New ADA Publication: OSHA Training and OSHA Compliance
By Olivia Wann, JD
As many of you are aware, I started working in a dental office when I was 17 years old. I worked part time as a janitor for a cleaning company.
I cleaned Dr. Artie Peacher's office in Dover, a small rural town in Tennessee where I live. I also worked part-time as the deputy clerk and master in the Chancery Court. Back then, I had no idea how the dental field and the legal profession would collide into my career!
At age 19, Dr. Peacher hired me full-time as a dental receptionist. I loved my new job! I was later promoted to office manager. I was responsible for the bookkeeping including payroll, insurance, billing and the overall efficiency of the administrative aspect of the dental practice.
To help the chairside dental assistants, I was trained to cross-over in the sterilization area and treatment room. I attended Tennessee Technology Center where I studied dental assisting and was licensed as a RDA for many years.
Can you believe I was the OSHA Safety Officer? Yes -I was! I loved it! I remember going from the wet hand dentistry era to wearing full PPE with the roll out of the Bloodborne Pathogens Standard in 1991.
I left private practice in 1999 and after briefly working for SoftDent where I found my love for training and educating. I started my own company, Modern Practice Solutions, in the year 2000. I was lecturing all across the United States and also providing in-office training and workshops.
At some point, I decided to go back to school. I continued to work, grow my company and attend college. It took me 10 years to get my bachelor's degree in health care management followed by a doctorate in jurisprudence. I started my law firm in 2012. I wrote a blog on how to pass the bar the first time - because believe me, at age 45, I questioned whether I could undertake this challenge. Read it here!
It was an extremely rewarding experience to co-author ADA's new books, entitled: "ADA OSHA Training Guidance for the Dental Team" and "ADA Guide to OSHA Compliance for Dental Offices" with Linda Harvey. After completing this project, I could not help but look back on my career and fully appreciate the many years I worked in a dental practice. As a lawyer, I can honestly tell a dentist, dental assistant, hygienist or office manager, "I understand." I well remember the struggles in dentistry of juggling multiple hats, one of which is job safety.
We are confident these updated ADA publications will help the dental industry close any gaps in the OSHA compliance area of their dental practices. We hope you enjoy reading the books and utilizing the materials as much as we enjoyed writing them.
To pre-order the books, visit the links below!
- https://store.ada.org/catalog/ada-osha-training-guidance-for-the-dental-team-111289
- https://store.ada.org/catalog/ada-guide-to-osha-compliance-for-dental-offices-111286
https://store.ada.org/catalog/ada-complete-osha-compliance-kit-111290
