Support Work Integrated Learning for Chairside Assistants
Okanagan College is ready to launch a pilot Work Integrated Learning (WIL) program for chairside assistants, but we need the dental community’s support to make it a reality.
Pledge your metal recycling to the Okanagan College Foundation and we will turn your precious metal recycling into “dental gold” to fund a CDA Work Integrated Learning program.
We’re nearly halfway to our fundraising goal!
Goal - $250,000 to develop and deliver the program
Raised - $100,000 gift from BMO
Need - $150,000 by 2025 from dental community support
BMO supports CDA education
A major gift from BMO will support community dental care while making it easier for more people to train to become in-demand Certified Dental Assistants (CDAs).
BMO is giving $100,000 to help kickstart a hands-on learning pilot program that will enable people to become CDAs while they continue to work.
"This gift will remove barriers to education and support greater access to quality dental care, helping our employees, our customers and communities we serve,” said John Duff, regional vice president, BC and Yukon Region, BMO.
Work Integrated Program FAQs
What is Work Integrated Learning (WIL)?
WIL is a model and process of experiential education which intentionally integrates a student’s academic studies with learning in a workplace or practice setting. WIL experiences normally include a partnership between an academic institution, an employer and a student.
How can a dental clinic participate in the CDA WIL program?
Students must complete an Expression of Interest (EOI) application with the support of their work mentors (employer). The EOI form and enrollment related details will be available soon.
If I contribute to the CDA WIL fundraiser, will my dental assistant receive enrollment priority?
Supporting the fundraiser does not provide any special privileges for dental clinics/dental assistants seeking to participate in the CDA WIL program. Student applications will be processed based on the usual criteria, following a first-come, first-serve approach.
What are the benefits of a WIL program?
We’ve heard from dentists that it can be challenging to “lose” their current assistants to a 10-month traditional CDA program. The WIL program is designed specifically for people already working chairside as dental assistants and provides them with the opportunity to gain their CDA credential and license while continuing to work in a dental practice.
This expansion will especially help those in outlying regions have access to education and training and provide employers the ability to keep their employee working while supporting them in advancing their career goals.
When will the first WIL CDA program start?
We are planning to offer the first program in January, 2025. This is contingent on us raising $75,000 by December 2024.
How many students will attend?
The pilot CDA WIL program will have a 16-seat intake.
I donated my precious recycling last year, what were those funds used for?
Thank you! More than 90 dental clinics joined our precious metals recycling donation program in 2022-2023, raising $160,000. These generous contributions made it possible for Okanagan College to educate an additional 24 CDA students with a total of 55 students in the 2023-2024 year.
We know there is a greater need which is why we’re developing a WIL program to help more chairside assistants remain working in local offices while they train to become CDAs.
A key part of the WIL pilot program is to develop a sustainable funding model to continue the program and serve our dental community.
Ways to Give
- Pledge your precious metal recycling (A refinement package will be mailed to you when you pledge your metals)
- Pledge a combination of precious metal recycling and cash
- Make an online donation or mail in your cheque – recipient is “Okanagan College Foundation” and include in the memo “Precious Metals”. Cheques can be mailed to:
Okanagan College Foundation
1000 KLO Road
Kelowna, B.C.
V1Y 4X8
All donations are eligible for tax receipts.
Gifts of $1,000 or more will be recognized on the donor wall in Okanagan College’s cutting-edge Dental Clinic.
Contact us for more information
Samantha Blandon
Development Officer, Annual Giving
Okanagan College Foundation
Email: sblandon@okanagan.bc.ca
Phone: 250 - 762 - 5445 ex 4836
Dr. Ian Leitch
Chair, CDAs are Precious Campaign
Email: ian.j.leitch@gmail.com
Phone: 250-212-2022
We applaud the efforts by Okanagan College and Argen to help address the critical staff shortage of Certified Dental Assistants; this kind of out-of- the-box thinking and grass- roots solution is what’s needed to continue providing the best oral health care to British Columbians.
Dr. Isaac Tam, Chair, British Columbia Dental Association Staffing Shortage Task Force