Working as a Dental Nurse means that we have to maintain a high level of professionalism for our patients, as they are the most important priority in our role.
We have to honour the guidelines laid out by the General Dental Council in order to perform our role to the best of our ability. The GDC is the organization which regulates all dental professionals in the UK and all DCP’s must be registered with the GDC. Registration is mandatory and renewed every year. The main aim of the GDC is to keep the public protected and act in their best interests. Registration ensures that DCP’s are publicly listed and their professional profile is available for anybody to see. The benefit of this from a patient’s point of view is that they can check the details of their Dentist or any other DCP that they are treated by to reassure them that they are suitably qualified, as unfortunately, some practicing Dentists/DCP’s are not.
The GDC protects the public by:
• Regulating all DCP’s.
• Setting standards of dental practice and conduct.
• Assuring that the quality of dental education is at a high level.
• Ensuring that DCP’s keep their knowledge and skills up to date by Continuous Professional Development (CPD) mandatory.
• Continually working towards improving patient protection.
• Helping patients with any issues or complaints that they may have towards a DCP.
The GDC hold certain values that we should all hold in order to provide the best care possible for our patients. The following values define us as DCP’s:
• Regulation is proportionate, targeted, consistent, transparent and accountable.
• Policy is developed on the basis of consultation and evidence.
• Resources are managed effectively, efficiently and sustainably.
• Decision-making is collective, robust and accountable.
• Leadership of the organisation is strategic and ethical.
• Equality and diversity is embedded in our policies, systems and processes.
• Management of people is open, fair and constructive.
What are the standards that we need to follow as set by the GDC?
The GDC have six main principles:
• Putting patient’s interests first and acting to protect them.
This basically means that the patient should always come first and we must put ourselves, our practice and our colleagues second if acting in order to act in the best interests of the patient. For example, if you knew that a colleague or even your employer was not following this principle, they then should be reported to your Practice Manager or Principle. You can also contact other sources such as a professional organization or defence union, should the person you wish to report be your employer.
We should respect the patient’s right to complain and try our best to help them resolve the matter. We must make sure that when writing clinical notes, they are accurate and complete, with an updated medical history at every routine visit. Clinical notes must be accessible to patients.
Examples:
• Listening to a patient complaint and guiding and advising them through the process of making a formal complaint at the practice.
• Working through lunch or staying a bit longer at the end of the day if the Dentist is running late. This isn’t the patients fault and they should still receive high-quality treatment and care whether or not your shift has finished.
• Reporting a colleague or employer if you feel they have not put the patient’s best interests first- even if they are your friend.
• Respecting patients’ dignity and choices.
Patients should be treated fairly, politely and with respect at all times. Patients should be encouraged to make their own informed decisions about their mouth and this should be promoted at all times. We must never discriminate against patients and all patients should be treated equally. We must maintain appropriate relationships with patients and never abuse their trust.
Examples:
• Fully informing patients of all their treatment options, explaining their x-rays and photographs and offering full support of their decision.
• Offering the same cosmetic treatment to an eighty year old gentleman that was just offered to a twenty two year old young woman. We can not discriminate by second-guessing what treatment a patient would want by their age, sex, gender etc.
• Protecting the confidentiality of patient’s information.
This is a really important principle and a very serious matter. We are entrusted with the care of patients and this includes keeping their details confidential. As the GDC states; ‘confidentiality is central to the relationship of trust between you and your patient’. Breaking this principle will lead to serious consequences and may lead to a disciplinary and even removal from the register.
Examples:
• Keeping details of patients’ oral health and personal details private and not discussing with anyone other than a member of the dental team if it is in the patients’ best interests to do so.
• Only disclosing details of a patient to others if you feel it is in the best interest of the public, e.g. if you felt the patient had been involved in criminal activity.
• Discussing private matters with the patient away from others which may overhear. Private matters should be talked about in the surgery or ideally, another room in the practice such as a consultation room.
• Cooperating with other members of the dental team and health-care colleagues in the interest of patients.
Patients may need referring from one clinician to another from time to time and if this is the case, we should make the transition smooth for the patient. If the patient is simply being referred to another clinician or DCP within the practice, you can just ensure that the clinical notes are of a high quality and that all x-rays and photographs are available for instant access. The Dentist should have either printed a referral letter or simply requested a referral in the notes.
If a patient is being referred to another clinician or DCP out of the practice, we need to make sure that a referral letter has been sent and the patient receives an appointment.
Example:
• If a patient has been referred to the hospital for treatment, we must make sure that the Dentist has sent the referral letter and the hospital is contacted and informed of the patient’s details. Whether it is the hospital or another dental practice or specialist centre, we will often need to liaise with them.
• Maintaining your dental competence and knowledge.
Now we are registered, it is our personal responsibility to take control of our own knowledge, skills and ongoing development. This is vital to our role and something we must to in order to continue to work as Dental Nurses. We do not continue to learn just because we have to however- keeping up to date with all the latest news, developments and technology benefits us as DCP’s by boosting professional confidence and increasing our chances of professional success.
Example:
• Attending courses in new topics and learning programs and also attending refresher courses to further our knowledge of topics we are already knowledgeable of.
• Subscribing to regular dental journals and magazines to keep up to date with the latest news and developments.
• Being trustworthy.
Being trustworthy is absolutely vital in the medical profession. Patients trust us to look after them and give them the best possible care. Not only do we have to prove trustworthy when we are practicing our profession but also out of work too. Being a registered DCP is a big commitment and we need to be prepared to behave a certain way, in and out of work. If a Dental Nurse were to get into trouble with the police for example, this could have serious implications on his/her career.
Example:
• Avoiding any conflict and behaving in a professional manner if confronted with a difficult situation.
As stated at the beginning of this article, patients really do come first! You must be able to apply these principles to your daily working life and use your judgement based on them.