Filling in the gaps: Clyde Munro Dental Group cheers dental nurse trainee initiative to help tackle staff shortages

Clyde Munro Dental Group – which says it is the largest company of its kind in Scotland – is powering ahead with a new dental nurse trainee programme in a bid to tackle major staff shortages in the sector.

The Glasgow-based group – which said last month that it expects to add further practices in Scotland to its portfolio over the coming year – has explained how 20 trainees across the nation have been enlisted in the 12-month course, working towards qualifications in dental nursing.

The Strive Programme, which started at the end of last year, aims to introduce people to the fundamentals of the profession. It comes after the number of qualified nurses in Scotland was dropping, and from starting the programme last year to February 2022, a further 311 have dropped off the register, the firm added.

The newly qualified nurses will, once they have completed the programme, go through a formal graduation and will have the opportunity to continue their development with further courses, enabling them to pursue a career with the dental group.

The latter will be working with training provider Ident, which specialises in professional dental nurse training, and a second programme will debut next month.

Nicola Logan, head of HR at the group, said: “It’s [been] great to get the trainee programme under way in what is a crucial step to addressing the shortage in qualified dental nurses whilst supporting nurses through training... A dentist cannot operate without their nurse, and we believe we should focus on showing how we can support qualified nurses throughout their career development.”

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Charlie McGill is one of the 20 trainee nurses - saying, 'I can definitely see this as being my career for the rest of my life'. Picture: contributed.

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