Dental Assistance Association also more than 20 years ago when we looked at this issue, it boy, it was tough to try to get enough representation, but not make it too unwieldy to try to get something done. So, Julie, tell us a little bit about your transition that you just made from private practice to dental assisting education. How was that going? What precipitated that decision?
SPEAKER_00Let's see. So I'm still kind of in private practice. I still help them on to the books. But what happened was is my good friend was looking for a hygiene job, and I was typed in Dell um hygiene, you know, on Indeed, and the ad for the school came up, and I was like, She's like, you should apply. And I'm like, nah, nah, you know, I don't know if I want to go back to teaching as high school kids, and it's not an established program. So they had an adult program and they converted it over to a high school two-year program. And so I'd be building the plane as I fly it with everything. So I applied and got the job. It's a little different because I taught adults for 10 years in my own school. And then teaching high school, there's a whole it's a whole different ballgame. You know, I have to do all this other health careers and math and English and science. And you know, I'm responsible for shaping these people before they go out into the adult world. So it's going good. I started out with 12. I have eight now. I've had four move on. I don't know how long I'll last, honestly, because I'm not the type of person that will just do something or pass somebody along just because it's the right thing to do. Like I know they're all about giving these kids a chance and stuff like that. So my concern is that I don't last the length of the program. I have a three-year contract, so I'm not worried about that. But if they don't want to be there, I don't think they should be there. They offer like 14 other programs. Find something that you like. Just don't come here and waste my time and someone else's time. And I told them right up front, you have to wear a uniform and you have to be in someone's tiny little bubble of a mouth with saliva and blood. And if this is not for you, let's find something for you. Because don't, I'm a big believer, don't waste anybody's time doing something that you're pushed to do, or your counselor said, Oh, this will be a great path for you when you, you know, it's not. So we'll see how it goes. But I have some amazing students right now, and they got some awards this week, and that was great. And they're going out into internship, out into the real world of dentistry. So we'll see how that goes.
SPEAKER_04Well, I can't think of a better mentor and teacher than you. And I think the advice that you're giving them, if this isn't for you, then move on, find something else. I think that's probably so so valuable for them to hear.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I mean, there's lots of in trade schools are where it's at. Um, and there's but they offer 14 other different programs if you're not college bound or whatever. I just feel like anything in life that they do, they need to find their happiness and be happy with what they do and how they do it. They're so young. They have the whole world ahead of them.
SPEAKER_03They do, and that's so true, Julie. Leslie has a follow-up question for you now. Sure.
SPEAKER_01No, I was just uh wondering, Julie. I in my experience, I've encouraged younger entry-level people into dentistry to not think that dental assisting is the end of the road. That there are so many different ways you can go in dentistry. And maybe working for one of the dental industry, whether it's for supplies or materials or instruments or sterilizers, that if they have a chance to perhaps go to one dental annual session where they have a large exhibit floor, they can see the many different directions that they could go absolutely to dental assisting and not actually be in the dental practice, but still be very much involved in the world of dentistry.
SPEAKER_00I had one of my former students come and she was a dental assistant for 10 years, and now she's a Patterson rep. So she came in and spoke about dental sales and what to do if you don't want to work in as a dental assistant and what you can do with all the knowledge that you have. So it was great to see that she got hired by Patterson as working for them. She's actually my sales rep for the school, so it worked out great. I have a couple of students that want to go into hygiene, and we've already put them into the right pathway for hygiene and stuff like that. It's just dentistry offers so much, I tell them, and it's just it's such a vast network. If you don't like working in general, you can go work in ortho. You don't like working in ortho, you can work in root canals. I don't I don't recommend root canals, but you know, endodontics is okay too.
SPEAKER_03And there's just so many diverse, diverse areas, aren't there? That's what's so exciting about it. So I know just from the time that I taught Dell hygiene students, it's so rewarding being with individuals at the beginning of your career and and helping to shape them. And I just like Mary said, I couldn't think of a better mentor than you with all of your vast experience and your big-heartedness and all those great virtues that you have.
SPEAKER_00So sometimes I'm a little hard and to the point with them, but you know, hey, that's my job is to get them where they need to go.
SPEAKER_03Well, start talking is good. We want we want the facts. We want to want sometimes things can't be sugarcoated in life. So listening to this now, thinking about, you know, work with the high school students and how long you've been in dentistry and all the great areas and things you've done and accomplished. What would you offer to our dunly assisting listeners who are listening to this podcast, as well as maybe their fellow assisting teammates? What words of wisdom or what thoughts can you share with them? You've talked about ongoing learning.
SPEAKER_00It's being a good teammate. You're not gonna get along with everybody that you work with. And it's very hard because there's a chain, and I hate that there is our tree I call it at school. You know, we have the dentist, and then we have the hygienist, and then we have the dental assistant, and we have the front office, and we have all these people in this tree of dental life, I call it, that have to be supportive and you have to reach out your branch to and they help you grow, but you also have to learn how to work well with others. And Sally Sue, you might not like her what she does, but she's your teammate. So while you're there, you know how to work well with others because that's the biggest thing is people have such different personalities that sometimes they can't work with each other. And nobody should have, well, I know you're it's called the compliance divas, but nobody should have the diva, dental diva, you know, like mentality, especially when someone's learning, it's so disheartening. And that how you how you can help your teammate be better and taking really good constructive criticism from them. That's I that's the best thing I think is whether you don't know anything about dentistry, it's just being a good person to the next person, you know.
SPEAKER_03That is such solid advice. I tell you, it made me think of a couple of things as you were saying that, Julie. And these are clichés, so forgive me, but there's no I in teamwork. And there's and the word team together, everyone achieves more, and and that's what it's all about. We have to pull together day in and day out to make things happen to keep patients safe and to stay safe ourselves. So perfect. We are so grateful that you took time today to join us.
SPEAKER_00Thanks. I appreciate it.
SPEAKER_03Celebrating dental assistance recognition. Recognition week. Yeah, that's coming up. This is it. We're gonna air this podcast on that week. So as the Compliance Divas, we bring clarity and simplicity to compliance by navigating the regulatory world to keep you on course. We invite you to subscribe to the Compliance Divas podcast through our your favorite podcast channel or on our website, thecompliancedevas.com. Any resources that we've mentioned today will also be found on our website. And we invite you to submit questions to support at thecompliancedivas.com. And don't forget to scroll down to the end of your podcast app and give us a review. Thanks for joining us.