Navigating the imagination--looking back, looking forward.

I recently attended our Faculty of Dentistry's celebratory launch of its golden jubilee at the University of Manitoba. "A Blast from the Past, a Launch into the Future" was a great beginning to reflect on the past and create an ambitious plan for the future. This event also included contributing items for a time capsule for the centennial celebration. What would a time capsule from 1963 have held regarding dental hygiene, the year University of Toronto dental hygienists formed what has become the Canadian Dental Hygienists Association? What in 50 years would be an interesting representation of 2008 for dental hygiene? My colleague and I chose to include prophy paste, a hand scaler and latex gloves, considering these mainstay items may, with time, become obsolete.

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What does the future hold for the profession of dental hygiene? Leading change in our profession does not happen by chance; it is an ongoing process of looking back, looking forward, of navigating one's imagination. The CDHA Board of Directors continues to drive change with its "Ends" policy, a future-directed action plan for the association. At our meeting in February, we turned the clock ahead fifteen years, forecasting CDHA's accomplishments for 2023. This valuable exercise demonstrated that CDHA's "Ends" could not only withstand the test of time, but could also translate into positive and exciting change in our future as a profession. We liked what the future holds.

Nelson Mandela once said, "Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world". As a dental hygienist, how prepared are you to welcoming changes in a profession that is evolving? From a time when rubbing alcohol, soap and water were considered "best practices" to this journal edition's "Current Issues in Infection Control Practices", it is clear that incorporating knowledge and evidence from current research will help prepare us for change. Whether you want to make changes in your daily practice, to your current position, or want to change the world of dental hygiene, embracing new educational and professional opportunities are excellent ways to get there. I encourage you to attend CDHA's first leadership event, Navigating the Imagination, in Banff later this month to hone your leadership skills and learn more about visionary national projects now underway. The field of dental hygiene is full of new opportunities-in academia, research, corporate development, community health, and clinical care. "Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future," remarked John Fitzgerald Kennedy.

Let's look forward to embrace change.

Carol-Ann Yakiwchuck RDH, D PDH