Plac
BSc (HONS) DENTAL
HYGIENE AND DENTAL
THERAPY
DENTAL PRACTICE
PLACEMENT GUIDANCE
SEPTEMBER 2014
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CONTENTS
Page
1
INTRODUCTION
1
2
PREPARATION FOR THE DENTAL PRACTICE PLACEMENT
2.1
Confidentiality and Informed Consent
2.2
Conflict Resolution
2.3
Infection Control
2.4
CPR and Medical Emergencies
2.5
Disclosing and Barring Service (DBS)
1
1
2
2
2
2
3
ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
3.1
Placement Educator
3.2
The Dental Practice Placement Co-ordinator
3.3
The Student
3.4
Students’ Working Hours
3.5
Students’ Obligation to Reporting Absence
3.6
Students’ Dress Code and Clinical Conduct
2
2
3
3
4
4
4
Appendix 1 Confidentiality and Informed Consent Guidelines for Students
6
Disclaimer
The information contained in this handbook is, as far as possible, accurate and up to
date at the time of printing. The express permission of Teesside University must be
obtained to reproduce any. Or all of this publication, other than for personal use or
for those purposes permitted by law.
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1
INTRODUCTION
Thank you for agreeing to be a placement provider for students on the BSc (Hons)
Dental Hygiene and Dental Therapy programme at Teesside University. During the
placement, the students will be required to undertake and record clinical treatments
within the scope of practice of the Dental Hygienist and Dental Therapist. A
Placement Educator from Teesside University will accompany the students to the
placement and it is their responsibility to monitor and assess the student’s
treatments.
2
PREPARATION FOR THE DENTAL PRACTICE PLACEMENT
The following information is provided for you to be aware of existing knowledge and
skills gained by the student in previous modules. More detailed information is
provided in the Dental Hygienist and Therapist Clinical Development (DEN3005-N)
and Clinical Theory for the Dental Hygienist and Therapist (DEN3004-N) Module
Guides.
In addition students have addressed:
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Client/patient confidentiality and informed consent
Conflict resolution
Infection control
CPR and Medical Emergencies
Safeguarding
The focus of this placement is to provide the student with the setting for experiential
learning and the students’ development of clinical reasoning and problem-solving
skills with a reflective approach to practice. Students should be encouraged to apply
theoretical knowledge to practical situations, plan their practice, undertake the
examination and reflect on the process and outcome.
2.1
Confidentiality and Informed Consent
Confidentiality and informed consent is essential in the health and social care
setting, as maintaining confidentiality and gaining consent, promotes trust and
individual choice for each client/patient. Please see the School of Health &
Social Care School (SOHSC) Handbook for the Consent and Confidentiality
Guidelines. (See Appendix 1).
It is essential that students abide by their respective professional code
of conduct/codes of practice when gaining informed consent and
maintaining confidentiality. This information can be accessed in the
General Dental Council (GDC) documents; ‘Principles of Patient
Confidentiality’ and Principles of Patient Consent’.
Any breach of confidentiality or failure to gain informed consent, in any
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setting, will be deemed to be unprofessional conduct and may result in
the School of Health & Social Care Fitness to Practise procedure being
invoked.
2.2
Conflict Resolution
All students have attended a conflict resolution workshop which is organised
and facilitated by Teesside University.
2.3
Infection Control
In the first-year module DEN1001-N Introduction to Dentistry students are
introduced and assessed in infection control in accordance to the Department
of Health (DH) Document Decontamination: Health Technical Memorandum
10-05 – Decontamination in Primary Dental Care Settings, 2013 edition prior
to treating patients on the Student Dental Treatment Clinic. The students are
continually assessed in this area via clinical competence over the three-year
programme.
2.4
CPR and Medical Emergencies
All students are trained and assessed annually in the management of medical
emergencies.
2.5
Disclosing and Barring Service (DBS)
The Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) and the Independent Safeguarding
Authority (ISA) have merged to become the Disclosure and Barring Service
(DBS). CRB checks are now called DBS checks. All students have had an
enhanced prior to admission onto the programme. The student will provide
you with their DBS number prior to starting the placement.
3
ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
3.1
Placement Educator
The Placement Educator from Teesside University dental team will provide
close supervision of the student Dental Hygienist and Dental Therapist in your
dental practice. It will be their responsibility to provide grades and feedback
on the student’s treatments.
