Clinical experience in foundation training providing tier 2 NHS oral surgery in primary care :What are the benefits of dental graduates working closely with primary care consultants?

摘要

Dental foundation training (DFT) was introduced to ensure clinical and clerical competence for newly qualified graduates before beginning a career in the National Health Service (NHS). Ideally, in DFT, all new dental graduates are exposed to all dental disciplines in an effort to gain experience and build confidence. The majority of DFT posts are based in primary care in thoroughly vetted practices with experienced dental practitioners acting as educational supervisors who offer daily support and weekly tutorials. In addition, study days are provided by the local deanery and offer an opportunity to meet other trainees in the scheme. A small number of posts combine primary and secondary care to give trainees a wider experience of dentistry. For example, two-year training programmes are offered in the North East, and Yorkshire and the Humber regions, which combine DFT and dental core training level 1, aptly named longitudinal DFT. In this article, I give my opinion on the benefit of a new dental graduate assisting a tier 2 NHS oral surgery contract in conjunction with experienced consultants during DFT. This may encourage Health Education England to provide more DFT posts that include working in a dental specialty.