Sunday 2 September 2012

I write with a sense of expectation, anticipation and and excitement on the plane home back from India as I look forward to my new appointment to a senior specialist teaching position at the brand new University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) Dental Clinic in Preston. Induction starts Monday 3rd September.
The University of Central Lancashire has spent £1.3m creating a state-of-the art dental clinic at its Preston city campus, which will provide much-needed services for local people as well as staff and students.
The clinic will have four general dental surgeries; an oral surgery suite (two surgeries and recovery room) and a 10-chair training suite and will be fully equipped to meet both treatment and teaching requirements. UCLan is believed to be one of the few universities in the country, other than specialist dedicated medical centres, to have such facilities on site.
I will be leading the specialist oral surgery services at the UCLan Dental Clinic. As a  registered specialist with the General Dental Council (GDC) in Oral Surgery I will have responsibility for providing treatment to patients and also teaching dentists. This is similar to the role that I had between 2001 and 2009 when I was a senior teaching fellow in oral and maxillofacial surgery at Manchester Dental Hospital where I was responsible for the teaching, lecturing and supervision of dentists on the University of Manchester’s Masters program in oral and maxillofacial surgery. As a teacher and educator I am proud over the past decade to have taught and mentored over 500 dentists in oral surgery at postgraduate level both at regionally and nationally.
Paul Walsh the Clinical Director spoke at a pre event open day last month at the clinic to local dentists and said that many high quality candidates had applied to posts in the clinic and that he was thrilled to "get his A team of first choices." I was flattered and humbled by that statement and am looking forward to working with some great colleagues.
For me there are new and exciting challenges that lie ahead. I am thrilled, honoured and privileged to have been appointed to what I consider to be a ground-breaking new dental venture at one of the most exciting and progressive universities in the UK. UCLan by setting up this venture is setting down a benchmark for quality and education in dentistry and setting its future direction of travel that will see it pushing its way up the university league tables to aim to knock at the door of the Russell Group. Ventures like this and its already excellent undergraduate BDS dental course will only see it shoot higher.
I will keep you posted about my progress.
Visit www.uclandentalclinic.com for more information.
TJD 2.9.12

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