The Placement Educator will assume responsibility for the student’s learning
in the practice setting and will play a pivotal role in facilitating the student in
developing their clinical experience in the dental practice setting.
The Placement Educator oversees the student’s clinical education by:
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Ensuring their clinical experience is planned, profiled and monitored.
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Responding appropriately to issues and difficulties as and when they
arise.
Auditing the student’s feedback and evaluation of clinical experience.
The Placement Educator plays a vital role in the student’s clinical education
and to ensure they enjoy a positive experience they will:
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Be committed to educating Dental Hygiene and Dental Therapy
students.
Provide students with appropriate and practical learning
experiences.
Demonstrate clinical competence and CPD.
Facilitate students’ learning needs.
Monitor students’ progress, providing regular and constructive
feedback.
Assisting students by setting objectives for their clinical experience.
3.2
The Dental Practice Placement Co-ordinator
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The Dental Practice Placement Co-ordinator acts as a link between the
University and the dental practice setting and as such is a point of contact for
dental practice placement providers and student Dental Hygienist and Dental
Therapist wishing to discuss issues relating to dental practice. The role
includes:
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Liaison with the dental practice placement provider prior to placing
students and after the placement has ended.
Supporting dental practice placement providers and students during
the placement.
Briefing and debriefing students before and after placements.
Attending team/staff meetings in dental practices as appropriate.
Identifying potential new placements and assessing their suitability as a
teaching and learning environment.
Normally selecting suitable placements for the student ensuring that
he/she has a variety of appropriate experiences.
The Dental Practice Placement Co-ordinator will:
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3.3
Contact the practice prior to the placement to identify treatments
booked in for the students.
Arrange for the appropriate instruments and materials required for the
procedures to be delivered to the practice.
Arrange for collection of the decontaminated instruments to be
returned.
The Student
The role of the student is to:
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Provide treatment for patients under close supervision of the Placement
Educator.
During the placement students must:
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Adhere to all dental practice policies and procedures.
Act appropriately toward all members of staff, users, carers, relatives
and other health care professionals.
Act in a professional manner at all times.
Adhere to the GDC Standards for the Dental Team (2014) available at:
https://www.gdcuk.org/Dentalprofessionals/Standards/Documents/Standards%20for%2
0the%20Dental%20Team.pdf
Act as advocates for the University.
3.4
Students’ Working Hours
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Dental Hygiene and Dental Therapy students are expected to work the
sessions timetabled by the University, in accordance with the dental practice
opening times. This may vary from establishment to establishment. The
students are expected to arrive at the dental practice placement at least 30
minutes prior to the first patient in order to prepare for the appointment.
3.5
Students’ Obligation to Reporting Absence
Should a student be unable to attend their dental practice placement due to
sickness the student MUST inform the Dental Practice Placement Coordinator as soon as possible. The Dental Practice Placement Co-ordinator
will endeavour to provide alternative personnel to cover the session where
possible. The Dental Practice Placement Co-ordinator will contact you with
any student changes.
3.6
Students’ Dress Code and Clinical Code of Conduct
Students are provided with a Teesside University dental uniform and will be
expected to wear them at all times during their dental practice placement.
The student should:
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Adhere to the ‘Naked from the Elbow Down’ policy. (If any student who
for cultural or religious reasons, for example, objects to the above,
special arrangements may be made after negotiation with the Principal
Lecturer and the dental practice placement).
Jewellery must not be worn at the dental practice placement apart from
a plain wedding band and one pair of stud earrings.
Not wear wrist watches; however students are able to wear a fob
watch.
Have their hair neatly tied back and not touch the collar of the uniform.
Wear safety glasses/goggles/visors during all clinical procedures.
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Adhere to recommended hand hygiene procedures at all times
Fingernails must be clean and short.
Not wear nail varnish at any time equally acrylic/gel nail extensions/
overlays are not allowed.
Wear gloves provided when carrying out treatment.
Adhere and acknowledge health and safety rules at all times.
Only carry out procedures specified on treatment.
Discuss all clinical procedures with the Placement Educators.
Ensure all clinical work is checked by Placement Educators.
Strictly follow instruction from Placement Educators.
Obtain informed consent from the prior to the commencement of any
clinical procedure.
Maintain confidentiality at all times (see SOHSC Consent and
Confidentiality Policy).
