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WFO Affiliated
Organization Profile The New Zealand Association of Orthodontists (NZAO) has been in existence since 1987. It was formerly known as the New Zealand Society for the Study of Orthodontics, which was established in 1927 by Mr. D.V. Donaldson, following his attendance at the 1926 First International Orthodontic Congress held in New York City, New York, USA. The NZAO currently has 79 full or life members and 25 associate or corresponding members. The NZAO membership represents 98 percent of all practicing specialist orthodontists within New Zealand. The NZAO has been affiliated with the WFO since it signed the WFO charter in 1995. Currently, Dr. Robert Max, a past president of the NZAO, is on the WFO Executive Committee. Dr. Max of Auckland, New Zealand, represents the region of Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines and Singapore. The number of NZAO members who have joined the WFO continues to grow steadily. Most NZAO members received their orthodontic graduate training either from the Dental School at the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand, or from universities in the United Kingdom, the United States or Australia. Specialist orthodontic registration has been in existence since 1987 and is granted by the Dental Council of New Zealand (DCNZ). The minimum requirement for registration is the completion of a three-year master's degree that is equivalent to the standard set by the MDS (Master of Dental Surgery) granted by the University of Otago. To cater to those orthodontic practitioners who did not hold such qualifications prior to 1987, the DCNZ grandfathered them into the specialist registration. Recently, the DCNZ has indicated that it is reviewing the requirements for all specialist registrations. The NZAO is strongly recommending to the DCNZ that it should follow overseas trends and maintain the current minimum requirements for specialist orthodontic registration. The NZAO President, Dr. Peter Gilbert of Dunedin, New Zealand, was re-elected for another year, along with the other members of the Executive, at the Annual General Meeting held in August 2001. The members of the Executive are responsible for the administration of the association. One of the major projects recently undertaken by the NZAO has been the development of an accreditation program. Following several high-profile cases of health-professional incompetence, as well as the impending introduction of new government legislation dealing with professional competence, there is an increasing demand for accountability for all health providers within New Zealand. The NZAO Executive investigated certifying board systems in a number of countries and decided that, in the New Zealand environment, a system of competency assessment would be preferable to the board concept in ensuring accountability of a high standard in the delivery of orthodontic treatment. A committee chaired by Immediate Past President Dr. Wayne Dalley of Whangarei, New Zealand, developed a pilot program, which has led to a voluntary Accreditation of Orthodontic Practices Program that is primarily aimed at assessing the competency of orthodontic practitioners. The requirements of the program include evaluation criteria that are reasonable, reliable and reproducible, and based on process (decision-making). Hence, the criteria are educational rather than punitive and are scientifically valid so that the assessment will be carried out objectively. The program format is a pyramid structure based on eight key standards. These standards reflect patient rights and practitioner obligations. Each standard is divided into a number of performance criteria with prescribed evidence. The evidence is necessary to confirm that the performance criteria have been met. The Accreditation of Orthodontic Practices Program is divided into two stages. Preliminary Accreditation, stage one, is granted once self-assessment of the first seven standards has been completed. Full Accreditation, stage two, is granted following an in-practice audit by an elected assessor. Full Accreditation is valid for five years. The practice audit includes a clinical evaluation of five randomly selected cases and an orthodontic-knowledge assessment. The clinical assessment criteria are based on the premise that the stability of the treatment result is a major goal of orthodontic treatment. The issue of clinical assessment criteria proved to be highly contentious when the program was recently ratified by the NZAO membership. The NZAO pursues several activities throughout the year. The organization
publishes a quarterly newsletter for members, and its National Study
Group meets regularly. The Association also holds annual meetings.
This year it was held in late August in Queenstown, the adventure
tourism capital of New Zealand. Approximately 120 registrants attended,
including visitors from Australia, Asia and Europe. The guest speakers
included Dr. Rolf Behrents of Dallas, Texas, USA; Dr. Pamela Stevenson
of Cardiff, Wales, UK; and Dr. Rick Olive of Brisbane, Australia.
The NZAO will hold its 2002 meeting in Auckland, the City of Sails
and the current home of the America's Cup. The meeting will take
place September 18-20, 2002. This meeting will be combined with
the New Zealand Dental Association's Biennial Conference. The principal
lecturer will be Prof. Bjorn Zachrisson of Oslo, Norway. A warm
invitation is extended to all orthodontists to attend this meeting
and visit the clean green islands "down under." Visit
the NZAO Web site for details on this meeting and other events.
The Web-site address is www.orthodontists.org.nz. |
