Aspects of professional development of orthodontists in New Zealand

Strategic planning, service development, and management by objective are approaches usually associated with corporate business. However, the New Zealand Association of Orthodontists (NZAO) is using them successfully in responding to the rapidly changing legislative, professional, and commercial environment in this country. This report gives an account of an initiative taken by NZAO in response to such changes to strengthen the professional development of practising orthodontists in New Zealand. This involved setting up a group within the Association to organise a meeting on a key issue in clinical orthodontics, using a workshop format to promote discussion and debate in place of the passive reception of information characteristic of most professional meetings. It also sought to test the feasibility of having a live keynote presentation via video-teleconference link from a speaker in the United States.