There are many reasons why dental nurse training in sedation can be very appealing; of course, it will improve potential job opportunities and look good on your CV but, more importantly, it can bring variety, increased responsibility and huge job satisfaction to your working life.
There is a large medical component to dental sedation training in terms of understanding how and why sedation works in the way it does and the relevant physiology of the human body.
Taking blood pressures and recording patient’s vital signs whilst monitoring their condition really ensures dental nurses are completely involved in the patient’s care.
Sedation dental nurses, during intravenous sedation procedures, will draw up medicines into syringes, assist or sometimes carry out cannulation of veins and take the lead on the overall soft care of the patient from first meeting to full recovery following treatment and beyond.
Sedation practice brings the fun parts of working in a hospital i.e. the hands on practical work and closeness of patient care but without all the stresses involved with working on a busy hospital ward.
In general practice appointments are longer, the environment be- comes more relaxed, calming music is often played and there is a greater focus on really looking after your patient’s well being.
Sedation dental nurses can assist with and carry out patient sedation assessments and lead the communication with patients. The dentists carry out and are responsible for the sedation and dental treatment, but the sedation nurse is in charge of the overall patient care.
Career prospects include, but are not limited to, specialist practice, community care and beyond with job roles extending to lead nurse, head of a sedation team and many more.
As a Dentist I really appreciate the added value and benefit of a highly trained sedation nurse and other dentists and employers do too.
Everyone should have the opportunity to enjoy the work they do; we are all in a caring profession, but this can sometimes be forgotten during a busy day or week as we go through the motions. Dental sedation offers us the opportunity to build trust, rapport and empathy with anxious patients and helps us to consider the real meaning of patient care. Sedation carried out in the dental environment is termed “conscious sedation” and I feel this is not only because the patient remains conscious throughout but because it makes us more conscious of the work we do and the care we provide!
Typical Intravenous Sedation Dental Nurse Role for each patient
- Meet and Greet the anxious patient, reassure them and begin to build rapport and in- troduce them to the dentist/dental sedationist.
- Carry out a written sedation assessment after the patient has had their dental examin- ation; take and record the patient’s blood pressure and other vital signs.
- Check the patient’s medical history and discuss in more detail with the patient (and dentist) any aspects that may affect the sedation care and confirm the patient’s seda- tion consent.
- On the day of treatment, set up all sedation equipment including drawing up and la- belling drugs and testing electronic monitors.
- Take the patient’s blood pressure and vital signs before starting, place tourniquet on patients arm and assist in the cannulation of the patient’s veins; or cannulate if trained to do so.
- Monitor and record the patient’s condition throughout treatment and manage/alert the dentist to any potential complications.
- After treatment ensure the patient meets all discharge criteria, monitor the patient’s re- covery, remove the patient’s cannula and discharge the patient to their es-corts care along with verbal instructions for their escort. (The sedationist will need to action/observe the discharge)
- Clear away sedation equipment and start caring for your next patient.
Thankyou so much for taking the time to read this article about dental nurse training in sedation, for more information and for available courses visit DENTAL SEDATION COURSES