Healthcare is evolving — and so is the role of the Registered Dental Hygienist. As evidence continues to strengthen the connection between oral health and whole-body health, RDHs are increasingly positioned to serve as essential contributors on interprofessional healthcare teams in hospitals, Federally Qualified Health Centers, long-term care facilities, school-based health programs, and beyond.
This course introduces participants to the Interprofessional Education Collaborative (IPEC) Core Competencies — the nationally recognized framework that defines the knowledge, skills, and attitudes required for effective team-based, patient-centered care. Through a combination of evidence-based content, real-world case examples, and reflective practice, participants will explore how the RDH's unique clinical expertise, preventive focus, and patient relationships make them a valuable and credible member of any healthcare team.
This is not simply a course about dental hygiene. It is a course about expanding your professional identity — from a dental hygienist focused on teeth to a healthcare hygienist focused on the whole person.
This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the standards of the Academy of General Dentistry (AGD) Program Approval for Continuing Education (PACE) through the joint program provider approval of UpScale Education, LLC and National Network of Healthcare Hygienists.
NEW for 2026
NNHH has now added digital badges to all credentials (past and future), powered by Accredible. Included with tuition, each certificate holder receives a digital wallet where they can securely collect, organize, and share their NNHH badges and other professional credentials, making post-license education and credentialing portable, shareable, and easy to verify in both dental and medical settings. You metadata will be embedded in your badge, providing deep context, authenticity, and verifiable details about your achievement.
Read Why Digital Badges Are the Future of Dental Hygiene Credentials
View NNHH Profile on Accredible (Open Badge 3.0 Certified)
Learning Objectives
Upon completion of this course, the participant will be able to:
- Analyze the oral-systemic evidence base to articulate the clinical and workforce rationale for integrating Registered Dental Hygienists into interprofessional healthcare teams.
- Differentiate the roles, scope of practice, and professional responsibilities of the RDH within an interprofessional team across diverse healthcare settings, including hospitals, Federally Qualified Health Centers, and long-term care facilities.
- Examine each of the 33 IPEC sub-competencies and assess how they apply to the RDH's emerging role in non-traditional healthcare environments.
- Evaluate communication strategies, team dynamics, and ethical frameworks used by interprofessional teams and determine how RDHs can effectively adopt and model these behaviors.
- Construct a personal professional development plan that leverages the IPEC competency framework to position the RDH as a credible, contributing member of a healthcare team.
© 2026 National Network of Healthcare Hygienists · healthcarehygienists.org Content based on: IPEC Core Competencies for Interprofessional Collaborative Practice, Version 3 (2023)
Meet Your Instructor
Jamie Dooley, BIS, RDH, CWDP is the founder and Director of Certificate Programs at the National Network of Healthcare Hygienists (NNHH), the first organization dedicated to positioning dental hygienists as essential members of interprofessional healthcare teams. With 15 years of clinical practice and over a decade of experience in career coaching and workforce development for dental hygienists, Jamie brings a rare combination of frontline clinical knowledge and systems-level thinking to this course. Under her leadership, NNHH launched the world's first ANSI-accredited certificate program for dental hygienists — built on the same rigorous standards trusted by the medical world — establishing a new benchmark for post-license credentialing. A passionate advocate for medical-dental integration and a recognized thought leader in expanding the professional identity of the RDH, Jamie has spent years helping hygienists navigate the transition from clinical practice into broader healthcare roles. Her familiarity with the IPEC competency framework and its application to the RDH's emerging role in hospitals, FQHCs, and long-term care settings makes her uniquely qualified to guide you through this course — and through the next chapter of your career.
