TRANSCRIPT
When Dr Sue Hosn arrived in Australia from Lebanon almost forty years ago, the cost of transferring her dentistry skills was not an issue.
For decades, she's served multicultural communities in Melbourne's north.
In that time, she says the fees for overseas-trained dentists to get their qualifications recognised, have steadily risen.
“I was not aware of the amount of money that the exams cost, and I could see the frustration and the barriers that were restricting people into going and studying and re-registering for their exams.”
Dr Hosn is part of a Refugee Advisory Group which is examining ways of making oral healthcare more accessible to refugee and migrant communities in Victoria.
The government is now offering scholarships of up to 22 thousand dollars, to streamline the process of bringing overseas-trained dentists, to work here.
Ashley Nind is the director of allied health at the not-for-profit organisation Cohealth.
He says this initiative will support better healthcare for Victorians.
“But also, it shows recognition of the work that people have done in their home countries, and having that shared experience and having that cultural background, that is similar to the clients they're looking after really does help to build more of a therapeutic relationship, and really engage with the person who's receiving that healthcare more, to ensure that they're firstly listening to that advice, but following the advice when they get home as well.”
Australian Dental Association President Scott Davis says the 22-thousand dollar figure will go some way in paying for the overall cost of transferring dentists' skills from overseas.
“It will assist. It certainly won't pay for everything, especially when it takes years at the moment to be assessed and enter our workforce with the way the system is set up. So, working cooperatively with the Federal Government, I think Victoria could talk to (Federal Health) Minister Butler again about how they are going to reduce the complexity and impediments of red tape to faster recognition of overseas dentists to come to Australia.”
The Federal Government last year received an independent review into the policy settings relating to overseas health practitioners.
A spokesperson for the health department says it's accepted the recommendations of that review, in order to streamline and improve migration pathways.
With poor oral health a leading cause of preventable hospital admissions in children, Victorian health minister Mary-Anne Thomas says the Smile Squad program - comprising of health workers and specially designed vehicles - has reached 80,000 students across the state.
“Smile squad is about taking dental healthcare, oral healthcare to every Victorian child at a government school. The beauty of Smile Squad is we've got a self-contained van and we've also got some buses. We travel to schools and we deliver care at school.”Practitioners like Dr Sue Hosn have recognised the contribution overseas-trained dentists could play in improving the country's oral health.
“I do understand it should be a nationwide incentive for all professionals coming, because most of them have very good experience back overseas. They just need retraining or mentoring them again, showing them the way we work in Australia, so that they can really give back to the community.”
