New BDA President

I have just read t= Janet Clarke's (the new BDA president) Presidential address in the BDJ.http://bit.ly/lDYCEI I was present in Manchester when she gave her address, which I thought was lovely at the time. It is great to see that it also reads beautifully. She does, however, make some serious points. One which is close to my heart is how the transfer of knowledge in informal settings can be so underestimated. In these days where so much verifiable CPD can be done in isolation and where BDA (and other) meetings in certain localities are a shadow of their former selves, I think that many have come to accept that all they need to know can be found through formal routes. This may not be the case. And where does this leave the pleasure and benefits of a two way exchange of knowledge? And how much support are you going to get from a pile of CPD MCQs when what you really need is a dental colleague to talk to?

I also admire her approach to leadership. I have seen much written on leadership that doesn't even mention the setting of a direction. For me, to lead, you at least have to have somewhere you are leading people to. For some, leadership appears to be something that is cultivated for its own sake, with destinations unspecified. So I welcome Janet Clarke's definition which includes "the ability to set a direction". She also mentions the role of clinical leaders in maintaining dentistry on the agenda locally after PCTs have disappeared. I couldn't agree more. The role of LDCs will change (and the worst case scenario could threaten their survival), Health and Wellbeing Boards at Local Authorities will be looking at the non-commissioning aspects of primary care dentistry, while the commissioning aspect will be with the National Commissioning Board. How the separate functioning of Local Authorities and The National Commissioning Board will mesh is an issue for concern. We will clearly need engaged dentists to make sure that things have a chance of developing sensibly, or at least with a lesser degree of chaos than would otherwise be the case.

Janet, if you read this, I hope you enjoy your year!