Elements and Performance Criteria

The range statement relates to the Unit of Competency as a whole. It allows for different work environments and situations that may affect performance. Bold italicised wording, if used in the performance criteria, is detailed below. Essential operating conditions that may be present with training and assessment (depending on the work situation, needs of the candidate, accessibility of the item, and local industry and regional contexts) may also be included.
Workplace health and safety risks associated with veterinary nursing practice include:
animal bites, kicks or scratches
biological hazardous waste and sharps disposal
handling of chemicals and medicines
gas leakage
inhalation of aerosol particles
intraocular contamination
manual handling and shift loading
needle pricks and cuts from other sharps
release of infective agents (animal and human)
zoonoses.
Findings that may be observed during examinations may include:
acquired
developmental
inflammatory
metabolic
nutritional
tumours.
Encoded system is used to:
record the presence and condition of individual teeth and the condition of the gums and oral cavity (e.g. modified triadan number system and symbols).
Dental prophylaxis involves:
the oral examination in the conscious and anaesthetised patient
sub- and supra-gingival tooth scaling and polishing
development of a home care plan.
Personal protective equipment may include:
eyewear
gloves
gowns
masks.
Cleaning and polishing involves:
removing calculus
supra-gingival and sub-gingival scaling
teeth polishing.
Equipment used for cleaning and polishing may include:
dental machine (veterinary nurse may or may not use all components, but must be able to set up for veterinary use) which usually includes:
air compressor
air flush
ultrasonic scaler
water flush
hand-held instruments:
scalers, curettes and dental forceps
ultrasonic scaler
rubber polishing cups and polish
paste and toothbrush.
Simple extraction refers to:
non-surgical removal of broken or diseased single rooted teeth.
Techniques and equipment used for simple extractions include:
manual extraction using dental elevator and dental extraction forceps.
Post-operative patient management programs may include:
discharge instructions
oral hygiene advice
short and long-term home care programs for preventative dental health and medications.

The Evidence Guide provides advice on assessment and must be read in conjunction with the performance criteria, required skills and knowledge, range statement and the Assessment Guidelines for the Training Package.
Overview of assessment

Critical aspects for assessment and evidence required to demonstrate competency in this Unit
The evidence required to demonstrate competency in this Unit must be relevant to workplace operations and satisfy all of the requirements of the performance criteria, required skills and knowledge and the range statement of this Unit. Assessors should ensure that candidates can:
implement clinic policies and procedures, including workplace health and safety
handle and restrain a range of patients (animals)
communicate effectively with the veterinarian and clients
observe, record and report on animals' condition and health
perform extra and intraoral examinations on conscious and anaesthetised patients
carry out techniques for dental prophylaxis, i.e. examining, charting, scaling (cleaning and polishing) and assisting with simple extractions
complete post-operative patient management programs in accordance with veterinarian's instructions.
The skills and knowledge required to carry out veterinary dental nursing procedures must be transferable to a range of work environments and contexts and include the ability to deal with unplanned events.
Context of and specific resources for assessment
Assessment for this Unit is to be practical in nature and will be most appropriately assessed in a veterinary practice with access to the appropriate equipment and/or resources to enable one to demonstrate competence.
Method of assessment
To ensure consistency of performance, competency should be demonstrated, to industry defined standards, on more than two occasions over a period of time in order to cover a variety of circumstances, patients, cases and responsibilities and over a number of assessment activities.
The assessment strategy must include practical skills assessment. Suggested strategies for this Unit are:
written and/or oral assessment of candidate's required knowledge
observed, documented and first-hand testimonial evidence of candidate's application of practical tasks
simulation exercises that reproduce normal work conditions
third-party evidence
workplace documentation
portfolio.
This Unit may be assessed in a holistic way with other Units of Competency relevant to the industry sector, workplace and job role.
Guidance information for assessment
Assessment methods should reflect workplace demands (e.g. literacy and numeracy demands) and the needs of particular target groups (e.g. people with disabilities, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, women, people with a language background other than English, youth and people from low socioeconomic backgrounds).