NEWSLETTER - New Zealand Association of Orthodontists

THR RICCARTON RETORT
OUR PRESIDENTS FIRST REPORT FOR THE yEAR
Since the
D e c e m b e r
n e w s l e t t e r
certain events
and items have
c o n t i n u e d
to cross the
C o m m i t t e e’s
d e s k s / l a p
tops and to
keep everyone
informed a
summary of
some these are
listed below.
Please feel free
to contact me
directly if you
wish to find out more on any of these issues. My thanks go
to the members of the Committee and those other members
who continue to offer their assistance and expertise to
ensure the best interests of the NZAO are maintained.
Governance: Notice has been issued for the Special
General Meeting on the 17 th April following the NZAO
Clinical Day at the NZDA House, Ellerslie, Auckland.
Feed back from the membership email survey has been
helpful to the governance working party in preparing
for this SGM. There are still some unresolved issues
including the review of the ERDG rules and objectives.
Recommendations from the ERDG will be placed before
the membership at the October 2009 AGM being held in
Wellington, but will be open for discussion at the SGM.
NZAO Clinical Day: Currently there over 50 registrations
for the clinical day which is also being supported by the
presence of the six of the seven trade companies that
have committed funding to the FORENZAO (A B
Orthodontics, Arthur Hall, Invisalign, Practice Works,
Ormco, TP, Unitek). The speakers program is full of
varied and stimulating topics being given by talented
and respected presenters. This should be a great day.
Details for those who wish to register late are to be
found elsewhere in this newsletter. Any profit from
this meeting will be passed onto the FORENZAO.
Dental Council of New Zealand: Since the last newsletter
we have not received satisfactory feedback from the
DCNZ on the status of the NZAO Orthodontic Auxiliary
Training Program. The DCNZ has been in procession of
the Program since September 2008. (7 months) Since that
date both Winifred Harding and myself have been fielding
calls from anxious members and their staff as to where
they stand with registration as an Orthodontic Auxiliary.
Numerous enquiries to the DCNZ have revealed many
conflicting and at times incorrect information being
given by the staff of the DCNZ. A formal letter was
sent to the DCNZ requesting feedback on the status
of the NZAO Orthodontic Auxiliary Training Program
and likely time line for Council approval and this
remains essentially unanswered. The information that
we have received indicates that two assessors have been
appointed and a third will “hopefully” be appointed by
the end of March and no time line of the process after
that appointment can be given by the DCNZ. It appears
that orthodontic auxiliaries are forgotten and poorly
understood group within the governance of the DCNZ.
Other matters currently “sitting” with the DCNZ
which we are waiting for feedback include;
The format and wording of the
“working relationship” documentation
between Orthodontic Auxiliaries and
Orthodontists. This working agreement
is at the insistence of the DCNZ.
An undertaking by the DCNZ that any
orthodontist who is has completed the
NZAO Practice Accreditation Program and
maintains the accreditation would be exempt
from any random DCNZ practice audit
A reply to the NZAO submission on the
Orthodontic Auxiliary CDP category status or
points system for various activities. The DCNZ
has declined the NZAO recommendation that
the Orthodontic Auxiliaries be on a 4 year
CDP cycle, which would have coordinated
their CPD with their employer Orthodontists,
and have lumped them in with Therapists and
Hygienists by committing them to a 2 year cycle.
The DCNZ has suffered from several key staff changes
recently, but its inability to respond to matters of
importance to the NZAO is extremely frustrating.
In an attempt to extract some common sense and
meaningful feed back from the DCNZ a face to
face meeting with the DCNZ has been arranged in
early April. It was also disappointing to note that the
NZAO being referred to as the NZOA in the recent
DCNZ Application for Annual Practising Certificate.
Wellington Meeting: The ERDG under the chairman of
NZAO Newsletter Volume 23 Number 1, March 2009