Initial accreditation of dentists has recently become a mandatory procedure. It is intended to confirm that a person who claims to possess the skills of a dentist and has a crust on profile education can really work in the chosen direction. Accreditation is required for all specialists with a pharmacist, medical or other medical education. However, the accreditation commission met dentists earlier than many of their colleagues from other areas of medicine.
How it works?
To pass accreditation, the dentist will have to appear before the profile commission. This procedure must be completed immediately after graduation. However, if the profession of “dentist” was confirmed by a newly-made specialist, and the commission decided that his level of qualification was sufficient, this does not mean that the epic is ending. According to current rules and regulations, you must regularly repeat the procedure. The profession of “dentist” must be reaffirmed every five years again. This means that with a five-year periodicity, you will have to present yourself to the commission and prove the suitability of your position.
Many people who have received a dentist education for a long time and have not worked on it since then may be surprised at this norm. Indeed, it was introduced only in 2016 by an order adopted under number 127. There were no such requirements before, although there was a similar certification system. It is worth recognizing that the introduction of a new legal standard caused a storm of discontent, and even panic among doctors, for whom the updated law seemed at first glance incomprehensible.
How, where, to whom?
Of course, it is important for any dentist to know how accreditation goes, who needs to go through it, and who is saved from interacting with the commission. From the order it follows that those who have received higher education in the field of medicine, dentistry, as well as the average level of education in the field of treating people will have to accredit. In addition, there will be an accreditation commission for all those who own other categories of education from among those requiring primary accreditation. The educational standards adopted in our country tell about what these categories are.
If a person has passed the training program for highly qualified personnel or studied under the continuing education program, which is usually referred to in official papers as “professional retraining,” then you will also have to appear before the commission. The qualifications of dentists must be confirmed by the commission in case the doctors studied abroad.
How did it all start?
From the very beginning, the situational tasks of accreditation of dentists were not clearly formulated so that lay people in this field could orient themselves in them. But it was clear from the first moments that the new order would have the greatest impact on the beginning of the career of dentists and pharmacists. It was with them that the introduction of new approaches to assessing the level of qualification began. However, many will agree, the accreditation of a specialist in the field of medicine in our country has long been a sore point. People do not trust doctors, and this measure will restore faith in highly qualified care. At least that was the calculation when the law was passed.
At the same time, it should be noted that the accreditation of a specialist has not become something fundamentally new. Previously, doctors should have passed certification, which formally was replaced by a new commission.
What do the experts say?
At first, many doubted that it was correct, in addition to dentists, to conduct accreditation to other specialists, including pharmacists. As analysts noted, pharmacists are also employees of the healthcare system in our country, so it is logical to extend similar principles to them. However, forecasts were made that this would scare people away from real work and soon the country would face a shortage of personnel in this area. True, while the final statistics on the issue have not yet been collected.
Another problem that concerns directly the accreditation of dentists is the issue of choosing members of the commission. And to this day there are no precise and clear instructions regarding both professional standards and methods for checking compliance with them. Initially, it was announced that experts for the commission would be trained specifically, but in fact the effectiveness of this program is still a big question.
What does it give?
Under the new law, accreditation of dentists is mandatory, as a result of which doctors receive a special certificate. It is impossible to work without a certificate today. However, even though dentists turned out to be the first birds, already in 2017, the practice spread to other branches of medicine.
Dentists are accredited in three stages:
- Test.
- Assessment of skills when using equipment.
- Modeling a clinical task.
Already in 2016, before the actual practice of accreditation began, potential doctors could familiarize themselves with what awaits them. On the websites of the Ministry of Health, the methodological center responsible for confirming the level of specialists, several thousand test tests were published, based on which it was supposed to evaluate the work of dentists in the future. Of course, no one suggested such a volume in exams, but from these preliminary databases sets of questions were selected that made it possible to compose individual tasks. By the way, virtual resources allow you to create such a selection for yourself, test your strengths, and find out your points outside a stressful situation. In the classic version, the duration of the preparation is one and a half hours, for which 60 questions need to be resolved. Answers to questions are offered - four options.
All at once?
For many, the state’s approach to the choice of those who have to undergo accreditation, and those who are not yet in danger, seemed interesting. It was decided that at the same time the whole country should not be transferred to new mechanisms. So, until 2021, those who are already working will be given certificates valid until 2026.
