Job Description
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. 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 , Judy can arrange for relevant queries on the technical aspects of the role to be addressed by the hiring manager.