My role as a preventative health advisor has grown a lot in the last 15 years. I discuss diet, lifestyle, exercise, stress, smoking, diabetes risk and now, according to this clip http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-13806007 we should be discussing STD and the risks with patients too. Initially I thought 'Really?!?' but when you think about it, it is as good a time as any.
My only concern is, as with most of the advice I offer, the patient has to be ready to hear the message and receive the support. So how do we discuss all of this and remember to care for their oral health too in whatever time frame you work to in practice.
Again (I am in danger of sounding like a broken record) we all need to move towards the team working as a unit with the nurses gathering and imparting as much information as possible in the practice. This not only gives more value to the patients but also gives value to the team members.
Devils advocate hat on now, the issue I have with extending our care to cover more general health issues, is that we need good information and understanding of a subject to be able to offer the right support, information and advice to our patients.
And so it comes down to training again. My husband often jokes when I say I don't know about something "you mean they DIDN'T cover that in the hygiene course?!" It is a reference to just how much we do understand about general health and lifestyle and the effects in the oral cavity. I have to be honest and say, apart from some amazing photos of herpes on a tongue; STDs were not featured heavily on our training programme.
http://www2a.cdc.gov/stdtraining/self-study/default.asp this is the closest I have found to a course we could do as dental professionals.
I feel that while it is commendable and desirable for us to deliver as much health care support as possible we must remember the mantra of the GDC that we should only carry out treatment and provide advice that we feel confident and competent to do and is within our scope of practice.
Hi, as you say :"we should only carry out treatment and provide advice that we feel confident and competent to do and is within our scope of practice"
ReplyDeleteContinuing education helps to improve knowledge and whatr has to be done at the dental office.
"we should be discussing STD and the risks with patients too."
Yes, the dental office can be one of the most important places where health messages can be delivered. And so many STS, have signs of it, within the oral cavity, that we must know about it, for our own protection.
Evolution, is necessary in everyone's carreer, and this involves improving our skills
Best Regards
Hi I agree, we all need to evolve and develop to continue to serve our patients well. My issue here is that there is no course available in the UK just now that I am aware of and this can lead to misinformation for patients.
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