Knowledge Application
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Using multiple sources in an investigation to produce a well-developed understanding of new knowledge
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Applying evidence-based decision-making approaches to the analysis of information and current practice
As I have progressed through my dental hygiene education, I have and continue to build my foundational knowledge and seek to continuously improve my application of this knowledge whether through practice, research, or problem solving. This aspect of the standards of practice is one that I expect will grow alongside my educational and career development, with more practice and experience leading to better application of knowledge. One thing I know that I will constantly have to remind myself of is to be open-minded of new information as what we have learned in our program may not necessarily be best practice 20 years from now. It is also important to be able to properly analyze information for accuracy and any conflict of interest or biases, and I feel that through our multiple research courses that I have a good understanding of how to do this effectively. I also know that I must be prepared to do additional research outside of seeing clients in the event they inquire about new products and treatment options and as means to deliver the best possible care. As technology continues to develop and new information presents itself about current forms of treatment, we as dental hygienists are required to stay current to effectively serve our clients.
"Researcher" by Wix​
In this collaborative group presentation assignment for our Periodontics for DH 2 class, we were instructed to research recent social media trends for alternative oral healthcare, with our assignment focusing specifically on lemongrass.
This assignment represents the standard of practice of knowledge application by questioning our existing knowledge on recommended oral health treatment options in the face of potentially new findings. Through research on both social media and scholarly journals, we were able to provide our recommendation to the hypothetical client. The experience of this assignment was invaluable as similar situations will almost certainly present themselves in practice. Even as the scholarly information was analyzed, we made sure to critique the existing studies and found that while some results were shown, limited sample sizes meant that more research on the use of this alternative was required.
This research assignment for our Evidenced-Based DH Practice course had us answering a PICO question and analyzing the available evidence to be able to make an evidence-based decision.
As evidenced-based decision making is a foundation of the standard of knowledge application, this example helps show my experience in using the best available evidence to be able to provide treatment to clients. In this case, I looked at the success of water flossers in comparison to string floss in the removal of biofilm for patients diagnosed with periodontitis. I recognize I made some errors in the initial part of the assignment in my background questions and will ensure going forward to ask more appropriate questions. Despite this, my evaluation of the evidence led me to assessing sources for bias and determining that there is additional research required but results of water flossers for periodontal patients seems promising.
"Alternative Medicine" by Wix​
"Male Scientist" by Wix​