The impact of wrong-site surgery on dental undergraduate teaching: a survey of UK dental schools

Dargue, Anna, Fyfe, Eithne, French, Kathryn, Ali, Kamran, Bailey, Edmund, Bell, Aileen, Bolt, Robert, Bulsara, Yogesh, Carey, James, Emanuel, Charlotte, Green, Rachel, Khawaja, Nadine, Kushnerev, Evgeny, Patel, Neil, Shepherd, Simon, Smart, Bithnan, Smyth, Joanna, Taylor, Kate and Datla, Kumar Varma 2021. The impact of wrong-site surgery on dental undergraduate teaching: a survey of UK dental schools. European Journal of Dental Education 25 (4) , pp. 670-678. 10.1111/eje.12645

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Abstract

Introduction Patient safety within dental education is paramount. Wrong-site surgery (WSS) tooth extraction is not uncommon and is a significant never event (NE) in dentistry. This study aimed to explore dental schools’ undergraduate experience of NEs, safety interventions implemented and the impact on student experience. Methods All 16 UK dental schools were surveyed via email. Results The response rate was 100%. A modified World Health Organization (WHO) checklist was used within institutions (94%) including pre-operative briefings and recording teeth on whiteboards (81%, respectively). Students were directly supervised performing extractions (63%) utilising a 1:4 staff: student ratio. WSS by students was reported in 69% of schools, with student experience being impacted by an increased patient safety focus. Discussion This study demonstrated an increased utilisation of an adapted WHO checklist. Modification of practices to ensure patient safety was demonstrated at all schools, irrespective of student WSS occurrences. Institutions experiencing student NEs commonly implemented WHO checklists and recording teeth for extraction on whiteboards. Other strategies included direct staff supervision and pre-operative briefings. Conclusion UK dental schools have increased the emphasis on patient safety by the implementation of national healthcare models, for example WHO checklists and pre-operative briefings. These strategies both aim to improve communication and teamwork. Increased levels of staff supervision foster greater quality of teaching; however, this has resulted in reduced student clinical experience. A proposed minimum standard for undergraduate surgery is suggested to ensure safe and competent dental practitioners of the future.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Dentistry
Publisher:	Wiley
ISSN:	1396-5883
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	21 March 2022
Date of Acceptance:	6 December 2020
Last Modified:	19 Nov 2023 00:49
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/148543

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