NUS: Handling Children In A Healthcare Setting

At the end of the course, students will be able to:

• Recall the different stages of child development and recognise the challenges of communicating with a child patient;
• Execute basic behavioural management techniques to achieve a successful and pleasant appointment for a child-patient in a dental setting;
• Demonstrate confidence in managing the child patient in the dental setting and deliver appropriate care to the child;
• Empathise to the difficulties a child may face during a dental visit and appreciate measures to help the child overcome these difficulties.

Week 1

Section 1: Importance of behaviour management
We will be looking at examples of situations in healthcare where behaviour management is important.

Section 2: Normal child development
We will learn the emotional, cognitive, social and physical development of a normal child from infancy to adolescence. This will give you an overall idea on how a normal paediatric patient is expected to react in a healthcare setting. The recognition of age-inappropriate behaviours can also improve diagnosis and possible early intervention.

Week 2

Section 3: Concepts of behaviour management
We will look at the use of non-pharmacological domains to manage a child patient in a healthcare setting. Additionally, we will look at the common routes of drug administration and types of drugs used in sedation. Sedation monitoring requirements and common adverse events will also be discussed.

Week 3

Section 4: Interactions with a normal child in a healthcare setting
We present an interaction with a child in a Teddy bear hospital (TBH) setting. The TBH simulates on a small scale medical environments and clinical situations children may encounter in a friendly manner (using teddy bears as patients), and it aims to reduce childhood anxiety around medical environments, procedures and professionals. One effective way to learn behaviour management is through the observation of experienced clinicians at work. In this positive scenario, a trained behaviour therapist engages a child in the explanation of several medical scenarios using the TBH concept.

Section 5: Understanding the point of view of a child in a healthcare setting
We will look at examples of positive and negative interactions and provide tips on how to manage child patients undergoing various clinical procedures. You will also be exposed to the perspective of a young child at a healthcare setting using virtual reality technology. This will encourage empathy from you by understanding the situation and fear that can stem from an unfamiliar and distressing situation for a young patient.

Week 4

Section 6: Managing special situations in a healthcare setting
We will look at specific clinical scenarios that you may encounter and tips on how to manage them. You will also be exposed to various special needs patient so that you can recognize and manage them appropriately.