DTA New Professional Award
The new 'DTA Fellowship' and 'Master' award have been developed to provide an opportunity for all experienced DTA members in good standing in their profession to gain recognition for their high-quality custom-made dental device manufacturing in their specific area of dental technology.
DTA members submitting for the New DTA Fellowship award are required to have at least three-years continuous good standing in the profession and full membership of DTA; and to present examples of their high-quality dental technologist appliance creations, along with quality images of their own work and a written explanation and reflection, and have it judged by an expert dental panel.
The new DTA Fellowship award is currently running in a pilot phase and expressions of interest are being accepted for the implementation phase. Those who achieve the DTA Fellowship award then have an opportunity to submit for the Master Fellowship.
These new awards are at two levels, and both require an initial submission of an outline expression of interest to be assessed by the DTA panel, and, if considered relevant and appropriate, allows the individuals to develop their submission for the award. The Fellowship submission in summary requires the individual's own written piece of work with a range of quality images that explains their (as dental technologists) own construction of a complex custom-made dental device/s with feedback by the prescribing clinician. This is then assessed by a panel (meeting via video link if required) during which the applicant is asked questions about their work and explains their own learning points. The achieving member is awarded a DTA fellowship certificate, a neck jewel and can use the distinctive post nominal of FDTA.
Find out more about how our first Fellowship Award winner Joanne Stevenson found the process.
The application process was simplicity itself; there were just a few forms to fill in which helped explain the article I had submitted (All-on 4 immediate load denture-to-bridge conversion The Technologist volume 14 issue 4 November 2021). Then there was a reflection piece to be filled in before the panel interview began.
I found the panel interview very interesting, during which I got to talk in-depth about what I did in the lab and the surgery. The panel asked questions about what I would change or how I could make improvements on what I do, and that really helped me think about a few things I hadn't thought about before. The interview took about 30 min and everyone was very friendly and supportive.
It was useful to get in-depth feedback from my peers. We sometimes sit at our workbench and it can feel almost as if we work in a vacuum; but going through the Fellowship application process actually not only helped deepen my respect for my own work but also for the work of my fellows in our profession.
So, if you have a technique or example of your work that you feel is worth celebrating, I recommend you apply for the Fellowship - the whole process is easy and straightforward - and I found it rewarding.
In conclusion I'd have to add that no matter how nice it feels to gain peer recognition for your work - as a technician we are usually in the background and not seen by patients -but there's an added value to consider. Earning this Fellowship award might benefit my career if I decide to change laboratories or even decide to open a lab of my own in the future. It's a cast iron acknowledgement of the quality of my work, presented by people who understand what we do, and it's something I'm proud to add to my CV.
Master Fellow Award
Once an individual has achieved the new Fellowship award it is planned that they can then work towards the DTA 'Master Fellow Award' which requires evidence of further personal development by the submission of, for example, three previously published articles in a respected dental magazine that showcases their custom-made dental devices and must also include their own images of their practical work, along with a further article and images of their own work ready for submission for publication in the DTA's own journal and a viva. For the DTA 'Master Fellow Award' it is expected that the article offered to DTA will all be the individual's own work, along with quality images, and must also include peer and clinician feedback plus the individual's own reflections on the subject or specific learning points. More information regarding the Master Fellow Award will be released at a later date.
The Fellowship is now open for expressions of interest, for which the applicant completes and submits the relevant form to the DTA office along with their initial fee of £25. This will be reviewed, and if it accepted by the panel the individual has two years to submit their work, along with the submission fee. It should be appreciated that the DTA Council has limited the number of applications that will be accepted during the first year of the new Fellowship, thus only those who have submitted their application on a first-come-first-served basis will be accepted for progression and put forward for a full submission for the panel's consideration.