Dental Assistant 2
University of Washington
Seattle, WA
Full-time
Dentistry
Posted on June 18, 2019
Req #: | 166438 |
Department: | SCHOOL OF DENTISTRY |
Job Location: | Seattle Campus |
Posting Date: | 06/17/2019 |
Closing Info: | Closes On 06/24/2019 |
Salary: | $2,931 - $4,068/ per month |
Union Position: | Yes |
Shift: | First Shift |
UW faculty and staff also enjoy outstanding benefits, professional growth opportunities and unique resources in an environment noted for diversity, intellectual excitement, artistic pursuits and natural beauty. All of which has allowed the UW to be nationally recognized as a “Great College to Work For” for five consecutive years.
The Office of Clinical Services (OCS) at the School of Dentistry encompasses the Patient Registration and Patient Relations offices, Simulation Clinic and Labs, Central Sterilization, two dispensaries, and facilities maintenance team. OCS supports the operations of 13 dental clinics in delivering dental care to the state’s largest and most diverse patient population. We utilize a team oriented approach and work very hard to delight our patients.
The UW School of Dentistry (UWSOD) has an outstanding opportunity for a Dental Assistant 2 (DA2). Within the School of Dentistry, there are thirteen clinics where pre-doctoral and graduate dental students are provided education while also providing care to patients. Faculty and staff oversee these dentists-in-training. To support the educational mission of the school, the DA2 will provide assistance, based on patient treatment procedure and staffing needs, to the D2 and D3 clinics for pre-doctoral students and provide back up support to the D2/D3 clinic dispensaries and Central Sterilization. In addition, this individual will float as needed in other pre-doctoral or graduate clinics within the UW School of Dentistry (Dental Admissions, Dental Urgent Care, DECOD (Dental Education in the Care of Person with Disabilities, Endodontics, Oral Medicine, Orthodontics, Pediatric, Graduate Periodontics, Graduate Prosthodontics, Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology and the UW Dentistry Campus Dental Center.)
Desirable candidates for this position must have the ability to work independently and be a reliable team player with a strong work ethic. The DA2 must demonstrate strong interpersonal skills, resolve conflict in a positive manner, and interact with patients, staff, faculty, and students on a professional level at all times. They must also be able to handle difficult situations professionally and use good judgement while upholding the policies of the UW and UWSOD. The DA2 reports to the Dental Clinic Supervisor, Clinic Manager and the Director of Clinical Operations. The DA2 is expected to communicate with their supervisor when they see areas for operational improvement or ways to improve the safety of the clinical environment.
DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES
Dental Assisting Responsibilities:
The Dental Assistant 2 in this position may assist chairside with one provider for long periods of time, as in typical dental assisting, or move from student provider to student provider to assist them during critical times of their patient care procedures and as needed. The DA2 must have the ability to prioritize work and understand when and how the students or faculty providers need them. When assisting students, the DA2 should communicate constructively to the student to help them gain as much as possible from their learning experience at the UWSOD. The DA2 must be caring and helpful, yet be able to be firm if people within the clinic are not following the policies and guidelines of the clinic or Standard of Care.
The Dental Assistant 2 will be expected to communicate daily with the clinic faculty and develop excellent working relationships with them to aid in the student educational process. The Dental Assistant 2 assigned in the clinics must also be aware of the needs of the faculty and assist them as needed.
Assisting responsibilities include:
o Provide excellent customer service to the School’s patients, students, faculty and staff.
o Aid dental students, residents and/or faculty in fourhanded dentistry and in routine chair-side duties and patient care.
o Provide students with knowledge and ideas to help aid in the dental care educational process.
o Orient new staff and dental students to clinic procedures and policies.
o Clean and prepare treatment area.
o Keep all areas clean, orderly, and neat.
o Obtain and mix dental materials.
o Conduct inventories and stock supplies.
o Monitor school-owned instruments for breakage and wear; assess replacement needs.
o Monitor and maintain clinic hand pieces.
o Perform additional dental assistant duties as assigned.
