Most dental students eventually learn of the foundation training process after graduating, but may not be aware of the options available to them - I certainly wasn't!
The Northwest 2-year DFT/DCT scheme comes in various forms, mixing practice with either community or oral surgery, located throughout the northwest over two years. My experience has consisted of one half of the week in a central Manchester practice, with the other half of the week in a community-based setting in Salford CDS. This split has been consistent throughout the two years, with one study day most weeks in the first year, like that of the one-year foundation year. However, in the second year, the study days are a lot less consistent, which has enabled flexibility to gain extra oral surgery experience one day per week. The aim of the scheme is to give trainees exposure to specialised areas during their FD year whilst also having a more hands on experience than the traditional Maxfax posts but ultimately still finishing with a DCT qualification. The combined practice/oral surgery posts are located in tier 2 practices with an oral surgery contract, so trainees on these posts tend to complete many more extractions than a standard DCT post, and community posts provide the opportunity to train in various forms of conscious sedation, such as inhalation or intravenous, as well as access to GA sessions at the hospital.
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