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Spotlight on a Diversity Initiative
Dentistry
The
ADA’s Student Ambassador Program is a student - driven recruitment
process in which dental students take the lead in organizing and
conducting introduction to dentistry get - acquainted programs with an
emphasis on recruiting underrepresented students to the dentistry
profession. Specifically:
·
Predental
students are invited to discover the art and science of the dental
profession and are encouraged to seek a career in dentistry
·
The program
provides a way for potential dental school students to learn more about
dentistry as a career, dental school and the application process from a
dental student.
·
The annual
program, now in its fourth year, is planned and facilitated by the
student groups representing the Hispanic Student Dental Association (HSDA),
the Student National Dental Association (SNDA), and the American Dental
Education Association’s (ADEA) Council of Students, the American
Student Dental Association (ASDA) and the Society of American Indian
Dentists (SAID) Student Chapter.
·
The program,
sponsored by the ADA Council on Dental Education and Licensure’s
Committee on Career Guidance and Diversity Activities also has
representatives from the NAAHP, American Dental Education Association (ADEA)
and others.
The
2009 program:
·
Acknowledges
that dental students from underrepresented groups are powerful mentors
for college and high school students from similar backgrounds.
·
Recognizes that
the NAAHP prehealth advisors share a common goal in reaching out to
students from underrepresented groups and introducing dentistry as a
career choice.
·
Is well
supported by the 58 dental schools who sponsor a student or two to
attend the one day meeting on best practices in student-initiated
outreach efforts and building alliances with NAAHP prehealth advisors
and admissions officers.
·
Is focused on
continuing to increase awareness of the Ambassador Program and to seek
opportunities for NAAHP preheath advisor/ambassador collaborations.
Opportunities
for prehealth advisors to link with ambassadors discussed at the 2009
meeting include:
·
Ambassadors can
speak to Introduction to Health Care Careers Classes.
·
Invite
Ambassadors to speak to Prehealth professions (Predental) student
groups/clubs.
·
Ambassadors can
serve as student mentors.
·
Ambassadors can
assist in the establishment of shadowing experiences.
·
Ambassadors can
act as a resource for information on diversity programs for dentistry.
2009-2010
efforts to further liaison activities between ambassadors and NAAHP
preadvisors include:
·
Ambassadors are
grouped in the same regional breakdown as the NAAHP system
·
Ambassadors have
been provided information to locate NAAHP prehealth advisors in their
areas.
·
Several pilot
programs will be initiated to facilitate activities between admissions
offices, NAAHP prehealth advisors and ambassadors to provide model
efforts.
·
Ambassador
program Information is available on the ADA website at http://www.ada.org/public/careers/advisors/index.asp#sap
·
Several pilot
programs are planned to facilitate activities between admissions
offices, NAAHP prehealth advisors and ambassadors to provide model
efforts.
NAAHP
prehealth advisors are invited to access ambassador (s) information on
the advisor only password protected section of the NAAHP website located
at https://www.naahp.org/logon.
For
more information on the Student Ambassador Program, contact Beverly
Skoog, Career Guidance Programs Liaison, ADA at skoogb@ada.org
or Dr. Larry Sullivan, NAAHP representative to the ADA Committee on
Career Guidance and Diversity Activities at Larry.Sullivan@avila.edu
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