Dental Tribune United Kingdom Edition

September 5-11, 201124 United Kingdom EditionDCPs T he initial Scope of Prac- tice (SoP) Document was launched by the GDC in April 2009; this was primarily for use by the den- tal team. The GDC explains that the “Scope of Practice is a way of describing what you are trained and competent to do. It describes the areas in which you have the knowl- edge, skills and experience to practice safely and effectively in the best interests of patients” In November last year the GDC begun a review of its SoP docu- ment; the purpose of this review is to evaluate the effectiveness of the document; do the dental profes- sion find it useful? An online con- sultation was set up on the GDC earlier in the year to seek feed- back. This is still available now and registrants are being urged to go online and take part. The clos- ing date for the consultation is 31st December 2011 and can be found at www.gdc-uk.org. The GDC are applying an evi- dence based rationale to the Scope of Practice (SoP) Review Project. At the SoP Review Working Group meeting on 6 July, it was discussed that good quality evidence must be produced to support what goes in to the revised Scope of Practice document. Concerns were raised by the GDC Research Manager to whether the online consultation would be sufficient in gathering evidence from a wide range of the dental profession; all working group members agreed and it was decided a package of evidence gathering methods must be used to stratify the consultation. It is also planned that additional ques- tionnaires will be available via the various professional associations. Whatever methods are adopted for use, they will only be valuable if as many registrants as possible re- spond to the consultation and pro- vide their feedback. This will allow the SoPWG to make the necessary suggestionsandrecommendations to the GDC Council. Who ulti- mately decide what goes in and what stays out of the SoP docu- ment. Owing to some aspects of SoP overlapping the work of the Stand- ards Committee, the timescale for the SoP has been pushed back three months; this is to ensure the new SoP document will encom- pass current and up to date ad- vice and guidance. The Standards Committee are currently consider- ing options regarding direct access – that dental hygienists and dental therapists could see patients with- out referral from a dentist. Possi- ble fundamental changes such as this would need to be included in the reviewed SoP document. So go on have your say, get in- volved and help ensure high qual- ity patient care is delivered by a diverse multi-disciplinary and for- ward thinking dental team. DT Share your views on Scope of Practice Angie McBain discusses the GDC consultation of the Scope of Practice About the author Angie McBain began work as a dental nurse in general practice in Scotland, but changed track to gain an HND in Fashion. She gained the NEBDN Na- tional Certificate in 1989 whilst work- ing in General Practice in London; then subsequently worked in the Oral/ Maxillofacial/Ortho Dept of Bedford Hospital, obtaining a Distinction and the Roche Award in the NEBDN Certif- icate in Dental Sedation Nursing. After completing the Stage One FAETC, An- gie began teaching at her local college, became an NVQ Assessor, obtained the D32/33, the Stage 2 FETC and the V1 internal verifier’s awards. She is now Lead Dental Nurse Tutor for Barn- field College, Luton and wrote the first Foundation Degrees in both Dental Nursing and Dental Practice Manage- ment for the College/University of Bed- fordshire. She holds the City & Guilds Licentiate in Dental Nursing and the Certificate in Education. Angie is also the DCP Tutor for the East of England Deanery. She was the recipient of the 2010 BADN Outstanding Contribution to Dental Nursing Award and is a Fel- low of BADN. She is currently study- ing for the Post Graduate Certificate in Dental Education. NEW DIGIXPAD COMPACT DENTAL IMAGING AND DIAGNOSTIC SYSTEM DigixPad provides a the ideal solution for any practitioner wishing to upgrade to Digital X-ray Imaging without the need for costly and complex PC integration and networking. Providing quick and easy chairside image capture and manipulation, DigixPad from eschmannDirect will save you time and money and will easily integrate into your surgery. For details and orders call EschmannDirect on: 01903 875787 ic.sales@eschmann.co.uk | www.eschmanndirect.com from Direct *Prices excl. 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