Becoming a Mentor

Peer mentoring is an effective, adaptable, and practical strategy for supporting the development of another less experienced dental hygienist towards authorization to self-initiate. The College of Dental Hygienists of Ontario has developed a free, online, professional development course and face-to-face workshop designed to prepare dental hygienists in clinical practice to mentor other dental hygienists who are working to meet the requirements for authorization to self-initiate care.

Qualifications of the Mentor

For the purpose of the CDHO Peer Mentoring Program, a mentor is a registered dental hygienist who has been approved by the College and has met the following criteria:

• Good standing with the College;
• A minimum of 5 years in clinical dental hygiene practice;
• Currently practising dental hygiene;
• Authorized to self-initiate for a minimum of 2 years;
• The professional experience to facilitate the professional development of a colleague; and
• Has completed the mentorship course and workshop.

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The dental hygienist peer mentor facilitates professional development by adopting a role of confidante, advisor, role model and sounding board. The mentoring relationship is deliberate, conscious and voluntary, aimed at assisting in the growth and ability of another colleague. A peer mentor should limit the number of mentees one is responsible for to a maximum of three in a given time period. A mentor under the CDHO Peer Mentorship Program may not receive financial consideration for mentoring.