ACS Archives - Prep Doctors Education

Long-Awaited NDECC® Lab is Finally Open in Vancouver

Passing your NDECC® exams just got a whole lot easier with our highly requested clinical competence lab now officially open in Vancouver, Canada. 

Over the years, we’ve heard calls from dentists to bring a clinical skills and clinical competency lab to the west coast. And with the introduction of the NDEB’s NDECC® Test Centre in Ottawa, our trainees would have to travel to Mississauga or Richmond Hill for training and mock exams. Who has the longest trip in our vast country? That would be you, BC dentists. 

So today, we are pleased to announce the official opening of our clinical competency lab at our Vancouver campus. The Vancouver lab now offers our trainees the opportunity to train in a similar environment to the real exam with our detailed exercise booklet and procedural manual, expert instructors, live demos and our new mock exam packages (the only true NDECC simulation exam in British Columbia). 

Trainees can book full Clinical Skills or Situational Judgement courses, the NDECC Simulation Exam Pack, the NDECC Simulation Exam, the Single Clinical Simulation Exam, or the Single Situational Simulation Exam close to their exam day.

 

 

What does each NDECC Mock Package contain?

 

With the NDECC Simulation Exam Pack, each trainee will undergo two full mock exams, with Day 1 covering the Clinical Skills component that includes: 

– An 8-hour clinical exam on A-dec units
– Infection control marking
– Anonymous marking by highly qualified instructors
– Detailed reports provided for students
– One-on-one mock discussion session

 

While Day 2 will assess the Situational Judgement component with the following:

– A 3-hour simulated NDEB situational exam
– 10 stations (5 role-play stations + 5 written stations)
– One-on-one discussions for role-play stations
– 3+ hour lecture dedicated to written stations discussion and Q&A

 

When purchasing the NDECC Simulation Exam, trainees receive the same features and two-day experience with Clinical Skills and Situational Judgement components with a single full mock exam.  

Finally, suppose you have already cleared one of your NDECC® exams and need more practice with just one exam portion. In that case, trainees can book a single mock for either Clinical Skills OR Situational Judgement.

Each package will begin on April 2 and 3 and have flexible start dates to fit your exam schedule best. The Vancouver lab is already operating, so beat the waiting list and secure your spot in the Vancouver lab in our Clinical Skills and Situational Judgement courses.

Meet the Replacement for ACS: The NDECC™


Nearly eight months ago,
the NDEB released considerable changes to the Canadian equivalency process for international dentists. Most notably, the ACS examination received the most significant modifications to its existing structure, content, and overall format. 

Under the “Develop” component of their multiple-step strategy called Vision 2022: The Future of the Equivalency Process, the ACS examination was set to receive a new blueprint, skills requirements, and a facility to be constructed and opened for operation in 2022. However, on October 29, the NDEB announced that the current format of the ACS examination would be replaced by a modified skills examination known as the National Dental Examination of Clinical Competence™ or NDECC™, for short. 

In their official release, the NDEB stated the ACS exam in its current format will be administered for the final time in December 2021, while the NDECC will become the third examination of the equivalency process in 2022 following the AFK and ACJ.

 

So, what is the purpose of the NDECC?

The NDECC will continue to evaluate an examinee’s clinical abilities much as the ACS did. This exam will consist of two components requiring dentists to perform seven clinical requirements on simulated manikin-patients in a clinical setting in the first component and ten situational judgment requirements in the second. A basic outline for the NDECC is now available on the NDEB website. 

Based on the announcements so far, here is our breakdown of the two components:

When will the NDECC take effect?

The first NDECC exam will be held in June 2022 at the NDEB’s new testing facility in Ottawa, Ontario, and will be given multiple times a week throughout the year.

Where is the facility located?

The NDECC Test Centre is located at 340 Albert St. 12th Floor Ottawa, ON. The facility includes many other operational rooms, including separate situational judgement rooms and the simulation clinic.

How long does it take to write each component?

The NDECC exam will take place over two days, with clinical skills on the first day and situational judgment on the second day. 

What materials are needed to take the NDECC?

A complete list of equipment, materials, and supplies provided by the NDEB will be released in a practical guide soon. You can bring your own protective eyewear and dental loupes. A disposable gown will also be provided. 

There have been notable changes to the typodonts, teeth, and handpieces (Kavo) used during this exam. Therefore, pay close attention to the lists provided by the NDEB. 

Please note, the preliminary lists do not include equipment and dental supplies needed during training. 

How many attempts will the NDECC allow?

The NDECC can be taken an unlimited amount of times in a five-year period (60 months). 

What does this new exam mean for the future of equivalency in Canada?

While it may seem like the equivalency process is unpredictable at times, the NDECC is a positive change towards the future of equivalency in Canada. In fact, the pandemic has shone a light on the significant hurdles the ACS faced and needed to be addressed. 

