Texas-based Equipment Specialist James Clair was the 12th person in the U.S. to complete the Dental Industry Specialist in Infection Prevention and Control (DISIPC) certification program.
The dental industry is all James Clair has ever really known. Shortly after graduating high school, Clair joined the Navy in 1985 and soon started working as a dental assistant. Over time, Clair worked as a dental repair technician, and then as a salesman. Now, Clair serves as a Burkhart Dental Supply equipment specialist in Texas.
“I feel like I’ve done a bit of everything,” Clair chuckled.
Clair joined Burkhart in June 2022. As an Equipment Specialist, Clair said his job is to help doctors navigate an overwhelming amount of information on equipment.
“I feel like my job is to help them navigate and pick out the equipment that’s right for them, not necessarily what’s right for my pocket,” Clair said. “It’s a lot of little facets that we can do for the doctors to help them ease their stress level.”
Though Clair has spent nearly 40 years developing his dental equipment expertise, he decided to apply for the Dental Industry Specialist in Infection Prevention and Control (DISIPC) certification program.
The DISIPC certification is the first and only infection control certification specifically for dental sales and practice management professionals, according to a Dental Assisting National Board (DANB) press release. Those who hold DISIPC certification have proven their knowledge of CDC guidelines, OSHA standards and regulations, and concepts related to the prevention of disease transmission in the dental office.
“Earning a DISIPC certification is a marker of professional excellence.”
“Earning DISIPC certification is a marker of professional excellence,” DANB CEO Laura Skarnulis said in the press release. “DISIPC certified individuals have completed in-depth education and passed a rigorous exam, which demonstrates their knowledge and helps ensure that all involved in patient care are protected.”
Clair was the 12th person to complete the program in June 2022.
“When you’ve been around the business long enough, there’s a lot of people out there that claim to be an expert in infection control and all this stuff,” Clair said. “In reality, all they really did was pick up a few things here and there and maybe read some stuff on the internet or something like that.”
Clair added that this certification program allowed some legitimacy to those who are actually experts in infection prevention and control.
“When I sit down and talk to doctors, they’re relying on me to help them improve their office, and this certification makes me more of an expert.”
Clair encourages others to complete the DISIPC certification program so they can continue to help doctors improve their offices.
“My philosophy is, anytime you’re doing anything like this, the more you know the better. But this will elevate them in the eyes of the doctor because now it makes them an expert,” Clair said. “You actually have a certain certification that you can actually show them that you are an expert, and you couldn’t have gotten that certification unless you knew the information.”
To learn more about the DISIPC certification program, visit DentalInfectionControl.org.
Written by Madison Miller
Published in Catalyst – Q1 2023.
Category: Burkhart Culture, Equipment
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