Soon after Cindy Evans commenced with the MEGT VTEC Program in June 2015, it was clear she’d be a perfect fit for the role of Patient Liaison Trainee with The Royal Dental Hospital in Melbourne.
After spending time in and out of hospitals, Cindy developed a passion for giving back to the health system and providing the same support to the community that she once received.
Cindy is now the first point of contact for many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients who attend The Royal Dental Hospital and has been working with the diversity and teaching clinic teams to assist Indigenous patients to feel comfortable throughout the whole process of dentist visits.
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“I have surprised myself with all the skills I have learnt and am still learning.”
As a stay at home mum for almost a decade, Cindy initially found it difficult to return to the workforce, crediting the MEGT VTEC team for helping her obtain the position at The Royal Dental Hospital.
“I know that others out there will benefit from the ongoing support they give. I always had encouragement from them, and I knew they would not let me fail,” says Cindy.
Cindy has also found the assistance from her mentor valuable as she gets used to her new role and takes on new skills.
“I have been in my role here for four months and having one-on-one catch ups with her have been amazing in helping me set goals,” she explains.
Cindy’s appointment as Patient Liaison Trainee is part of the Department of Health Services Indigenous Dental Assistant Traineeship Program, as well as an Aboriginal employment plan to provide more career opportunities and improve access and culturally responsive care for Aboriginal patients.
Through MEGT’s VTEC Program, Indigenous Australians are matched with suitable vacancies and provided with pre-employment training. Once employment has commenced, workplace mentoring is available to both the trainee and employer to create an opportunity for each trainee position to lead to ongoing employment.
The Royal Dental Hospital has now approached MEGT VTEC to assist with filling another two Dental Assistant Traineeship roles within the hospital.