“The main positive point I see from this announcement is the unlimited attempts. Back in the older system, it used to be three attempts for clinical skills,” said Prep Doctors co-founder Dr, Marwan Al Rayes during our live webinar. “The environment is also going to be standardized, and now it is going to be the same environment in which the exam is going to be conducted; the flexibility of time [too] are the main advantages.” 

Dr. Al Rayes also spoke to the necessity of dentists enhancing their time management and organization skills in preparing for the two exam components. Listen below to hear more of his thoughts: 

 

 

For more information and to read the NDECC outline, click here. To learn more about the NDECC materials list, click here. To purchase dental materials, please visit Knurling Dental here.

For more details, please direct specific questions about Vision 2022 directly to the NDEB. Also, don’t forget to sign up for our dental equivalency newsletter for our future breakdowns of equivalency-related announcements and Prep Doctors’ course updates.

If you have any questions about our upcoming courses, send us a message on Facebook here

Prep Doctors’ New Look for ACS

What do you do when you train hundreds of dentists, and a global air-borne novel coronavirus starts spreading in your country? At Prep Doctors, our answer was simple — close everything down and innovate. On March 15th, we closed all three of our labs and began planning and testing new ways of delivering the course for trainees while they were off-site. Our senior clinical skills instructors, Dr. Fersan Marei, Dr. Ban Alani, and Dr. Ibrahim Saadeldin, break down how we created new systems for our work checks and live demos and what our trainees are experiencing now that most of them have returned to practice on campus in our new look for ACS.

For more information on Prep Doctors’ ACS course, such as fees and registration, click here. If you have any questions about any of our other courses, reach out to us at any time on our Facebook page.

Q&A with Dr. Marwan Recap

Missed the Q&A? Don’t sweat it. Watch the full recording of our presentation down below:

 

 

The occurrence of COVID-19 has undoubtedly caused shake-ups within the Canadian dental landscape. From the upcoming NDEB schedule to how trainees have adapted to online methods of teaching, we wanted to equip internationally-trained dentists with the knowledge to help navigate through these changes.

So, what are the key things to understand about all of these new changes? That was the subject of our recent live Q&A with our Chief Learning Officer and lead instructor, Dr. Marwan Al Rayes. 

Here are some of the key takeaways from our live Q&A: 

 

NDEB Exams: 

The NDEB has been very impressive in how they have handled a lot of concerns and rumours in regards to future exam dates. Here is what we learned about what is in store for our courses:

Assessment of Fundamental Knowledge (AFK): The NDEB has cancelled their August exam and has postponed it to December 16, 2020. The February 2021 exam will continue on as planned. For the December exam, we will have a unique comprehensive review course that is structured specifically for the postponed exam. The course will include access to all the main features of the regular course such as live lectures, review lectures on and mock exams.

Assessment of Clinical Judgement (ACJ): The ACJ exams will take place in September and November of 2020. We will also have a condensed course to accommodate those that will be taking the rescheduled ACJ exam in September. This course is designed to deliver complete ACJ content for new students or returning students who need a refresher close to the exam date. The course will consist of 4 mock exams and 4 mock discussions. Lectures will be held online but the mock exams will take place on campus. 

The ACJ Condensed course will also consist of ACS components which will be delivered in a form of 4 weekly webinars that are scheduled post-exam. Including the ACS module, the course is 13 weeks in duration which will also make you eligible for CESB, if needed. 

 

Assessment of Clinical Skills (ACS) : The scheduled ACS exam will take place December 2020 and   our course will begin on July 13th.

The NDEB released a schedule of all dates for the exams that will take place for the remainder of 2020 into 2021 that can be found here.

 

ACS in the lab:

The COVID-19 pandemic created a situation that was difficult for most industries to operate in. For us the clinical skills lab posed a particular challenge as our trainees spend a lot of time in our labs and traditionally worked in close quarters with instructors and fellow trainees.

During the lockdown, we implemented new ways to check students’ work that we found worked so well, we will be adapting our ACS course in order to keep those changes. Those changes include, using HD cameras to do work-check and live online demos, and online one-on-one sessions between trainees and instructors. 

With ACS being one of the more hands-on courses, there will be some new changes and techniques put into place. We went back and looked at the regulations of the Royal College of Dental Surgeons of Ontario and had in-depth conversations with officials who are in agreement with the changes to our facilities. We have installed air purifiers and acrylic barriers in the labs to allow for more isolation, trainees will have their temperature taken upon arrival, masks and gloves will be required at all times for both trainees and staff when in the labs and around the office, sanitization stations will be available.

Online options will still be available for ACS courses. 

 

OSCE and Written Exam: The OSCE and Written exams will take place in September 2021. You can find more information about our upcoming OSCE and Written courses here

 

CESB:

With Prep Doctors now being a certified educational institute, some of our trainees may qualify for the Canada Student Emergency Benefit (CESB). We have received many questions about qualifications and we strongly urge those interested to view our handy CESB guide that can be found on our blog. Use the link below to check it out:

https://prepdoctors.ca/qualify-for-cesb/ 

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