Dental hygienist to healthcare assistant
A dental hygienist already meets 51% of what the healthcare assistant role asks for. The move turns on 14 required skills not yet in the profile.
58.6/ 100
1 How much of what a healthcare assistant is expected to do is already part of a dental hygienist’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the healthcare assistant role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A healthcare assistant role treats 18 of its required skills as things a dental hygienist already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- accept own accountability
- apply organisational techniques
- comply with legislation related to health care
- contribute to continuity of health care
- deal with emergency care situations
- develop a collaborative therapeutic relationship
What stands in the way is 14 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 20 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A healthcare assistant role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a dental hygienist background worth leading with.
- already held use technical equipment for sterilisation working with machinery and specialised equipment
- already held inform policy makers on health-related challenges communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held develop a collaborative therapeutic relationship communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held use e-health and mobile health technologies working with computers
- already held respond to changing situations in health care management skills
- already held deal with emergency care situations assisting and caring
All 20 carried skills, including the 18 the healthcare assistant role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 26 missing skills fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn convey medical routine information required
- still to learn advise on healthcare users' informed consent required
- still to learn work with nursing staff required
- still to learn communicate with nursing staff required
- still to learn educate on the prevention of illness required
- still to learn support nurses required
- still to learn work under supervision in care required
- optional, not held communicate in foreign languages with health service providers optional
- optional, not held use foreign languages for health-related research optional
- still to learn comply with quality standards related to healthcare practice required
- still to learn provide basic support to patients required
- still to learn adhere to organisational guidelines required
- optional, not held assist in the administration of medication to elderly optional
- optional, not held distribute meals to patients optional
- optional, not held support individuals to adjust to physical disability optional
- still to learn monitor basic patients signs required
- still to learn identify abnormalities required
- still to learn manage healthcare users' data required
- still to learn have computer literacy required
- optional, not held disability care optional
- optional, not held disability types optional
- optional, not held geriatrics optional
- optional, not held older adults' needs optional
- optional, not held sterilization techniques optional
- optional, not held perform cleaning duties optional
1 further area in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a healthcare assistant role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 convey medical routine information practise this
- 02 advise on healthcare users' informed consent practise this
- 03 comply with quality standards related to healthcare practice practise this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 20 skills that carry over
- already held accept own accountability skill
- already held apply organisational techniques skill
- already held comply with legislation related to health care skill
- already held contribute to continuity of health care skill
- already held deal with emergency care situations skill
- already held develop a collaborative therapeutic relationship skill
- already held empathise with the healthcare user skill
- already held ensure safety of healthcare users skill
- already held follow clinical guidelines skill
- already held inform policy makers on health-related challenges skill
- already held interact with healthcare users skill
- already held listen actively skill
- already held promote inclusion skill
- already held provide health education skill
- already held respond to changing situations in health care skill
- already held use e-health and mobile health technologies skill
- already held work in a multicultural environment in health care skill
- already held work in multidisciplinary health teams skill
- already held use foreign languages in patient care skill
- already held use technical equipment for sterilisation skill
The 1 learning area not shown above
- optional, not held evaluate older adults' ability to take care of themselves optional
12 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held assist in the administration of medication to elderly optional
- optional, not held disability care optional
- optional, not held distribute meals to patients optional
- optional, not held support individuals to adjust to physical disability optional
- optional, not held communicate in foreign languages with health service providers optional
- optional, not held disability types optional
- optional, not held evaluate older adults' ability to take care of themselves optional
- optional, not held geriatrics optional
- optional, not held older adults' needs optional
- optional, not held perform cleaning duties optional
- optional, not held sterilization techniques optional
- optional, not held use foreign languages for health-related research optional
16 held skills the healthcare assistant role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role apply antibacterial substance to teeth skill
- not needed by the target role apply context specific clinical competences skill
- not needed by the target role communicate in healthcare skill
- not needed by the target role counsel on nutrition and its impact on oral health skill
- not needed by the target role deal with patients' anxiety skill
- not needed by the target role educate on oral healthcare and disease prevention skill
- not needed by the target role evaluate clinical outcomes of dental hygiene interventions skill
- not needed by the target role follow dentists' instructions skill
- not needed by the target role keep records for dental prostheses skill
- not needed by the target role manage infection control in the facility skill
- not needed by the target role perform dental charting skill
- not needed by the target role perform dental hygiene interventions skill
- not needed by the target role perform dental radiographs skill
- not needed by the target role polish dental restorations skill
- not needed by the target role promote health and safety policies in health services skill
- not needed by the target role remove calculus, plaque and stains skill
5 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- optional, not held disability care optional
- optional, not held disability types optional
- optional, not held geriatrics optional
- optional, not held older adults' needs optional
- optional, not held sterilization techniques optional
Common questions about this move
Can a dental hygienist become a healthcare assistant?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A dental hygienist already covers 51% of what a healthcare assistant is expected to do: 20 skills carry over, 18 of which the healthcare assistant role treats as required.
What skills does a dental hygienist need to become a healthcare assistant?
14 required skills are missing, plus 12 optional ones. They fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by communication, collaboration and creativity. The single most important is convey medical routine information.
How hard is the move from dental hygienist to healthcare assistant?
Its learning distance is 58.6 out of 100, which is the substantial band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.