CAMP FOSTER, Japan - The American Red Cross is providing dental assistant training opportunities for military spouses and status of forces agreement personnel in a course which begins Oct. 31.
The individuals chosen for the dental assistant course will receive more than 500 hours of classroom instruction and clinical practice to certify their competency.
Two or three times a year, the American Red Cross advertises for student applications for the upcoming course, said Jo An Miller, the senior station manager with the American Red Cross service on Camp Foster.
Applicants have three weeks to turn in an application.
“We collect all applications and narrow them down to those who are qualified and call them in for one-on-one interviews,” Miller said.
“We are looking for students with a lot of dedication and commitment, as well as an eagerness to learn,” said Miller.
Once the students have been chosen, they are assigned to one of seven clinics on Okinawa located on Camps Kinser, Foster, Courtney, Hansen and Schwab, Marine Corps Air Station Futenma and Kadena Air Base, she said. The clinics on Marine installations are manned by 3rd Dental Battalion, 3rd Marine Logistics Group, III Marine Expeditionary Force.
“The students will go to their respective clinic to learn the practical application aspects of the job,” said Miller. “They will learn every type of dental procedure the clinic provides, as well as the front-office side.”
The course is intended to teach the students how to assist dentists or hygienists by providing them with the proper equipment and preparation for the patients, said Miller.
“At the completion of the course, the students are qualified to work with any military dental command including the one they trained with,” said Miller. “Beyond that, the course prepares you for future endeavors, providing knowledge which can help you in testing for a state license board stateside.”
Shirley A. Stanley, a former student of the course, now the practice manager at Evans Dental Branch Clinic, said the course has given her security in her ability to find employment.
“It is comforting to know that wherever I go I will have a job.
“With the training, you can put in an application before permanently changing duty stations and you [should] have no problems getting a job,” said Stanley. “Military dental clinics are good in accommodating [dependents of status of forces agreement personnel].”
Applications for this class are closed, but another class will pick up early spring, said Miller.
For more information about the dental assistant training available, visit the Okinawa American Red Cross homepage at www.AmericanRedCrossOkinawa.org.