1. Compulsory work placement and educational cooperation agreement between the Faculty of Dentistry and Fundació Privada Pro Persones amb Disminució Psíquica Catalònia.
2. Compulsory work placement and educational cooperation agreement between the Faculty of Dentistry and the Institut Català de la Salut.

The basic purpose of these two agreements is the practical training of students in the field of dentistry and the placements will consist of developing the theoretical knowledge acquired at the Faculty of Dentistry in the centres belonging to the Fundació Catalònia and the Institut Català de la Salut.

Objectives (External Work Placement)

At the University Dental Clinic the students carry out external clinical work placements in order to put into practice all their theoretical knowledge and skills in the treatments they provide to patients. At the University Dental Clinic, students are prepared to face the challenges of the profession they will practice in the near future and the realities of the sector, which is continually changing.

During external clinical work placements students must provide the treatments required for each subject, monitored very closely not only by instructors or lecturers, but also by the clinic auxiliary staff and patients.

They are required to simulate medical practice and the real operation of a dental clinic in order to acquire the habits of connecting with the patient, clinical staff and other employees (hygienists, auxiliary staff, dental technicians and suppliers).

The placement in the clinic will allow the student to become accustomed to contact with humans, in addition to other kinds of knowledge. From their clinic placement, students should become accustomed to working with all kinds of patients, both adults and children, become sensitive to their needs and adapt to the way of working with each of them.

1. Development of personal qualities: patience, sensitivity, kindness, empathy; all of these will allow students to put themselves in the position of the patient and carry out the most appropriate treatment, always taking into consideration their pathology or need.
2. The University Dental Clinic staff perform their care duties and also act as a teaching reference for students, as they provide very practical knowledge for their future working life, such as:

• Managing clinic diary
• Preparing quotations
• Managing patient complaints
• Managing waiting lists (screenings, check-ups, referrals)
• Process of cleaning and sterilising instruments
• Possibility of working with materials from different commercial companies
• Appropriate handling, use and management of equipment, making the most of material resources
• Access to the best and newest dental technology
• Access to modern facilities which are suitable for clinical work and laboratory work

The University Dental Clinic provides students with the possibility of carrying out voluntary work experience during the academic year and during holiday periods, to extend their knowledge and continue the practical path they are following.

Finally, through the agreements signed by the Faculty of Dentistry, the University Dental Clinic has various ongoing scientific studies with patients, authorised in advance by the corresponding Ethics Committee, and the results of which are later published for follow-up by research and teaching staff.

General norms and regulations concerning practical experience

During the period of practical experience, students shall comply with the norms and regulations that govern the operation of the University Dental Clinic:

1. They will wear their standard uniform (scrub) for the Endodontics programme, a uniform that will be provided to them at the beginning of the first year. The scrub shall be clean and complete at all times.
2. During the time devoted to clinical practice, students will be at the University Dental Clinic premises, independently from the presence or absence of the patient who had an appointment. In the absence of a programmed patient, students may help out their companions, pre-degree students or non-programmed patients, following the indications of the lecturer in charge.
3. They will at all times wear work gloves, face masks covering nose and mouth, and protection glasses.
4. Before carrying out the treatment, they will get acquainted with the clinical record and the details of the treatment to be conducted.
5. They will collect the necessary materials and instruments to carry out the programmed treatment from the storeroom.
6. They will notify reception desk of their arrival to the clinic, they will accompany patients from reception when they arrive and back to reception when treatment is finished.
7. During the time set to carry out clinical practical work, students shall accept the decisions of the lecturer concerning what patient to attend, what treatment to apply to each patient and how to carry it out. An essential objective of the programme is the development of a specific clinical criterion in each student. Nevertheless, for the correct operation of the clinic – essential for the development of the programme – the criterion of the lecturer in charge shall prevail in the event of a disagreement between student and professor. This will not prevent a later discussion of the specific situation and case during the clinical sessions.
8. Before seeing out the patient, the student shall enter in the record the treatment carried out, the necessary considerations, and what treatment needs to be followed. In the event of requiring more visits with the same student or area, more appointments will be programmed in order to facilitate the organisation at reception. If patients need to be referred to another area or returned to the pre-degree clinic, they will be informed about it, also in writing, at reception.
9. Never, under any circumstances, may students retain any documents from the clinical record once the treatment session has finished. In the event of requiring access to any piece of information, they will write a duplicate with the authorisation of lecturer in charge.
10. When treatment has been completed, the materials and instruments shall be returned in the condition specified for each case.
11. In the event of breakdown of an instrument or equipment of the clinic, the person responsible shall be informed of it before the end of the practice.
12. When students are unable to attend clinical practice, they will notify it to the lecturer in charge and to the clinic’s reception desk three weeks in advance. Moreover they will have to justify – before if possible, and in any case afterwards – the motives of their non-attendance.
13. Generally speaking, they shall comply with any norms set out by the management of the University Dental Clinic throughout the training period.

Failure to comply with the University Dental Clinic’s operating norms may imply the prohibition of access to it and prevent the carrying out the clinical practices, which are essential for the completion of the programme.

Terms & Conditions for the external work placement

Operation Protocol teh University Dental Clinic