Increasing patient safety: Part 1

Most clinical mistakes are caused by human error rather than through faulty operative techniques. Acquiring excellent non-technical skills alongside operative competencies is essential for securing patient safety in dental practice, but what are these skills and how can they be assessed? Can they be taught using AI? These two workshops introduce how to observe and rate the non-technical skills needed to underpin good and safe dental practice using a new workplace-based assessment.

Developing competence in non-technical skills from an early stage in a training programme not only satisfies the demands of curricula, but also helps to reduce operator stress, improve clinical performance, foster teamworking and build personal resilience. These session incorporate Interactive lecture format with group discussion and use of videos to illustrate and practice rating good and poor behaviours associated with situation awareness and communication.

Part 1 aims to teach participants the importance of non-technical skills for safe clinical performance and how to assess communication skills and situation awareness using a new tool called DeNTS.