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A review on Dental Protection's Mastering Consent and Shared Decision Making Workshop

Post date: 10/08/2015 | Time to read article: 2 mins

The information within this article was correct at the time of publishing. Last updated 14/11/2018

Email-icons-circle-workshops1Shania Seewoonarain qualified from Newcastle University in 2014. She is currently in her Foundation year on the Basildon Scheme. "I decided to write this review to let dentists know what this informative workshop is all about."

The General Dental Council (GDC) has set out guidelines establishing the manner in which dentists are in a professional capacity with regards to patient care, autonomy and safety. Patients have increasing autonomy and we live in a society where anyone can make a complaint at any time or place. For those working in a clinical setting such as doctors, dentists and nurses, this could have implications both for us as practitioners and for the practice. It is increasingly important to acknowledge these standards and fully comprehend its legalities whilst maintaining patient rapport.

Dental Protection Limited should be congratulated for launching Mastering series workshops to reduce a dentist's exposure to risk of complaints and claims.

These include:
* Mastering Your Risk
* Mastering Adverse Outcomes
* Mastering Difficult Interactions
* Mastering Consent and Shared Decision Making

According to Dental Protection Limited, 3,800 dental professionals have attended one of the workshops in the UK and Ireland and 97% of them agreed that they were likely to change something within their practice as a result of attending. So I decided to enrol in a workshop about Mastering Consent and Shared Decision Making at Asia House in London on the 03/03/15.

This was a half day seminar led by a fellow dentist, who presented the topic in a clear and precise way and at a pace which was easy to assimilate. There were plenty of opportunities for interaction between the presenter and the delegates and between the delegates themselves. In fact, the seminar included a video which demonstrated an example of shared decision making played by actors and afterwards allowed for small group discussions and role play between the delegates. A concise hand out was given at the beginning of the presentation which made it easier to follow the presentation.

The seminar helps us to understand what constitutes valid consent. We were shown facts and figures available from current literature and how poor communication between professionals and patients amidst other factors can lead to patient dissatisfaction and litigation. Dental surgeries can be very busy and there are the usual dental emergencies but dental professionals should still pay full attention to patient's consent. The hand out contains a checklist on shared decision making which practitioners would find useful in daily practice.

Bonuses of attending the workshop include:
* Earn three hours of CPD.
* Free of charge for members of Dental Protection Limited.
* As usual, the workshop provided a good opportunity for networking.

On the practical side, the venue for this workshop was easily accessible, being in central London. However, there are a number of venues across the UK to attend.

It was interesting to meet dentists from different dental career paths and to hear their various opinions on consent. I recommend any dentist at any stage of their dental career to attend at least one of these workshops and keep updated. I have already booked to go on two more workshops this summer.

Shania Seewoonarain
[email protected]

To book on one of our workshops or for more information please click here

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