Providing professional support and access to care | Pamela Randolph, RDH,BA
From starting out as a dental assistant to now Aspen Dental Territory Manager of Hygiene Support assisting 27 offices to ensure implementation of patient care best practices and generating dynamic solutions to overcome obstacles along the way. Pamela Randolph’s journey & success reflect an ongoing commitment to oral health, patient care, and ethical practices.
Pamela Randolph began her career in dentistry as a dental assistant. As a dental assistant she was in awe of the dental hygienists that she worked with and wanted to do all that she saw the hygienist at her office doing. This led her on her career path of going to dental hygiene school to become a dental hygienist. At the beginning of her career she worked in a community clinic and was able to help educate her patients about their oral health and the systemic connection. She enjoyed helping provide access to care to her community in this aspect.Pamela is employed by Aspen Dental. She is proud that Aspen Dental has a commitment to providing access to care in a greater capacity to communities and also has growth opportunities for dental hygienists. She works as a territory manager of Hygiene Support at Aspen Dental and helps support twenty-seven offices. Her job involves her helping to support the hygienists in making sure they are following the best practices in caring for their patients and helping to find solutions to barriers that they may be having to providing the best practices to patients.
What are your professional goals or future career aspirations?
Pamela has her bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary studies (healthcare, education, psychology) and is now pursuing her masters degree in industrial organizational psychology, psychology of business. She is interested in becoming a public speaker and speaking about ethical practices in healthcare. She is interested in having speaking engagements regarding the ethical dilemmas we faced as practitioners. As healthcare providers we daily have to make difficult decisions in the way we treat and provide care for our patients as well as being healthcare providers and the decisions we make regarding how we practice.
What’s one piece of advice that you would offer for a future hygienist?
Upon graduating from school she recommends that hygienists first work as a temporary employee. She believes that this will help the new graduates to gain useful exposure to different practices so as to help them to determine where their heart is. Having this necessary exposure will help graduates determine what type of practice setting will work best for them and what practices concern them. Pamela believes that working in pediatrics is important for new graduates to also experience so as to become comfortable working with young children
What do you find most rewarding in being a dental hygienist?
Pamela feels that building and cultivating relationships is most rewarding. Knowing that the patients trust you as their provider and value the information that I have provided to help them attain overall health and wellness. As practitioners we know that oral health is important for our patients overall health. As clinicians it’s our responsibility to make sure we practice the standard of care. We have to be lifelong learners and provide quality care to our patients. We should not provide care based upon insurance coverage. Care should be provided based upon the needs we see as a clinician that are based upon our patient’s. Providing treatment that is at the highest level of care will contribute to a positive quality of life for our patient’s and enhance their lives.
What is the best compliment you have ever received as a dental hygienist?
Pamela feels that the best feeling as a hygienist is when a patient says she gave them the best cleaning ever. “It’s the best feeling in the world when you know the patient is happy with the care you provided them.”
What is one oral health topic that is important to you that you like to educate the public about?
Pamela is concerned about the rise of oral cancer throughout the population. She is adamant that all hygienists should be screening their patients for oral cancer. She believes that using new technology is important, however believes that visual inspection is very important as well and wants hygienists to be confident in their abilities to screen their patients. As the hygiene support manager for twenty-seven of Aspen Dental’s offices I have no doubt that her passion is seen by all and she will continue to be a motivating force within the industry to bring about positive change both within patient’s lives as well as her colleagues.
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