Dental Team Feedback on Entry-to-Practice Readiness |
Introduction and Consent
In November 2025, the College of Alberta Dental Assistants (CADA) invited dental assistants, dentists, dental hygienists, employers, educators, administrative staff, and other members of the dental team to participate in surveys and focus groups as part of the independent Program Approval Review.
The purpose of that engagement was to better understand how dental assisting education connects to real practice, teamwork, graduate readiness, and the public interest in Alberta. The feedback from that first phase has now been reviewed and organized into draft Practice Domains and Practice Readiness Factors.
Practice Domains describe the main areas of dental assisting practice that matter at entry-to-practice. Practice Readiness Factors describe the types of readiness a new dental assistant may need to demonstrate when entering practice in Alberta.
This follow-up survey is being conducted to understand perspectives on the draft domains and readiness factors.
The draft Practice Domains and Practice Readiness Factors were developed from information gathered during the first part of the project, including survey responses, focus group input, document review, regulatory requirements, competency expectations, and system-level analysis. They were not developed from one source or one perspective.
This survey is not asking you to approve the framework. It is not an evaluation of individual dental assistants, educators, schools, programs, employers, or practice settings.
The purpose is to gather feedback on whether the draft framework is understandable, practical, and connected to real dental assisting practice in Alberta.
We are asking:
When a new dental assistant commences practice in Alberta, what would you need to see them do, notice, communicate, document, respond to, and take responsibility for to feel confident they are ready to begin practice safely, ethically, and effectively?
Your feedback will be used to:
The purpose of that engagement was to better understand how dental assisting education connects to real practice, teamwork, graduate readiness, and the public interest in Alberta. The feedback from that first phase has now been reviewed and organized into draft Practice Domains and Practice Readiness Factors.
Practice Domains describe the main areas of dental assisting practice that matter at entry-to-practice. Practice Readiness Factors describe the types of readiness a new dental assistant may need to demonstrate when entering practice in Alberta.
This follow-up survey is being conducted to understand perspectives on the draft domains and readiness factors.
The draft Practice Domains and Practice Readiness Factors were developed from information gathered during the first part of the project, including survey responses, focus group input, document review, regulatory requirements, competency expectations, and system-level analysis. They were not developed from one source or one perspective.
This survey is not asking you to approve the framework. It is not an evaluation of individual dental assistants, educators, schools, programs, employers, or practice settings.
The purpose is to gather feedback on whether the draft framework is understandable, practical, and connected to real dental assisting practice in Alberta.
We are asking:
When a new dental assistant commences practice in Alberta, what would you need to see them do, notice, communicate, document, respond to, and take responsibility for to feel confident they are ready to begin practice safely, ethically, and effectively?
Your feedback will be used to:
- Understand whether the draft Practice Domains reflect the main areas of dental assisting practice;
- Consider whether the draft Practice Readiness Factors describe the types of readiness that matter in real practice;
- Identify language that may be unclear or disconnected from practice;
- Identify anything important that may be missing;
- Refine the draft framework and inform future discussions about Program Approval requirements, regulatory standards, and framework design.
The College remains responsible for final decisions about Program Approval requirements, regulatory standards, and any future changes to the Program Approval framework.
Responses will be analyzed and reported in summary form only. No individual respondent, employer, school, program, or practice setting will be identified in reporting.
This survey will take approximately 5 to 8 minutes to complete.