Post Date : 02-Oct-2024 Close Date : 23-Oct-2024
Title: Senior Dental Nurse (Simulated Environment and Clinical)
Department: School of Dentistry
Tenure: Permanent, Full time
Location: St Stephens Green, Dublin 2 initially, then RCSI Sandyford from
mid 2025
Reporting to: Dr Niamh Coffey, Senior Lecturer and Lead for Simulation,
and accountable to Professor Albert Leung, Head of School of Dentistry
About RCSI
RCSI has been at the forefront of educating healthcare professionals since
1784 when it was founded as the national training and professional body for
surgery. Today, RCSI is Ireland's only focused health sciences university,
with Ireland's largest medical school and one of the leading health sciences
institutions in the world.
Based in Dublin, with students from over 80 countries and four overseas
campuses, RCSI has a global reach with alumni in 94 countries. For the last
six consecutive years, RCSI has been in the Top 250 of universities worldwide
and was ranked in June 2023 as number one in the world by the Times Higher
Education (THE) for their contributions to the United Nations' Sustainable
Development Goal Number 3 ‘Good Health and Well-being', reflecting RCSI's
commitment to supporting people of all ages to live healthy lives by promoting
well-being and positive health.
RCSI is a community of academic, research, clinical and professional staff
working collaboratively to lead the world to better health. Here, you will
thrive in an innovative and inclusive atmosphere and your personal development
and wellbeing will be supported, in line with RCSI's exciting mission “To
educate, nurture and discover for the benefit of human health.”
We seek candidates whose experience to date has prepared them to contribute to
our commitment to the “Race Equality Action Plan 2021-2024” at RCSI. Our
students come from all walks of life and so do we. We hire great people from a
wide variety of backgrounds. This makes our university stronger and ensures we
hire the best talent.
RCSI and dentistry:
RCSI has a strong heritage in dental education and training. As the second
oldest dental school in Europe, it delivered an undergraduate dentistry
programme between 1878 and 1977 (LDS, RCSI).
The Faculty of Dentistry RCSI was founded in 1963. It provides education,
accreditation of programmes and quality assurance through examination of
postgraduate dental professionals. The Faculty is an international centre of
excellence for assessment/examination in postgraduate dentistry, attracting
candidates from over 40 countries.
RCSI is now re-starting its undergraduate dentistry training programme, with
the establishment of the School of Dentistry in 2024. Commencing September
2025, RCSI will offer a new undergraduate NFQ Level 8 Dentistry programme
leading to the award of Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS, Hons.). This
programme will be delivered according to the well-established community-based
model of dental education and training.
Work is under way developing the programme with a highly regarded curriculum
selected, facilities to support the delivery of the programme identified and
currently being provisioned.
The role at a glance
We are currently expanding our team to recruit a Senior Dental Nurse to help
prepare for implementation of this exciting undertaking. As part of the role,
you will provide technical support in all aspects of set up in both the
simulated and clinical patient treatment settings. The build works are
currently underway to provide a simulated training facility by Q3 2025 and to
open a clinical practice in Q1 2026 to support student teaching and provide
community dental care support.
Key Duties of the Role Include:
Within the simulated dental setting
Help prepare for and set up the Simulated Dental Learning Environment
(SDLE).
Once established, manage the SDLE.
Set up and prepare dental simulation units for clinical skills sessions,
for instructional sessions, practice and examinations.
Ensure all equipment is working correctly prior to simulation training
sessions. Conduct ongoing maintenance of all simulation equipment and
associated instruments, including cleaning and repairing, ensuring that
all equipment is maintained and in good working order at all times.
Interface with equipment manufacturers and other partners regarding
equipment troubleshooting and system problems.
Track and log software licenses and maintenance contracts.
Each session will require a variation or specific set up and arrangements
of dental equipment and artefacts, including but not limited to
casts/teeth, study models, articulators, dental hand- pieces, restorative
instruments, endodontic materials etc.
Perform routine checks and basic maintenance on the simulators.
Monitor and manage inventory of dental simulation supplies.
Ensure the appropriate consumables are available for all
teaching/examination events and maintain an accurate inventory of supplies
required for each event.
Where possible, participate in the design, development, and production of
simulation models, in providing the appropriate materials for use in the
Simulated Dental Learning Environment.
Assist in the procurement processes relating to all equipment and
supplies, including recording and tracking of items requiring restock,
repair, and replacement.
Ensure strict separation between simulation training equipment and
clinical use equipment to prevent cross-contamination, maintain patient
safety, and preserve the integrity of the clinical environments.
Day to day preparation and readiness of instruments and equipment in line
with good practice and the appropriate guidelines, maintaining equipment
to good safe working order and ensure readiness for regulatory inspections
where applicable.
Assist in practical teaching sessions, demonstrations, and clinical
workshops for dental students.
Keep abreast of current trends and developments within the discipline.
Initiate liaison with relevant bodies and groups, both internal and
external to the University.
Contribute positively to team working within the School and assist with
team development.
Provide appropriate administrative support to academic research where
applicable.
Provide basic first aid assistance as required in the event of minor
accidents.
As and when the SDLE team expand, with the agreement of line management,
to co- ordinate and delegate selected duties above to other team members.
Within the Clinical Setting Upon opening of the clinical practice, manage
the dental nurses as required, provide assistance in chairside dental
procedures as needed, delivering a high standard of nursing support to
patients, students, and staff.
Ensure the maintenance and care of the dental units and equipment in
accordance with National Guideline for Infection Prevention and Control
(IPC), HSE Guidelines and in accordance with Dental Council in Ireland
regulations.
Maintain an efficient and effective working environment recording the
patient pathway on the electronic patient record.
Co-ordinate the sterilisation and preparation of instruments.
Ensure a high standard of hygiene and cleanliness in the clinical areas in
line with the appropriate IPC policy, guidelines from the Heath Service
Executive (HSE) and/or from the Dental Council in Ireland.
Report any untoward incidents (clinical incidents/complaints) as
appropriate.
Assist with induction courses for students and organisation of clinical
examinations.
Promote a high level of safety awareness, implement defined safe systems
of work and where required supply relevant Health & Safety advice and
documentation in association with the specialist field.
As and when the Dental Nursing team expand, with the agreement of line
management, to co-ordinate and delegate selected duties above to other
team members.
Other
Carrying out such other duties appropriate to the post as may be assigned.
The above list is not exclusive and exhaustive, and the successful
applicant may be required. to undertake any such duties as may be
reasonably expected.
Be flexible and responsive to the needs of staff and students.
Qualifications / Skills / Attributes
The successful candidate should have the following qualifications, skills and
attributes:
Hold a recognised Dental Nursing qualification.
Be registered with the Dental Council of Ireland as a Dental Nurse, or is
eligible for registration as a Dental Nurse with the Dental Council in
Ireland.
Must have had experience as a dental nurse or dental nurse manager in a
primary care dental practice, hospital or teaching environment.
Appropriate leadership and management experience in a SDLE is highly
desirable
Have excellent IT skills to include: MicrosoftWord, Powerpoint and
Outlook.
Be a team player with excellent interpersonal, communications and problem-
solving skills.
Be a problem solver, able to work under pressure, think outside the box
and innovative.
Application Procedure:
Applications for this post must be made through the RCSI Careers website.
www. rcsi.ie/careers The closing date for applications is: October 23rd 2024
Informal enquiries:
For any queries relating to the application process, please contact Judy Walsh
in the HR department by email [email protected], Judy can arrange for relevant
queries on the technical aspects of the role to be addressed by the hiring
manager.