Continuing Education Requirements for Dental Auxiliaries practising in Jamaica

In an effort to ensure the delivery of dental services of the highest professional standards and in keeping with best practices in dentistry, the Dental Council of Jamaica has mandated that, as in the case of Dentists, all Dental Auxiliaries (Auxiliaries) are required to obtain annual practicing certificates and complete the requisite Continuing Education Credits (CEs).

Auxiliaries practising in Jamaica as of January 1, 2018, will need to obtain Annual Practicing Certificates. Auxiliaries will need to complete 30 hours of continuing education credits over a two-year period.

Of these 30 CEs the Auxiliary may obtain:

- The majority of these credits from core dental lectures

- 4 credits from internet-based continuing education programs (DCJ has a right to reject questionable programs)

- 10 credits from approved local general medical programs put on by Jamaica Medical Doctors Association, Medical Association of Jamaica, Nurses Association of Jamaica, or other entity approved by the DCJ.

- 2 mandatory continuing education credits are required from an infection control program

- 4 mandatory continuing education credits are required from anaesthetics /professionalism lecture.

• One (1)   2" x 2" passport type photograph 

 

The final requirement over the two-year renewal period is that of obtaining a basic life support (BLS) licence.

Please note that NO CE credits are awarded for BLS, it is a separate requirement.

For the Auxiliary specialist, the DCJ strongly recommends obtaining 80% of those credits from one’s area of speciality.

Exceptions

• Full-time lecturers at the local dental institutions will not be required to have 30 hours of continuing education credits but will be required to obtain the requirements for infection control and ethics, as well as completing BLS.

• For non-full time lecturers and others that give lectures at accredited programs, 4 hours of continuing education credits would be awarded for each 1-hour of a lecture given. Each lecture presented may only be used once in each renewal period for claiming CE credits.

• Authors who contribute to “peer reviewed” scientific journals will receive 6 hours as primary author and 3 hours as the secondary author of each article published. The article may only be used to claim CE credits one time, even if re-published in a different journal.

• Auxiliaries actively enrolled in full-time post-graduate programs, and not practising dentistry, will not be required meet any of the requirements for CE credits or BLS.

• Auxiliaries actively enrolled in post-graduate programs, but still practising dentistry concurrently, will not be required to have 30 hours continuing education credits, but will be required to obtain the requirements for infection control and ethics, as well as completing BLS.