UCL Eastman Dental Institute

What will I learn?

Syllabus

The programme syllabus includes the following:

• Basic medical sciences relevant to sedation, including physiology and pharmacology, medicine in relation to sedation and pain management (it will be possible to provide doctors attending the course with an alternative to this section entitled ‘Introduction to Dentistry’ to allow them to gain more insight into dental treatment and how this can impact on the provision of sedation).
• The psychology of fear and phobia will also be covered as well as the physiology and psychology of pain.
• Immersion (simulation) training in the diagnosis and management of medical emergencies at University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (being offered for the first time as part of the 2011 course)
• Regulations, guidelines and the medico- legal implications of sedation
• The practical provision of sedation using intravenous techniques and inhalational techniques. Participants will be introduced to the special problems associated with managing the anxious child.

There may also be an introduction to hypnosis, the aim being that participants should understand the application of this method for managing anxious patients when used alone or in conjunction with other techniques.

Module structure

Programme specification

An outline of the structure of the PG Certificate in Dental Sedation and Pain Management and its assessment is available in the Programme Specification (MS Word).

Aims

The aim of the programme is to train graduates in the safe use of standard sedation techniques: intravenous midazolam, inhalational sedation with nitrous oxide and oxygen, oral/transmucosal sedation.

We aim to widen the graduates’ knowledge of the use of systemic analgesics, including opioids in the control of pain and the enhancement of sedation and to emphasise the importance of good local analgesia. We will also provide supervised hands-on clinical training to help develop graduates’ confidence in providing standard sedation services to their patients.

The programme will also provide information regarding the wider issues related to sedation, including alternative sedation techniques, infusions, paediatric sedation, alternative therapies and the place of general anaesthesia in managing the anxious patient. Please note it is not the aim that graduates complete the programme and are able to practice alternative sedation techniques but graduates must be aware of the possibility of using this form of sedation.

Assessment

Summative assessment

The assessment for the programme comprises:

• two written examination papers on the pre-clinical and clinical parts of the course
• one MCQ paper of one hour
• one oral examination of 15 minutes
• a 3000 word referenced essay on a topic to be approved by the programme director

In addition, assessment of the participants’ clinical skills and attitudes will be undertaken by the mentors during the clinical attachments.

Formative assessment

Clinical, practical and academic skills are assessed throughout each graduate's time at the Eastman. Some of this assessment is “formative” i.e it does not contribute to the final degree result but does aid the learning experience. The following formative assessments are employed:

• log book
• problem-based learning
• simulation training

In addition, graduates' general performance is assessed through regular appraisal meetings and by the Programme Committee.

Teaching methods

Timetabling

The pre-clinical part of the course comprises 10 days of tuition which take place over 12 months.

Clinical training takes place during the first six months of the course and is through clinical attachment to a UCL/EDI course mentor in sedation clinics in, or near, London.

Professor James Roelofse
Dr Joe Omar
Dr Andre du Plessis