HLT35015 Certificate III in Dental Assisting

GETTING STARTED GUIDE FOR PLACEMENT

What is placement?

As discussed at enrolment, you are required to find a practical work placement at a general dental
surgery. This is so that you can practise very important practical skills required to be a dental assistant.

The hours you are required to complete are 50 hours of simulation (shadowing, room change overs,
sterilising instruments, and admin duties) and 250 operational hours, involving working all aspects of the
dental assisting role. This is 300 hours in total. If you are studying a dual qualification you will still only
need to complete 300 hours in total. This is a requirement of your course and a valuable experience on
your pathway to success within dentistry.

It is a preference that you complete the two units HLTINF001, HLTDEN001 and First aid before you start
you placement.
If you are having problems with your placement search please contact our Vocational placement officer
Mark Alberighi at vocationalplacements@foundationeducation.edu.au .

Please remember to print out the logbook and take it with you to the dental surgery every day for the
duration of the placement. For your placement, you are required to complete practical tasks as outlined
in your logbook and in the practical sections of your assessments. Your supervisor will then sign you off
when you are efficient in this area. The supervisor must be a Certificate III or IV qualified dental assistant,
hygienist, or dentist. Your supervisor’s qualification requirements will depend upon the qualification you
are studying. If you are studying a certificate III course your supervisor must be Certificate III qualified. If
you are studying a certificate IV course your supervisor must be Certificate IV qualified.

Where can I complete placement?

You can complete your dental placement at any dental surgery provided that you are exposed to the
tasks in your logbook.

Tips for getting placement

The best way to approach finding placement is to treat it like looking for a job. Go in person to the dental
surgery that you would like to do placement at. Take with you all your paperwork, such as logbook,
introduction letter, and résumé if possible. Pick appropriate times to visit—around 11am and 3pm, you
are more likely to be able to have a chat with the receptionist.

When speaking to the dental surgery, there are some things to keep in mind:

 Offer flexibility in your work availability

 Dress appropriately in interview clothing

 Be well groomed

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 Another helpful tip for finding placement is to set up alerts to your phone for Dental Job vacancies or
dental surgeries requiring dental assistants (no experience needed). You can also check out these
website links:
• https://www.jobseeker.org.au
• https://au.jora.com
• https://www.seek.com.au
• https://www.careerone.com.au
Although you need placement to complete the course, do not be afraid to ask them questions or not to
accept an offer for placement. If you are uncomfortable at any time, even if you have already done most
of your placement, you can complete the rest of your placement elsewhere.

Introduction letter

This letter can be provided to the dental surgery where you are looking for placement. It contains
information about insurance, practical tasks, and other frequently asked questions. It also gives the
dental surgery contact information for your course contact person so that they can get in touch with
them for any concerns that they might have.

If you have any questions regarding placement, please email:

E vocationalplacements@foundationeducation.edu.au

Tips for completing the logbook

All tasks in the logbook need to be done. They are all written to meet specific criteria. If these criteria are
not met, then the whole unit is not competent. Observation comments must be detailed (a minimum of
two sentences). Blanket comments and single word comments will not be accepted.

For any tasks that you cannot do while on placement, such as due to situations not being common or just
not available, a simulated assessment is fine.

For these tasks, you could role play with your supervisor or pretend to do the tasks with the appropriate
equipment. If they are happy for you to do this in a real work situation, they can sign you off.

Get the logbook signed off as you go. You will not be very popular with your supervisor if you hand over
a full logbook to be completed nearing the end of your course; it is quite a large task to complete a full
logbook.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

What do I need to do before placement?

It is recommended that you finish the HLTDEN001 and HLTINF001 units before placement so that you
have a good basic understanding of these unit requirements when you start placement. Note that this is
not compulsory.

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Workplace agreement

**Important information
Please be aware that you must complete a Work Placement Agreement and have your placement
approved prior to commencing work placement. Please email your completed agreement
to vocationalplacements@foundationeducation.edu.au .

What do I do with the logbook?

Print out your logbook, and ensure you have easy access to it during placement. You should not hand
over the logbook to one person and expect them to chase you up to get tasks completed. It is your
responsibility to make sure that everything gets done. Log the hours that you do, and get them signed off
by your supervisor. Approach your supervisor weekly, and see if you are ready to have any skill sets
signed off.

Can I have more than one person sign me off?

More than one supervisor can sign you off. Ensure that their details are recorded in your logbook, but
keep in mind that anyone signing you off must be a qualified person with a Certificate IV in Dental
Assisting or be a hygienist or dentist.

Some of the tasks I can’t do on placement/ The surgery won’t allow me to do some
tasks. What do I do?

For any tasks that you cannot do while on placement, such as due to situations not being common or just
not available, a simulated assessment is fine. For these tasks, you could role play with your supervisor or
pretend to do the tasks with the appropriate equipment. If they are happy you are able to do this in a
real work situation, they can sign you off. All tasks in the logbook need to be done. They are all written to
meet specific criteria, and if these criteria are not met, then the whole unit is not competent.

How do I submit my logbook?

Your logbook should already be printed out and every task completed. When you have completed the
logbook, added up the hours, and double checked that every practical task in every unit has been
completed, you can either scan and upload your logbook to My eCampus, email your logbook, share it
via Dropbox, or post it to us. If posting your logbook to us, please ensure that you send a photocopy and
keep the original as a backup. Please send to PO Box 508, Fortitude Valley, QLD 4006.

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 I’m unable to do placement at one surgery. Can I do it in another surgery? Will I have to
repeat tasks and hours?

You can do placement at a few different dental surgeries if needed. Ensure that all of their information is
recorded in the logbook. You will not need to repeat previously completed tasks and hours.

Further information

Should you require it, further state-specific information can be provided to you by contacting

E dental.support@foundationeducation.edu.au

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