Sterilization Responsibilities:
o Check instruments and cassettes in and out, keeping detailed records of all assets.
o Maintain and operate autoclaves and sterilization equipment; disinfect items, and follow pre-sterilization and sterilization-established protocol. Duties include scrubbing, ultrasonic operation, drying, sorting, resetting, packaging and labeling instrument setups.
o Assemble dental instrument packs.
o Store sterile and disinfected set-ups in preparation for delivery to clinics and students.
o Coordinate the pick-up and delivery of student and school-owned instruments.
o Monitor school-owned instruments for breakage and wear; assess replacement needs.
o Maintain the daily log of school-owned instruments and equipment checked in and out to students, staff and faculty on a daily basis. Notify parties when items are missing.
o Monitor and maintain hand pieces sterilization log.
o Perform weekly spore testing on autoclaves and other sterilizers.
o Keep all areas clean, orderly, and neat.
o Provide excellent customer service to faculty, staff, and students.
o Verify correct sterilization cycles.
o Perform basic calculations related to verifying sterilizer functions and inventory control.
o Inspect, assemble, package, label and date instruments and cassettes.
o Enter inventory data using a computer terminal or a manual method.
o Place orders as necessary.
o Complete directly supervised sterilization training program administered by the School of Dentistry.
o Check in dirty instruments, logging hand pieces in and out, filling instrument request orders and delivering instruments to clinics.
o Perform additional sterilization duties as assigned.
Dispensary Responsibilities:
o Manage daily stocking of dispensary supplies, clinic supply bins, and
o Coordinate Prosthodontic faculty schedules.
o Scan cassettes and other items for students.
o Dispense anesthetic per UWSOD policy and protocol.
o Troubleshoot problems in clinic units as necessary and prepare repair work orders if required.
o Collect, scan and bag soiled items in preparation for sterilization.
o Monitor daily reports of items checked out by students; email students with delinquent items.
o Prepare orders for D2/D3 clinics, Dental Admissions Clinic, Sterilization, Oral Surgery Clerkship and Dental Urgent Care Clinic to send to Central Sterilization.
o Collect Wednesday receivables orders from Central Purchasing and distribute items.
o Stock/organize disposables each week in supply room.
o Reconcile monthly statements from Central Purchasing.
o Record Perio night guards produced by students.
o Provide support during annual student Western Regional Exam Board exams.
o Perform additional dispensary duties as assigned
Requirements
o High school graduation OR equivalent education/experience.
o Completion of an accredited training program for dental assistants AND current certification as a dental assistant (CDA) OR the ability to obtain it within six months. One year of additional dental assistant experience may substitute for required education.
o Two years of experience as a dental assistant.
o Must have an active WA State Department of Health Dental Assistant Registration; must be kept active in order to work within the School of Dentistry clinics.
Desired Qualifications
o Previous experience in a dental education environment
o Experience with diverse populations
o Ability to resolve conflict in a positive manner and treat others in a respectful manner at all times
o Experience with dental software programs; exposing intra and extra-oral radiographs
o Ability to operate dental equipment, including sterilization equipment
o Robust knowledge of the guidelines mandated by OSHA/WISHA and the UW School of Dentistry (UWSOD) regarding infection control protocols
o Ability to work independently as well as a team player
o Demonstrated interpersonal and communication skills
o Strong customer service skills to interact with patients, staff and students on a professional level
o Organizational skills, attention to detail, and ability to multi-task and prioritize tasks
o Critical thinking; problem solving skills
o Proficiency in Microsoft Office suite
Equivalent education/experience will substitute for all minimum qualifications except when there are legal requirements, such as a license/certification/registration.
BENEFITS
For detailed information on Benefits for this position, click here.
Application Process
The application process for UW positions may include completion of a variety of online assessments to obtain additional information that will be used in the evaluation process. These assessments may include Workforce Authorization, Cover Letter and/or others. Any assessments that you need to complete will appear on your screen as soon as you select “Apply to this position”. Once you begin an assessment, it must be completed at that time; if you do not complete the assessment you will be prompted to do so the next time you access your “My Jobs” page. If you select to take it later, it will appear on your "My Jobs" page to take when you are ready.
Please note that your application will not be reviewed, and you will not be considered for this position until all required assessments have been completed.
The University of Washington is a leader in environmental stewardship & sustainability, and committed to becoming climate neutral.
The University of Washington is an equal opportunity, affirmative action employer. To request disability accommodation in the application process, contact the Disability Services Office at 206-543-6450 / 206-543-6452 (tty) or dso@uw.edu.