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Pledges
Link 2: Staff Training
 The importance of staff training cannot be overstated. Both the Dentist and the Staff members should jointly attend an Emergency Medicine lecture, either in person or online, to stay current with the latest information, techniques, and technologies in Medical Emergency Preparedness (MEP). The Staff is compromised of the Dental Hygienists, the Dental Assistants, and the Front Office Personnel – each of which is vital to crisis outcome and patient safety. Therefore, each of these members must be incorporated into the MEP training initiative to guarantee complete facility readiness.
Because a medical emergency can occur when the dentist is not physically on the premise (e.g. Registered Dental Hygienist (RDH) general supervision) or the medical crisis may happen to the dentist, all staff need to be trained on how to handle an emergency without the participation of the dentist. Currently, RDHs are allowed to administer local anesthesia in 44 states; undoubtedly, they will need comprehensive training in handling an adverse reaction that may occur before, during, or after the injection is received. Similarly, assistants work side-by-side with the dentist and are essential to the team. Likely, they will be one of the first people who witness the medical crisis. Without proper knowledge, valuable moments can be lost in confusion or in a slow reaction to crisis signs and symptoms. Also, the front office personnel facilitate front end action, including overseeing the reception area where events may occur, as well as guiding EMS into the office during a medical emergency. The question is not if staff should be trained, but when and how; our answer is urgently and excellently. Crises are not to be denied, but confronted; and total-staff training arms the office with the competence and confidence to achieve this task. The MEP acronym and meaning should become part of your team’s language fluency and awareness activity. MEP is the critical lifeline for the successful rescue of a distressed patient in your office. The Six Links of Survival™ covers every area that your Staff will need to know to be fully prepared for an emergency situation. The Six Links™ is the merging of decades of research and expertise – the core response that is addressed in every book, article, and blurb on crisis management. The Six Links™ is the nucleus of authentic life-affirming action. It is imperative that every member of the dental team, particularly the staff, be MEP ready and able to fill-in for other members if necessary. The staff team will assist the team leader if and when a medical emergency occurs in your office. These events are unannounced and unforeseeable. Your role as the TEAM leader requires that you are fluent in MEP response and that your staff is similarly skilled in this area as every second counts in patient suffering and even death. Now is the time to get ready and stay ready. HighlightsOver the period of two years, each member of the dental team shall take one or more courses on medical emergencies. The sum of the course(s) over the two-year period should cover all of the topics in the following three areas:
Please Note:Although not universally available, dentists should favor training for their staff that is participatory in nature with hands-on involvement. Dentists shall develop a mechanism to train newly hired staff to be competent and productive members of the entire team during a medical emergency. |
