19- Law _ Ethics- Statistics UK

LAW & ETHICS EXAM PREPARATION SUMMARY (ORE & LDS) WITH STUDY FOCUS

Exam Strategy:

• Prioritize understanding key ethical principles and legal regulations relevant to dental practice in the UK. Cover DDC Notes
• Master the concepts of consent, confidentiality, and professional conduct.
• Familiarize yourself with the complaints procedure and how to handle ethical dilemmas.
• Review the GDC Standards for the Dental Team and relevant legislation.
• Utilize resources like the “Oxford Handbook of Clinical Dentistry 7th Edition,” “Epidemiology Notes,” “NHS and strategies,” “Law & Ethics” documents, and exam feedback for comprehensive preparation.
• Practice mock tests to assess your knowledge and identify areas for improvement.

High-Yield Topics:

• Ethical Principles:
  • Autonomy: Respecting patients’ rights to make decisions about their own healthcare.
  • Beneficence: Acting in the best interests of patients.
  • Non-maleficence: Avoiding harm to patients.
  • Justice: Treating all patients fairly and equitably.
• Legal Regulations:
  • Consent: Informed consent, capacity to consent, consent for minors
  • Confidentiality: Maintaining patient privacy, exceptions to confidentiality (e.g., safeguarding concerns)
  • Data protection: Handling patient information in accordance with the law
  • Professional conduct: Maintaining professional boundaries, avoiding conflicts of interest
  • Complaints procedure: Understanding the process for handling patient complaints
• GDC Standards for the Dental Team:
  • Principles: Putting patients’ interests first, communicating effectively, maintaining professional knowledge and competence
  • Guidance on specific areas: Record-keeping, prescribing, advertising, teamwork
• NHS Principles and Strategies:
  • Understanding the structure and organization of the NHS dental services
  • Knowledge of current NHS dental contracts and payment systems
  • Awareness of initiatives to improve oral health in the community

• Epidemiology:
  • Basic understanding of epidemiological concepts (e.g., incidence, prevalence, risk factors)
  • Knowledge of oral health epidemiology in the UK

Exam Tips:

• Be prepared for scenario-based questions that test your ability to apply ethical and legal principles in real-life situations.
• Review common ethical dilemmas faced by dentists and consider how you would approach them.
• Stay updated on current GDC guidelines and relevant legislation.
• Practice answering mock test questions to get familiar with the exam format and identify areas where you need further study.

Topics to read:- 1, 1A, 2, 3, 5, 10 – If you have read all these, solved mock MCQS and have time, read others.  Read it from Pink book too, it is a small topic.