Aim

Dental Therapists, Dental Hygienists and Oral Health Therapists engaged in public practice in the Northern Territory may possess and administer certain unrestricted Schedule 4 Substances in the course of carrying out their clinical duties in accordance with the approved Scheduled Substance Treatment Protocol (SSTP).

This training is required for the use of the SSTPs by Dental Therapists, Dental Hygienists and Oral Health Therapists, in complying with the NT Medicines, Poisons and Therapeutic Goods legislation.

Target audience

All Dental Hygienists and Oral Health Therapists, including temporary and contracted staff.

Learning Objectives

This training introduces a series of new protocols that require skills and knowledge in their navigation at the point of care. While Dental Therapists and Oral Health Therapists may be familiar with many of the substances outlined in the Scheduled Substance Treatment Protocol (SSTPs) and use many of these substances in their regular clinical practice:

This training focuses on how to use the Protocol at the point of care,
These SSTPs are part of a suite of resources that practitioners can navigate at the point of care to assist their clinical decision-making,
The training will provide participants with important skills in navigating and applying these resources in their clinical practice,
It is designed to build on existing skills and knowledge, with practical application,
The training and SSTPs will continue to extend and facilitate the independent practice of Dental Therapists and Oral Health Therapists, by extending and harmonising scope of practice through the provision of Continuing Professional Development.

Duration and Delivery

This training is designed to take place in a peer-based learning setting and therefore should be conducted within clinical teams and peer groups, large or small. Alternatively, individuals may wish to discuss each of the modules and assessments with a mentor on a one-to-one basis following self-paced, individual learning.

It is recommended that a minimum of 5 hours be allocated to complete the training, consisting of 10 modules of roughly 30 minutes each. 

Group training, where applicable, may be facilitated by a dental officer, a medical practitioner, a pharmacist or a suitable clinical facilitator with strong medicines knowledge. Participants who have not completed medicines training previously may require additional time or multiple sessions. More time may also be required for in-depth discussion of topics in peer learning settings.

Modules are designed to be attempted in consecutive order, however there is no requirement to work through modules consecutively. Correct responses to each of the Assessments at Modules 1-9 are required to successfully complete the training. Tasks that are marked as optional or additional reading are not essential. Case studies at Module 10 should be divided up between smaller groups or pairs and reported back within a larger group. Individual participants do not need to complete all case studies. Select 1 or 2 of interest. 

Technical requirements

a computer
the internet
NT Health staff intranet; and
a calculator (to assist with dosage calculations at Module 4)

Completion requirements

Participants must complete each of the true/false assessments for Modules 1-9 and the course evaluation,
provide the electronically generated certificate to their manager and
repeat the assessments every 24 months and show verification to their manager.

Continuing Professional Development (CPD)

Participants should consider this training to be a form of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) and may wish to record their participation as part of their CPD records. This training is equivalent to 5 hours of CPD.

Provider

Oral Health Workforce Coordinator

Instructions

This training is designed to take place in a peer-based learning setting and therefore should be conducted within clinical teams and peer groups, large or small. Alternatively, individuals may wish to discuss each of the modules and assessments with a mentor on a one-to-one basis following self-paced, individual learning.

It is recommended that a minimum of 5 hours be allocated to complete the training, consisting of 10 modules of roughly 30 minutes each.

Group training, where applicable, may be facilitated by a dental officer, a medical practitioner, a pharmacist or a suitable clinical facilitator with strong medicines knowledge. Participants who have not completed medicines training previously may require additional time or multiple sessions. More time may also be required for in-depth discussion of topics in peer learning settings.

Modules are designed to be attempted in consecutive order, however there is no requirement to work through modules consecutively. Correct responses to each of the Assessments at Modules 1-9 are required to successfully complete the training. Tasks that are marked as optional or additional reading are not essential. Case studies at Module 10 should be divided up between smaller groups or pairs and reported back within a larger group. Individual participants do not need to complete all case studies. Select 1 or 2 of interest.

Participants should consider this training to be a form of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) and may wish to record their participation as part of their CPD records. This training is equivalent to 5 hours of CPD.

You may wish to have the SSTP manual with you alongside this electronic package. Please have all SSTPs with you on commencement and ensure all are current as they could have been updated.

Please visit Document Centre Document Centre
Once there, please search for
Oral Health Scheduled Substance Treatment Protocol (SSTP) Training Manual (PDF)

Refer to the SSTP Instructions index page for the list of all substances applicable to Dental Hygienists and Oral Health Therapists.

Link: Oral Health Scheduled Substance Treatment Protocol Instructions (PDF)

The PDFs are provided for reference

How to enrol

Self-enrol

Use the 'Enrol me' button located at the bottom of this page. If you cannot see the 'Enrol me' button at the bottom of this page, please CLICK HERE and re-check for the 'Enrol me' button at the bottom of this page. Clicking on the 'Enrol me' button will enrol you in the course and take you to the course homepage. Then you will be able to sign-up to a training session.

NTG Staff – login with your NTG LAN details. These are the same details you use to log onto your work computer.

Non-NTG Staff – login with your MyLearning account details or apply for a MyLearning account using the Application form for non-departmental staff.

Contacts

Oral Health Training Coordinator

p (08) 892 26416
e oralhealthpromotions.ths@nt.gov.au