Clinic remediation can be a necessary part of learning a skill that involves utilizing knowledge gained in the classroom and transforming the knowledge into physical skills in a clinic setting.  There is an extreme level of importance to understand that timing is crucial when it comes to establishing the need for clinic remediation.  “Early identification of skill deficits is critical in order for remediation to begin early in the educational process before deficiencies become complex.” (1) Dental Hygiene education is a process and within that process the knowledge and skills gained build upon each other.  It is important to understand that assessing the level of comprehension that each student maintains along the educational path is essential to the success of a student within a dental hygiene program.   “When a student is unable to demonstrate adequate skill development to move to the next level, either academically or clinically, remediation often becomes necessary.” (1)

There are several different methods that can be used when clinic remediation is deemed necessary: “the most common remediation methods were the same as those employed in basic clinical skills instruction: skill acquisition using typodonts, one-on-one faculty instruction and additional supervised clinical practice time.   Other methods of remediation include faculty serving as a patient, peer tutoring, videotaping and occasionally dental office observation.” (1)

The faculty members have many responsibilities when it comes to clinic remediation.  These  items can include helping to establish guidelines and protocol for remediation standards as well as being chief investigators for those students who need the remediation experience.  “Faculty should provide feedback to guide students in self-evaluation to facilitate psychomotor skill acquisition and maintenance of competent performance.” (2)  In a synchronous session Mrs. Sanderson Stated that the students should not be surprised that remediation is needed.  The communication between the instructor and the student will be ongoing and upfront about the struggles that the students is having and that additional instruction may be needed if the level of understanding doesn’t improve.  It is the faculty that should be the one who initiate remediation.  “Remediation must be supported and guided by the faculty who are to assume responsibility for clinical skill remediation instruction.” (1)

Ultimately remediation is a process that needs to be established with the options for adjustments to assure that the specific needs of the student are met so that they will be able to succeed in the dental hygiene program.  Timing and specific instruction options will help the student to overcome the challenges that they are faced with.  Dental hygiene education is all about learning new skills and application of knowledge into the clinic atmosphere.  Remediation maybe necessary in order for students to become proficient in the complex and challenging career as a dental hygienist.  Education as all about learning, growing and obtaining new skills.  We all weren’t born hygienists.  It took time, practice and patience (and sometime remediation) to become competent oral health care providers

1. Factors Associated with Clinical Skill Remediation in Dental Hygiene Education Programs.  Wood, Mitchell, Holt and Branson.  The Journal Of Dental Hygiene, Vol.88, No. 1, February 2014.

2. An Assessment of Issues Related to Clinical Skill Remediation in Dental Hygiene Education.  Branson and Toevs.  Journal of Dental Hygiene, Vol. 73, No.4, Fall 1999

The clinical and classroom information and experiences encompass the vital components of a dental hygiene curriculum.   Ensuring that the students have a complete understanding of how to incorporate and utilize information gained in the classroom setting into clinical situations is vital for the students and instructors in the success of the dental hygiene program.  Establishing the habits of pre-clinic and post-clinic conferences is a way to establish goals, focus attention and to emphasize the information gained from classroom and link it to experiences gained in the clinic. This process of these conferences will allow for a deeper level of thinking and learning to occur.  Students will no longer just be able to recite information (lowest level of cognitive domain) they will be able to adapt to situations and create solutions to any problem that they come in contact with and be critical in their thinking about how they responded to the situation ( highest of cognitive domain). (234-237)

Preconference is intended to establish goals for the day and prepare the student for the scenarios that they come in contact with that day.  This time may establish a level of understanding from the instructor’s point of view as to how well prepared each student is on that given day. (181)

Post-conference is a great way to allow for the student to self-reflect on the day and what went right, what could have been better and what they learned during that particular clinic experience. (195)

Establishing the habits of preparing and evaluating our performances will create lasting habits that carry over into the real world.  Connecting the information we learn from the classroom and incorporating a deeper understanding in the clinic experiences will cause a  longer lasting and more meaningful educational journey to occur.

Clinical Instruction and Evaluation, a Teaching Resource, 3rd Edition.  Andrea O’Connor