Adhere to professional standards and behaviour at all times.
Maintain the high standards of a Dental Therapist at all times.
Students should NOT:
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Not attend the dental practice placement in soiled or creased uniforms.
Turn up to dental practice placement under the influence of alcohol or
drugs or smelling of alcohol. This is a serious offence. Students will be
asked to leave the dental practice placement. The Principal Lecturer
will be alerted.
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APPENDIX 1
SCHOOL OF HEALTH & SOCIAL CARE
CONFIDENTIALITY AND INFORMED CONSENT
GUIDELINES FOR STUDENTS
Confidentiality and Informed Consent are essential in the health and social care
setting, as maintaining confidentiality and gaining consent promotes trust and
individual choice for each client/patient.
It is essential that as a student you abide by your respective professional code
of conduct/codes of practice when gaining informed consent and maintaining
confidentiality.
It is important that you are aware that any breach of confidentiality or failure to gain
informed consent, in any setting, will be deemed to be unprofessional conduct and
may result in the School of Health & Social Care Fitness to Practise procedure being
invoked. By ‘setting’ the School is referring not only to the practice environment but
also within the University and a student’s digital presence i.e. social networking.
1
CONFIDENTIALITY
When a patient/client/fellow student discloses information to a health or social care
professional (including you as a student) it is reasonable to expect that this
information is held in confidence. The professional has a duty of confidence not to
disclose the information in a form that might identify the individual without their
permission. This also applies to information disclosed to you by carers of service
users and colleagues (fellow students, academic or practice staff):
Patients entrust us with, or allow us to gather, sensitive information relating to their
health and other matters as part of their seeking treatment. They do so in
confidence and they have the legitimate expectation that staff will respect their
privacy and act appropriately. In some circumstances patients may lack the
competence to extend this trust, or may be unconscious, but this does not diminish
the duty of confidence. It is essential, if the legal requirements are to be met and the
trust of patients is to be retained, that the NHS provides, and is seen to provide, a
confidential service.
Department of Health (2003)
p3 Confidentiality. NHS Code of Practice
http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAn
dGuidance/DH_4069253
“You must treat information about service users as confidential and use it only for the
purposes they have provided it for. You must not knowingly release any personal or
confidential information to anyone who is not entitled to it, and you should check that
people who ask for information are entitled to it.
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You must also keep to the conditions of any relevant data-protection laws and
always follow best practice for handling confidential information. Best practice is
likely to change over time, and you must stay up to date”.
Health and Care Professions Council
- Standards of Conduct, Performance and Ethics
Standard 2 - You must respect the confidentiality of service users.
http://www.hpcuk.org/assets/documents/10003B6EStandardsofconduct,performanceandethics.pdf
1.1
Maintaining Confidentiality in the Practice Setting
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Students must not normally hold any personal information about clients
or patients on any electronic or digital resource e.g. memory sticks,
PCs. (Exceptions to this must have been agreed at programme
approval and be stated in the relevant programme documentation with
clear guidelines given as to the management of this data).
Documentation must not normally include client/patient/user/
information, i.e. care plans, assessment forms, prescription sheet,
psychometric testing, (exceptions to this must have been agreed at
programme approval and be stated in the relevant programme
documentation with clear guidelines given as to the management of this
data).
To maintain anonymity of clients/patients/carers use generalised terms,
young, middle-aged, office worker etc.
Information that by its very nature could identify the client/patient/
user/family/carer/staff members/students or colleagues, i.e.
demographic details, unusual circumstances must not be used.
Documentation that identifies the workplace/practice setting must not
be submitted if it is not in the public domain. Many documents are now
available to the public and therefore they are not considered to be
confidential. However, care needs to be taken as these documents
linked with other detail could identify the individual. This would then
constitute a breach of confidentiality. All School-issued
documentation, Trust and Organisation documentation which is
included to authenticate attendance at workshops, fire lectures,
study days etc. and supervisors’ testimony are permitted.
Maintain anonymity of members of the workforce. (Signatures of staff
in the workplace who sign students’ official documentation is the
exception)
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1.2
Maintaining Confidentiality in Other Settings
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Confidentiality must be maintained at all times and not just for practice.
Remember you are expected to abide/work within the spirit of your
code of conduct/practice when away from the University or practice
area.
