During the month of March, we have much to celebrate at HPC!
By Debbie Sparks, Development and Marketing Manager
National Social Work Month
March 2021 marks national Social Work Month. This year the National Association of Social Workers have adopted the theme “Social Workers are Essential”.
Social Work is the only profession that requires social justice advocacy. This means Social Workers are called to action to serve as a catalyst in social change. Throughout the COVID 19 Pandemic, Social Workers across the country gained access to care, resources, support, comforted survivors and helped manage grief. Many Social Workers quickly regrouped and revamped services tailored toward virtual and online access.
Social Workers also advocated for individuals and families struggling financially during the pandemic and the economic downturn that followed.
There are more than 700, 000 professional Social Workers employed in the United States and more than 3,000,000 worldwide. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics, Social Work continues to be one of the fastest growing professions. We are seeing more clinically trained Social Workers than ever before, and this makes sense as they tend to help their clients through difficult situations and are required to build upon their competency and continue their education.
Take a moment this March to Thank a Social Worker.
We salute our social workers, Cecilia Ponce, LSCSW and Amy Gray, LSCSW!
National Dental Assistant Week, March 7-13
“Dental Assistants – Our Heart Goes into Every Smile” is the theme for 2021 and acknowledges the growing importance of dentistry’s role in health care and the responsibilities of dental assistants.
There are more than 300,000 dental assistants in the United States. In Kansas, there are approximately 2,600 dental assistants.
Dental assistants wear many hats in a dental clinic! They greet patients, review medical histories, take X-rays, perform dental charting during the dentist exam, assist the dentist chairside during procedures, polish teeth, review post-operative instructions and schedule patients.
In Kansas, dental assistants are not required to be certified. However, The Dental Assisting National Board (DANB) is the nationally recognized certification organization for dental assistants. Certification is a source of pride for dental assistants and provides professional advantage and potentially greater earning power.
Thank you to our HPC dental assistants Katie Hickman, Stephanie Rojas and Diana Ortiz Vargas!
National Dentist Day, March 6
National Dentist Day was created as a day to say thank you and show your appreciation for your dentist. It is celebrated annually on March 6.
Do you know?
- There are approximately 180,000 dentists who are professionally active in the United States. There are 1,300 active dentists in Kansas, of which more than 200 are specialists.
- The education and training of dentists typically includes four years of college, four years of dental school and two to three years of residency training if a specialty is chosen.
- There are two different but equivalent degrees dentists may earn: Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS) or Doctor of Dental Medicine (DMD).
- Dentists ranked number two out of the 100 best jobs according to the U.S. News & World Report. Two dental specialties also placed in the top 10: number four, orthodontist and number nine oral and maxillofacial surgeon.
- In the United States, nine specialties are recognized by the American Dental Association.
- Orthodontics
- Dentofacial orthopedics
- Pediatric dentistry
- Periodontics
- Prosthodontics
- Oral and maxillofacial surgery
- Oral and maxillofacial pathology
- Endodontics
- Public health dentistry
- Oral and maxillofacial radiology
Special thanks to our dentists, Emily Day, DDS and Nader Rastgoftar, DDS, for providing top notch patient care!
National Doctor’s Day, March 30
National Doctor’s Day is celebrated on March 30 each year in the United States to honor physicians for the work they do for their patients, in their communities and for society.
- There are over a million physicians in the United States.
- The education and training of physicians typically includes four years of college, four years of medical school, three to five years of residency training in the chosen specialty and one to three years of additional training for sub-specialists.
- There are two different but equivalent degrees doctors can earn: Doctor of Medicine (MD) or Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO).
- The training years are difficult with long work hours of often 80 hours per week, low pay and many overnight shifts in the hospital. In addition, the highest levels of professionalism, conduct and ethics are expected of doctors.
- Areas of practice include the primary care specialties such as family medicine, internal medicine and pediatrics. Other specialties include surgery, obstetrics and gynecology and psychiatry. There are well over 100 specialties and sub-specialties in the United States.
- The specialty that sees the most patients during office visits is family medicine.
