Elements of Prescribing

How We'll Help You Succeed

The aim of this course is to provide you with a firm grasp on all the aspects of prescribing necessary for collaboration with other healthcare professionals, communication with your patient and prescribing medication in a manner compliant with legal guidelines and best practices.

Following completion of this course, the dental hygienist will be able to:

• Prescribe schedule 1 drugs.
• Describe the meaning of professional accountability and identify the mechanisms of effective collaboration and communication with clients and other health care professionals.
• Apply the Dental Hygiene Process of Care and use deductive reasoning to obtain and update a client's complete comprehensive health history.
• Describe the basic principles of drug pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics.
• Research the mechanisms of actions, indications for use, potential actions, and contraindications of specific drugs, and use this information to make decisions about the care plan.
• Implement risk reduction strategies to increase client safety.
• Issue prescriptions that are accurate, clear, and complete by incorporating the principles of prescribing.
• Comply with drug storage, disposal, and labeling requirements to ensure safe handling of drugs and to protect clients and the environment.

Course Dates

Zoom Live Sessions

Live sessions begin January 12th 2024 and run until July 6th - attendance is mandatory and the dates may be subject to change. 

Schedule

• Thursday, January 12 2024 6:30 PM MST (Welcome Session)
• Thursday, February 9, 2024 6:30 PM MST (submit questions by February 6)
• Thursday, March 9, 2024 6:30 PM MST(submit questions by Mar 6)
• Thursday, April 6, 2024 6:30 PM MST(submit questions by April 3)
• Thursday, May 4, 2024 6:30 PM MST(submit questions by May 2)
• Thursday, June 1, 2024 6:30 PM MST (submit questions by May 29 )
• Thursday, July 6 2024 6:30 PM MST (submit questions by July 3)

Note: Sessions will be recorded and made available online.

Exam Dates

Participants must pre-register for a final exam date no later than May 4th, 2024 (2 months in advance) including those taking the exam at a test center.

• Wednesday, July 12, 2024
• Wednesday, July 19, 2024
• Wednesday, July 26, 2024
• Wednesday, August 2, 2024

Syllabus

This program is a six month, fully online certification course, with the eClass platform as well as seven mandatory live zoom sessions (1 monthly Thursday session).

Text

• Required Text: Drug Information Handbook for Dentistry and Oral Soft Tissue Diseases (not included)
• Optional Text: Canadian Pharmacists Association Compendium of Pharmaceuticals and Specialties (not included)

Modules

1. Professional Accountability, Collaboration, and Communication
   • Describes the meaning of professional accountability and the mechanisms for effective collaboration and communication with other health care professionals and with clients, including clients with drug-seeking and drug-abuse behaviour. The College-specific Standards of Practice (CRDHA) are also referenced.
2. Decision Making Related to Medication Use
   • Details the Dental Hygiene Process of Care and documentation requirements. Eight fundamental questions, relevant to decision making and medication use, are incorporated into this Process of Care to guide you as you create a care plan for clients.
3. Principles of Pharmacology
   • Explains the routes of drug administration, drug pharmacokinetics, drug pharmacodynamics, and adverse drug reactions. Also discussed are therapeutic effect and index, and special prescribing considerations for pregnant and breastfeeding women, children, and older adults.
4. Drugs Used in Dental Hygiene
   • Describes the side effects associated with medication use, including both common systemic and common oral side effects. Lists many of the drugs used to help treat oral conditions and specifically highlights problems or risks with the drug, medications that cause the condition, signs, and treatment. Useful information that will enable the dental hygienist to make appropriate and safe decisions regarding medication use is incorporated. The major focus of this module is the drugs that dental hygienist prescribers will be authorized to prescribe.
5. Risk Management, Drug Errors, and Medical Emergencies
   • Describes how to assess risk for the client, for the dental hygienist, and within the practice environment. Risk management strategies are introduced to reduce the risk of adverse outcomes and include how to manage drug errors. The pharmacotherapeutics and pharmacokinetics of five drugs used to manage medical emergencies are examined.
6. Issuing a Prescription
   • Covers the principles of prescribing, the requirements for providing accurate and legal prescriptions, and the methods for preventing and reducing medication errors. Sample prescriptions are shown.
7. Storage, Disposal, and Labeling
   • Describes the storage and disposal requirements for prescription and non-prescription drugs, and outlines the lab.

Prerequisites

Participants must be a certified RDH and hold a valid practice permit.

Payment Option

Participants have the option to pay the full tuition in a lump sum of $3,250 at the time of registration or four equal payments of $812.50.