There is one seat for a dentist on the Virginia Board of Dentistry and four seats for health and community health professionals on the Virginia Healthcare Workforce Development Authority set to expire at the end of June. Those interested in applying should send in their applications soon to be considered. Learn more about these positions below.
Virginia Board of Dentistry
The Board of Dentistry has significant responsibility in overseeing the practice of dentistry in the Commonwealth, interpreting and enforcing laws passed by the General Assembly and in issuing regulations that govern the profession.
To effectively promulgate regulations, the board must include individuals with a deep understanding of the profession and the impact that new regulations and guidance could have on dentists, their team members and on the communities in which they provide essential dental care.
Board members are appointed for terms of four years, and serve no more than two full successive terms. The Governor appoints ten members: seven dentists, two dental hygienists, and one citizen member. The professional members of the Board shall be licensed practitioners of dentistry and dental hygiene, of acknowledged ability in the profession, and must have practiced dentistry or dental hygiene in the Commonwealth for at least three years. You may wish to learn more about these appointments and Board member rules by reviewing the laws beginning on page 5 here: https://www.dhp.virginia.gov/media/dhpweb/docs/dentistry/leg/Chapter27_Dentistry.pdf.
Service on the Board of Dentistry is one of the most impactful ways in which a dentist can volunteer their time and expertise to improving oral healthcare in Virginia.
Virginia Health Workforce Development Authority
The mission of the VHWDA is to facilitate the development of a statewide health professions pipeline that identifies, educates, recruits, and retains a diverse, appropriately geographically distributed and culturally competent quality workforce.
The VHWDA assesses health workforce needs in Virginia; sets priorities for the Area Health Education Center (AHEC) program; informs health care workforce policy; promotes strategies for health workforce pipeline development; supports collaborations between communities, businesses, and social organizations to facilitate recruitment and retention efforts; advocates reducing the student debt load of health professionals; identifies High Priority Target Areas (HPTAs) within each region of the Commonwealth; and aims to create innovative health workforce development models. Learn more about the Virginia Health Workforce Development Authority at https://www.vhwda.org/
If you’re interested in serving on the Virginia Board of Dentistry or the Virginia Health Workforce Development Authority, learn more about the process to apply here: https://www.commonwealth.virginia.gov/va-government/boards-and-commissions/appointment-openings/detail/?id=b5d6c5ed-c4c1-df11-8337-005056bc7b56
Applications for these appointments can be submitted through their online system here: https://solutions.virginia.gov/BoardAppointments. If you have previously applied and are still interested, you may need to resubmit your application to indicate your interest.
Should you decide to apply for either appointment, please let our VDA Director of Legislative and Public Policy, Laura Givens, know by emailing her at Givens@vadental.org.