Dental Program Technical Standards

The Rogue Community College Dental Programs have the responsibility to society to educate competent health care providers to care for their patients/clients with clinical judgment, broadly based knowledge, and competent technical skills at the entry level.

The program has academic and technical standards (non-academic criteria) students must meet to progress in and graduate from the program successfully.

Rogue Community College (RCC) provides the following technical standards with examples of learning activities to inform prospectively and enrolled students of the skills required to complete their chosen profession's curriculum and provide health care services. These technical standards reflect the performance abilities and characteristics necessary for meeting the requirements of clinical-based health care programs. Individuals interested in applying for admission to the program should review these standards to understand the skills, abilities better, and behavioral characteristics required to complete the program successfully.

Students admitted to the Dental Programs are expected to complete curriculum requirements that include physical, cognitive, and behavioral core competencies that are essential to the functions of the entry level professional nurse. These core competencies are the minimum and essential skills necessary to protect the public. Unique combinations of physical, cognitive, and behavioral competencies are encountered in providing safe and effective patient care.

Progression in the program is dependent on the demonstration of the technical standards with or without reasonable accommodations.

RCC is obliged to provide reasonable accommodations to qualified students with disabilities, including academic adjustments, auxiliary aids, and program modifications defined by Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act. Individuals must be able to meet both our academic standards and the technical standards, with or without reasonable accommodations. Accommodations that fundamentally alter the nature of the educational program could jeopardize the health and safety of others or cause an undue burden to the program are not considered reasonable accommodations. Contact Rogue Community College Access and Disability Resources for more information regarding service and resources to students with disabilities and request accommodations. Regular, consistent attendance and participation are essential to learning, especially for all scheduled clinical experiences.

Cognitive:

Recall, collect, analyze, synthesize, and integrate information from a variety of sources.
Measure, calculate, reason, analyze and synthesize data.
Problem-solve and think critically to apply knowledge and skill.
Communicate verbally and through reading and writing with individuals from various social, emotional, cultural, and intellectual backgrounds.
Relay information in oral and written form effectively, accurately, reliably, and intelligibly, including thorough and accurate use of computers and other tools, to individuals and groups using the English language.

Examples of learning activities found in the dental curriculum and related to industry standards:

Process information thoroughly and quickly to prioritize and implement dental care.
Sequence or cluster data to determine patient needs.
Discriminate fine/subtle differences in medical word endings.
Report verbally and in writing patient data to members of the healthcare team.
Read and comprehend patient information found in the dental record.
Apply knowledge/skills gained through completion of program prerequisites, including the requirement for computer proficiency.

Physical:

Motor:

Coordinate fine and gross motor movements.
Coordinate hand/eye movements.
Maintain balance from any position.
Negotiate level surfaces, ramps, and stairs.
Function with both hands-free for performing psychomotor tasks.
Maneuver in small areas.
Attend cognitive and psychomotor tasks for up to 7-12 hours.

Examples of learning activities found in the dental curriculum and related to industry standards:

Perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR)
Carry equipment and supplies to the operatory.
Manipulate small equipment and containers, such as syringes, vials, ampules, and medication packages, to administer medications.
Dispose of needles in a sharps container.
Complete skills tests within the assigned time limit.

Sensory:

Acquire information from demonstrations and experiences, including but not limited to information conveyed through online coursework, lectures, small group activities, demonstrations, and application experiences.
Collect information through observation, listening, touching, and smelling.
Use and interpret information from diagnostic maneuvers.

Examples of learning activities found in the dental curriculum and related to industry standards:

Detect changes in skin color or condition. (pale, ashen, grey, or bluish)
Draw up a prescribed quantity of medication into a syringe.
Observe patients in a room from 20 feet away.
Detect sounds related to bodily functions using a stethoscope.
Detect audible alarms generated by mechanical systems such as monitoring bodily functions, fire alarms, etc.
Observe and collect data from recording equipment and measurement devices used in patient care.
Communicate with patient and healthcare team members in person and over the phone in various settings, for example when a health team member are wearing masks and background noise.
Detect foul odors of bodily fluids or spoiled foods.
Detect smoke from burning materials.
Detect changes in skin temperature.
Detect unsafe temperature levels in heat-producing devices used in patient care.
Detect anatomical abnormalities, such as subcutaneous crepitus, edema, or infiltrated intravenous fluids.
Feel vibrations such as an arterial pulse.

Behavioral:

Demonstrate emotional stability to function effectively under stress and adapt to changing environments.
Maintain effective, mature, and sensitive relationships with others.
Examine and modify one's behavior when it interferes with others or the learning environment.
Possess attributes that include compassion, empathy, altruism, integrity, honesty, responsibility, and tolerance.
Accept responsibility for own actions and communicate courteously, with non-assertive, non-aggressive, and non-defensively with instructors, peers, staff, and healthcare team members.
Integrate feedback into own performance.

Examples of learning activities found in the dental curriculum and related to industry standards:

Exercise judgment, meet acceptable timeframes for patient care delivery (reflected by ability to carry out the usual patient care assignment within program progression time standards), work effectively under stress, and adapt to rapidly changing patient care environments.
Accept accountabilities for all actions, including those that resulted in patient care errors.
Deal effectively with interpersonal conflict if it arises; maintain compelling and harmonious relationships with members of the healthcare team.