What's new?
It would seem that little has changed, and this mainly affected graduates. Is it so? In 2016, it was decided to introduce a new mechanism of education in the field of medicine - an attempt was made to introduce the so-called continuous. This means that dentists and nurses do not have to undergo continuing education every five years, but regularly learn new things.
And what does it mean?
Experts positively evaluated this innovation, since the previously existing methodology has been hopelessly outdated for a long time. According to previous standards, doctors could only rely on a slow renovation of buildings, which is why the local assistance system hopelessly lagged behind real world practices and trends - nobody knew about them.
Science is actively developing, new methods, approaches, and medicines are appearing, and familiar and familiar drugs are becoming a thing of the past due to detectable side effects. Of course, if information about such updates in medicine gets to the doctor only once every five years, there can be no question of any correspondence to the expectations of clients. And what to hide, most of the continuing education courses for dentists are just a repetition of what was already studied in the sixth year of the university, without any attention to the real situation in the world of medicine.
Further education and accreditation
It is assumed that the updated system will make the system for dentists to receive additional education more effective. If earlier it was possible to count on 144 hours of classes with an interval of five years between two "batches" of knowledge, now you can get 250 hours distributed evenly over a five-year period. By the way, according to the old standards, these 144 hours were shoved in only 4 weeks. Of course, this affected the assimilation of knowledge, not to mention the fact that relevance did not always meet expectations.
The order of the Ministry of Health now obliges dentists to receive 50 points or hours during the year associated with activity in the field of increasing the level of knowledge and skills. At the same time, it is possible, but not necessary to get all the points at one time. For example, you can regularly take short-term training programs - say, 18-hour ones. In addition, you can attend conferences and attend distance-learning programs. All this allows you to accumulate points and hours, which in the future will help to get accreditation when the time is right.
Accreditation and points: one without the other is impossible?
The introduction of both accreditation and the system of additional advanced training is carried out gradually, in steps. So, the first to be hit were those who were facing the first accreditation in life, who received the last certificate. In 2017, the next batch started. According to preliminary estimates by experts, up to 250,000 specialists will be involved in the new methodology annually. This means that to this day there are those who have yet to be accredited. However, officials promise that sooner or later all will be covered without exception.
Do not slip away. Yes and whether it is necessary?
If a particular doctor who was supposed to enter a new stage of accreditation avoided passing a commission, he will not be able to work. But not everyone can pass accreditation, but only one who already has a profile on the portal for continuing education of NGOs.
As an example, the situation is this: if a person received a certificate before 2016 and is now working as a dentist, but he will have an update in 2017, 2018, this means that you need to join the NMO, where to accumulate points. That is, in 2017, the doctor will still receive a certificate in the old form, but from that moment the countdown will begin - you need to accumulate at least 250 points in your profile in five years. If this succeeds, we can assume that the accreditation will be passed the next time, which means that the dentist will reserve the right to work in this area.
And if not?
Undoubtedly, there will be people who are not five years old to get the right amount of points. This always happens, no matter what educational system is introduced. However, experts promise that an additional way out of the situation will be developed specifically for this group of people. It is believed that the introduction of intensive courses will allow a good effect, allowing you to collect the missing points. Alternative - the doctor will be given extra time to solve the problem.
Looking back to the west
The system was introduced not from scratch, the ministry analyzed the experience of successful developed countries, where the same logic for obtaining education and accreditation by dentists already operates. In most of these countries, the opportunity to take extra time and various courses have been introduced. Just copy the system, adjusting it to the realities of our country. Experts promise that the continuing education system in the field of medicine will be regularly improved. By the way, the clock standards are now taken exactly as they are for European doctors.
There are always disadvantages
Of course, no matter how promisingly implemented dental accreditation looks, this system has pitfalls. So, the novelty is very different from the practiced teaching methods in higher educational institutions of the country, it is unusual for doctors, for professors, and for officials. This ensures that at first there will be a lot of discontent and misunderstanding. In fact, work is underway that will help optimize the transition from higher education to additional education during a career.
Short courses are also being developed that will allow employers in the future to let dentists go on training for several days a year annually. This will help not to lose the employee immediately for a long time, and the doctor will be given the opportunity to score the right amount of points.