Her name is Rosula Morgan, Rossie to friends, family and the Ottawa community she serves in Canada. She left Saint Lucia in 1979 to pursue a career in dental hygiene and has been practising for over 30 years. Her dream of one day contributing to Saint Lucia’s dental community is about to be realised in April 2015. Mors CE Services, an organization she founded in association with the St. Lucian Medical & Dental Association, and of which she is head of operations, will be conducting for the first time a two-day dental development program on April 17th & 18th.
Rossie graduated in the 1980s when dental hygiene was at a mushroom base in the profession. Many changes were about to take place and it was the perfect time to be in the field. Dentistry has come a long way over the years. With education, new technology and research, our attitude towards our oral health has changed quite a bit from what it used to be.
She says: “We acknowledge the link to the systemic diseases and the important role it plays in our overall general health. Over the years emphasis placed on both prevention and maintenance in caring of our mouths—the gateway to our body—and in the manner we practice dentistry have moved the profession forward. The Dental Hygiene Department has become a vital attribute of the practice; we provide maintenance and practice prevention, act as educators and promote productivity in the practice.”
Additionally: “It is mandatory for us as health care providers to stay current with our education. In Canada/North America, we are expected to seek out and attend lectures, courses, workshops and activities every year to maintain our professional portfolio. It is the job of our regulatory body to govern and request the submission of portfolios for inspection, with the intention of making recommendations for necessary changes. It is somewhat inconvenient for most of us to be told that we continuously have to meet these requirements throughout the years of our practice. However, I will be the first to admit that this very process has contributed to my success as a RDH today. I am passionate about my job and love the position as Senior DH that I hold at the Dental Practice where I have worked for over 25 years.”
She considers it encouraging that Saint Lucia is among the few Islands in the Caribbean legislated to require continuing education for the maintenance of their license to practice. “While I recognise that regulatory requirements coupled with the associated expenses to participate in events of this nature, for example registration fees and possibly travel can be prohibitive, since in the Caribbean these events are not easily accessible and readily available. I must reiterate that continued education in the profession is very important and I feel that in the longer term, not only the professionals but the community stand to benefit greatly.”
Rossi’s initiative, she is quick to state, is not for monetary gain. Her role in bringing the program to Saint Lucia is mainly for “the purpose of bringing awareness, to show the difference continuing education has to offer in this field, and to make the program accessible at a reasonable cost to as many as possible.”
Bay Gardens Resorts and Glace Grafix have been co-sponsors of this event from day one. In addition, a team of three St. Lucian women—Dr. Joanna Pamphil, Sharron Williams, Felicia Montoute and one female Canadian, Jo-Ann Dorey—have been brought on board to help Rossi co-ordinate and arrange the events. Dr. Joana Pamphil, representative of the local the Dental Association, has been liaising between Mor’s CE Services and the Saint Lucia Medical & Dental Association. Sharon is the event planner for the Friday evening cocktail event and Felicia, a home-based registered dental hygienist, will assist the Head of Operations. Jo Ann Dorey, the group’s registration officer, is in Canada taking care of assembling the registration.
Rossi explains: “My qualification do not permit me to conduct a lecture with the level of knowledge required to share with the dentists expected to attend. However, I do have the ability to organize the participation of qualified professionals in their respective fields to deliver the information to those in need of it.”
An invitation has been extended to the health minister Alvina Reynolds to deliver the welcoming speech.
Interested parties are urged to register on line at: http://morsceservices.com/registration-form/
