Ask us how you and your class can customize this offering to be done in person in one of our program countries.
This program is designed for dental students to expand their dental and oral health knowledge and skills based on experiences gained in dental clinics in Honduras.
Students shadow local dentists in Honduras to deliver care in resource-limited communities in both rural and urban settings. The program immerses students in international health interventions, including interviews with community healthcare workers and observing dental prevention and treatment procedures. In addition the program provides an opportunity to learn and practice basic dental vocabulary in Spanish and shares information on how to monitor and evaluate a medical and dental program. The experience culminates in three live clinic sessions in our urban clinic in Tegucigalpa, supported by advanced telemedical equipment, where diagnosis, treatment, and the use of appropriate infection control practices are highlighted.
In addition to our dental skills-based learning objectives, learning about the Honduran dental context is also emphasized.
Dental Program Learning Objectives
Students that successfully complete the DENTAL Program will be able to:
- Learn the concepts, the components, and the social determinants of health that impact the oral health of urban and rural clinic patients.
- Discuss the role and practice of Community Healthcare Workers and Entrepreneurs in the prevention of oral diseases.
- Recognize common dental diseases and treatments encountered in Honduran dental clinics.
- Gain exposure to telemedical equipment used in an urban clinic.
- Educate patients and families on the prevention of dental disease.
Resources provided in support of the virtual sessions and Modules
- A bilingual, on-the-ground session facilitator will coordinate each virtual session with students.
- A translator is provided in each virtual session in which students engage with patients and community healthcare workers. Dental and medical staff are also bilingual.
- Program materials are provided to all students.
- Session scheduling that coordinates your course and medical clinics.
PROGRAM OVERVIEW
There are 10 Modules in the Dental Program. Each Module is scheduled for two hours. The Modules can be variously assembled to build programs of the appropriate length and focus. Additional Modules can be developed to address specific campus needs.
Module 1 – Pre-session activities:
Watch the “Global Brigades Foundation” video, the “Honduras Overview” video, and the “The Healthcare Situation in Honduras” video before the first class meeting (Module 1).
Module 1: Global Brigades Overview and the Healthcare Situation in Honduras and its Medical and Dental care Systems (Contact time: 2 hour est.)
Facilitator and student introductions. A discussion follows on Global Brigades (GB) and its NGO non-profit development programs and the community selection process. An exploration of key approaches to working with international communities are also discussed, including reflection, action, and issues on intercultural competencies.
Discuss in detail the Honduran medical and dental healthcare systems and compare with students’ own healthcare systems.
Module 1 – Self-paced follow-up activities:
Intention setting: What is one question you do not want to leave without getting the answer to? What does it mean to be a global citizen? How can you continue to be one?
Watch the “The Social Determinants of Health” video, and then complete the Social Determinants of Health in Your Life worksheet.
Watch the “Community Health Entrepreneurs” video.
Module 2: Community Healthcare Workers and Entrepreneurs and the Community Selection Process (Contact time: 2 hour est.)
Discussion of the Healthcare Workers and Entrepreneurs (CHWs/CHEs) Programs in Honduras and in other countries.
Discuss the social determinants of health as they impact the students’ communities.
Break into Groups and prepare questions for the Community Healthcare Workers/Entrepreneurs meeting (Module 3).
Facilitator explains how the class will develop and create an educational video for clinic patients or CHWs/CHEs to be presented in Module 10.
Module 2 – Self-paced follow-up activities:
Continue to develop questions for the Community Healthcare Worker/Entrepreneur meeting in Module 3.
Each student prepares a brief introduction in Spanish for the Module 3 meeting.
Students start working in their educational video for clinic patients or CHWs/CHEs .
Module 3: Meeting Community Healthcare Workers/Entrepreneurs in Honduras (Contact time: 2 hour est.)
Live meeting with Community Healthcare Workers/Entrepreneurs (CHWs/CHEs) to discuss specific dental community needs and the role of the CHWs/CHEs to support the continuity of dental care within the community.
Module 3 – Self-paced follow-up activities:
Research most common dental diseases and treatments encountered in the assigned developing countries.