The University is supportive of methods to promote learning and
therefore permits students to record all taught sessions unless
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instructed otherwise by their tutors. The recordings must be for your
sole use. You are not permitted to share your recordings with others
(other than with a transcriber to accommodate an identified disability
need) or to put recordings in the public domain in any manner.
However, many sessions within the School involve student discussions
where students may disclose personal information. If this is the case
the student must either not record or stop recording to maintain their
peers’ confidentiality. You must inform your tutor at the beginning of a
session that you will be recording the session to ensure they can give
appropriate guidance during the session.
Be careful when using social networking sites e.g. Facebook, Twitter,
as sharing information about fellow students may result in
confidentiality being breached and a Fitness-to-Practise Procedure
instigated.
Please note, that if confidentiality is breached in any piece of summative
assessment then that piece of work will be referred and will receive a
mark of ‘0’ (zero). If at first attempt you will not be eligible for
resubmission.
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INFORMED CONSENT
The guiding principle when working with a patient/client/fellow student is that they
have a right to determine what happens to them, it is a fundamental part of good
practice. Legally and ethically an individual should give valid consent before any
intervention commences. In a health or social care context where a professional
does not respect this principle they may be liable to legal action by the individual or
action by their professional body.
For consent to be valid, it must be given voluntarily by an appropriately informed
person who has the capacity to consent to the intervention in question (this will be
the patient or someone with parental responsibility for a patient under the age of 18,
someone authorised to do so under a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) or someone
who has the authority to make treatment decisions as a court appointed deputy).
Acquiescence where the person does not know what the intervention entails is not
‘consent’.
Department of Health (2009) Second Edition P5
Reference guide to consent for examination or treatment.
http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAn
dGuidance/DH_103643
You must explain to service users the care or services you are planning to provide,
any risks involved and any other possible options. You must make sure that you get
their informed consent to any treatment you do carry out. You must make a record
of the person's decisions and pass this on to others involved in their care. In some
situations, such as emergencies or where a person lacks decision-making capacity,
it may not be possible for you to explain what you propose, get consent or pass on
information. However, you should still try to do all of these things as far as you can.
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A person who is capable of giving their consent has the right to refuse to receive
care or services. You must respect this right. You must also make sure that they
are fully aware of the risks of refusing care or services, particularly if you think that
there is a significant or immediate risk to their life.
You must keep to your employers’ procedures on consent and be aware of any
guidance issued by the appropriate authority in the country you practise in.
Health Care Professions Council
- Standards of Conduct, Performance and Ethics
Standard 9 - You must get informed consent to provide care or services.
As a student it is important that you inform the individual of your status and that
permission is given for you to carry out any intervention/record the session. The
individual must also be informed and consent given where the activity is not part of
the individual’s care but is for the purpose of furthering your education.
2.1
Gaining Informed Consent for Summative Assessments.
You must adhere to your respective professional guidelines for
documenting informed consent. Evidence of this must be visible in any
of your written work submitted if individual client/patient/carer/family
information has been utilised in your assessed work.
Consent is required for:
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Case studies that contain specific client/patient/carer/user/family
information, i.e. problems, condition, demographic detail, unusual
circumstances, employment.
Reflection that includes client/patient history or other significant
information (as above).
Critical incidences that include client/patient history or other significant
information (as above).
Information about colleagues.
Consent is not required for:
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Critical incidences and generalised reflection, focusing on practice
when discussing one’s own feelings about a situation rather than the
specific circumstances of the patient/client.
Please note that if informed consent has not been obtained for any piece
of summative assessment that relates to a client/patient/user/carer/
colleague, then that piece of work will be referred and will receive a mark
of ‘0’ (zero). If at first attempt you will not be eligible for resubmission.
Consent forms for students of the School of Health & Social Care can be
obtained on the e-directory. To verify consent from patient/client or carer
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please use an informed consent declaration form. Your Practice
Teacher/Mentor verifies that you gained consent from the individual(s)
concerned.
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CONCLUSION
At the start of your course, usually in induction week, to ensure you gain an
understanding of the principles underpinning confidentiality and informed consent
you will be introduced to the concepts and their application to your chosen
profession.
You will also be asked to sign a form stating that you understand and will abide by
the principles of confidentiality and informed consent. If you are unsure of the
principles and how they apply to your practice then it is your responsibility to seek
further guidance.
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