Professionalism, Ethics, and Infection Control
Professionalism, Ethics and Infection Control tests whether you can practise lawfully and safely in New Zealand. It combines the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act 2003, the Dental Council's standards, the Code of Health and Disability Services Consumers' Rights, privacy law, cultural safety and infection prevention.
Core rules
- Informed consent requires capacity, adequate information about options, risks and costs, and freedom from coercion. A signed form is evidence, not the consent itself.
- Work within your scope and refer when a case exceeds your competence or facilities.
- Keep contemporaneous records: history, examination, diagnosis, options discussed, consent, treatment and advice.
- Cultural safety is a professional obligation, grounded in Te Tiriti o Waitangi and the Dental Council's standards; consider the patient's whanau, language and beliefs.
- Infection control follows standard precautions and NZS 8134.3: hand hygiene, PPE, safe sharps handling, reprocessing according to manufacturer instructions, and validated sterilisation with physical, chemical and biological monitoring plus traceability.
- Manage blood or body fluid exposure immediately: wash, report, and assess for HIV and hepatitis B and C prophylaxis.
Worked example
A patient asks you to post a before-and-after photograph on social media. Consent for treatment is not consent for publication. You need specific, written consent for the image, explaining where it will appear and that it may be shared. If the patient declines, the images stay in the clinical record and are not used.
Traps
- Assuming a signed consent form covers a procedure that changed during treatment.
- Reusing single-use items such as irrigation tips or burs to save cost.
- Discussing a patient's care in a public area or on an open computer screen.