Complete the diseases and treatments Spanish vocabulary assignment.
Module 4: Clinic Preparation 1 – Dental Anatomy & Procedures in Spanish, Common Dental Diseases & Medications Used in Dentistry, and Dental Patient Data Analysis (Contact time: 2 hour est.)
Discuss, and practice in Spanish, dental anatomy and procedures. Compare and contrast common dental diseases encountered and medications used in dentistry in both Honduras and the students’ home country. Students will also analyze patient data from a community in Honduras.
Module 4 – Self-paced follow-up activities:
Watch the “Rural Dental Clinic” video.
Complete the Rural Dental Clinic assignment that focuses on dental practices applied and infection control procedures.
Students continue to work on their educational video for clinic patients or CHWs/CHEs.
Module 5: Clinic Preparation 2 – Cross Infection Control in Dentistry and its Practices (Contact time: 2 hour est.)
Students will learn how a Global Brigades rural clinic is organized and functions in Honduras.
Discuss best practices and procedures for controlling infection control, including:
- Handwashing
- Protective barriers, i.e., the use of personal protective clothing, e.g. gloves, surgical masks, eye protection
- Management of healthcare waste, such as the segregation of used materials (the correct handling and disposal of needles and sharp objects), and packaging and storage
- Effective cleaning, decontamination and sterilization of equipment, instruments and the working environment (including blood spills)
- Use of appropriate disinfectants on clinical contact surfaces and non-sterilisable instruments and equipment.
Break into Groups to discuss the type of treatments observed and the infection control procedures used at the “Rural Dental Clinic” video.
Module 5 – Self-paced follow-up activities:
Watch the “Urban Clinic Overview” video.
Students continue to work on their educational video for clinic patients or CHWs/CHEs.
Module 6: Clinic Preparation 3 – TeleMedicine Equipment, Mock Dental Patient Consultations in Spanish, and Overview of Case Studies (Contact time: 2 hour est.)
Students learn about the types of telemedicine equipment used in the urban clinic. A Dentist conducts mock patient consultations with students in Spanish, based on local symptom-disease practice, and discusses at least three case studies in preparation for the Urban Clinic (Module 7).
Module 6 – Self-paced follow-up activities:
Students review the Spanish Dental Terminology worksheet.
Students continue to develop an educational video for clinic patients or CHWs/CHEs.
Module 7: Live Virtual Urban Dental Clinic Day 1 (Contact time: 2 hours est.)
Students work with a Honduran MD at the triage station to evaluate patients prior to being sent to the dental station at the clinic. Students then work with a Honduran Dentist, who uses telemedical devices to share diagnostic and clinical imagery of the patient, to then diagnose and to provide dental treatment.
Module 7 – Self-paced follow-up activities:
Students review the Spanish Dental Terminology worksheet.
Students continue to develop an educational video for clinic patients or CHWs/CHEs.
Module 8: Live Virtual Urban Dental Clinic Day 2 (Contact time: 2 hours est.)
Students work with a Honduran MD at the triage station to evaluate patients prior to being sent to the dental station at the clinic. Students then work with a Honduran Dentist, who uses telemedical devices to share diagnostic and clinical imagery of the patient, to then diagnose and to provide dental treatment.
Module 8 – Self-paced follow-up activities:
Students review the Spanish Dental Terminology worksheet.
Students continue to develop an educational video for clinic patients.
Module 9: Live Virtual Urban Dental Clinic Day 3 (Contact time: 2 hours est.)
Students work with a Honduran MD at the triage station to evaluate patients prior to being sent to the dental station at the clinic. Students then work with a Honduran Dentist, who uses telemedical devices to share diagnostic and clinical imagery of the patient, to then diagnose and to provide dental treatment.
Module 9 – Self-paced follow-up activities:
Students prepare an Impact Report, based on their experience in the program.
Module 10: Monitoring and Evaluation and Final Presentations (Contact time: 2 hour est.)
Students learn how a large NGO monitors and evaluates its medical and dental projects in a developing country. Students present a summary of the group’s Impact Reports, and the educational video prepared for clinic patients or CHWs/CHEs.
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