Internship Training Program manual

Internship Training Program manual

Introduction

The dental internship training program is a 12 month training program that qualifies Bachelors of Dental Surgery Degree holders (BDS) to register as a dental practitioner by the Saudi Commission for Health Specialties.

The essence of the Dental Internship Training Program is to facilitate the transition of closely supervised undergraduate students to be independent dental practitioners responsible for his/her own professional audit. It also serves as an essential buffer period for academic authorities to be assured that the undergraduate curriculum is fairly adequate and structurally sound. In addition, it exposes the interns to different specialties in dentistry that may help them identify his/her particular area of interest in dentistry and to supply them with adequate information related to various career options.

This program aims to achieve the following:

1- Improvement of the interns’ dental knowledge

2- Development of interns’ clinical skills.

3- Development of interns’ confidence in his/her skills and abilities

4- Improvement of communication skills.

5- Development of professionalism

6- Development of scientific research skills.

7- Participation in community and volunteer dental project

Learning objectives:

Clinical care and skills:

At the end of the Dental Internship Training Program, interns should be able to:

  1. Perform clinical procedures safely to ensure that patients are not subjected to unnecessary risk.
  2. Apply the principles of good dental practice and the standards of competence, care and conduct expected of any dentist worldwide.
  3. Integrate the clinical, basic, behavioral and social sciences on which dental practice is based.
  4. Recognize personal and professional limits, and be willing to ask for help when necessary.
  5. Recognize the health hazards of dental practice.
  6. Respond to patients’ complaints and questions appropriately and effectively.
  7. Perform physical, oral and dental examination and interpret the findings and results of commonly used investigations and oral radiographs.
  8. Be proficient in obtaining a detailed record of patient’s history (e.g. including CC, Hx, MHx etc) and make clinical decisions and diagnosis based on the evidence gathered.
  9. Write treatment plan to investigate and manage the case.
  10. Manage emergency dental cases.
  11. Work in the dental clinic with minimum supervision.
  12. Provide dental management for medically compromised patients (e.g. recurrent, chronic disease and people with mental or physical disabilities).
  13. Work in different clinical settings and hospitals and provide dental services to the public.
  14. Demonstrate preventive aids to educate the patient.
  15. Perform different dental cavity preparations (e.g.: CL I, II. III, IV&VI etc) with minimum invasive approach, and utilize proper materials (e.g.; amalgam, composite, G.I, IRM, etc) to restore function and esthetics.
  16. Perform different crown preparations to construct PFM and all ceramic crowns, and utilize the appropriate cement.
  17. Replace missing teeth with fixed partial denture, removable denture or complete denture as indicated by the case.
  18. Perform root canal therapy including pulp extirpation, instrumentation and obturation for indicated teeth (anterior, premolar and 1st molar) using proper instruments and devices.
  19. Perform scaling and root planing for indicated cases.
  20. Recognize cases which are beyond his/her level and write a detailed referral form (including pt. information, CC., HxCC, MHx, radiographic & clinical findings, DD and proposed Tx Plan) to the appropriate department.
  21. Perform minor oral surgical procedures such as extraction and suturing.
  22. Practice behavior management with pediatric patients.
  23. Document his/her dental procedure in the patient’s file.
  24. Practice infection control policies and procedures rules in the clinic.
  25. Demonstrate competence in cardiopulmonary resuscitation and basic life support skills.
  26. Manage time in the clinic.
  27. Know malpractices in dentistry and their management.
  28. Know commonly prescribed drugs in dentistry (indications, contraindications, side effects, drug interactions and antibiotics resistance).

Professionalism and communication skills:

At the end of the Dental Internship Training Program, interns should be able to:

  1. Gain, assess, and integrate new knowledge with old knowledge and be able to adapt it to improve his/her profession.
  2. Continually keep up with professional development to ensure that he/she maintains a high level of clinical competence and knowledge.
  3. Take account of medical and dental ethics when making decisions.
  4. Respond constructively to the outcome of appraisal, performance review and assessment.
  5. Accept the moral and ethical responsibilities involved in providing care to individual patients and communities.
  6. Respect patients regardless of their lifestyle, culture, belief, race, color, gender, disability, age, social or economic status.
  7. Respect the right of patients to be fully involved in decisions about their care, including the right to refuse treatment or to refuse to take part in teaching or research.
  8. Demonstrate effective teamwork and leadership skills within a multi-professional environment.
  9. Maintain confidentiality.
  10. Practice dentistry as general practitioner with high ethical and professional standards.
  11. Work effectively, develop and maintain successful relationships with his /her patients and colleagues.

Research:

At the end of the Dental Internship Training Program, interns should be able to:

  1. Know the basics of scientific research.
  2. Know the study designs.
  3. Conduct scientific research (e.g. proposal defense, research presentation and poster presentation).
  4. Understand basics of Biostatistics.
  5. Present scientific research, topic and cases with good verbal communication.
  6. Write scientific research manuscript to improve scientific writing skills
  7. Utilize a variety of audiovisual aids to record, organize and present information including computers and projectors.

Community and volunteer dental project:

At the end of the Dental Internship Training Program, interns should be able to:

  1. Assess community needs and the services that can be best provided.
  2. Understand the principles of dental education and patient screening in promoting health and preventing disease.
  3. Develop community projects that will help in dental disease prevention.

Learning skills:

At the end of the Dental Internship Training Program, interns should be able to:

  1. Discuss different dental topics with colleagues.
  2. Constructively criticize dental treatment options and scientific papers.
  3. Lead group discussion with colleagues.
  4. Identify his/her own learning needs.
  5. Develop self-directed learning skills.