Exhibit: Exposure Control Plan        

Benchmark: Teamwork/Communication

Skills: TC110- Make and or/ follow a set of rules and procedures

 

            In a healthcare setting whether you work in a hospital or if you work in a dental office there are occupational hazards that you have to be aware of. There a rules and laws in place to protect healthcare workers. Some of these rules are universal; some of them are specialized for your very own practice. OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Association) created universal rules that were put in place. These rules are valued and taken very seriously. If you own your own practice and you do not follow OSHA’s regulations you lose not only your practice but also your license. OSHA can come into your practice at any time for an inspection to make sure you are properly following the rules in place. Under the Bloodborne Pathogen Standard, employees at risk are put into categories based on their exposure determination. For example, dentist, dental assistant, and hygienist fall into category one because they are exposed to blood and other possibly infectious body fluids. If OSHA were to come into your office one of the first things they review is your offices very own Exposure Control Plan which must be specially written for your specific office, even though certain universal rules must be established in the plan, the plan must be written to fit your practice.

            In a dental office it is the dental assistant’s job to write the Exposure Control Plan. This is why it is important to know what types of subjects that must be covered in the plan. In my class, I was required to create my own exposure plan. An exposure control plan includes exposure determination, methods of compliance, communication of hazards to employees and training, Hepatitis B vaccination, post-evaluation and follow-up, and procedures for evaluating circumstances surrounding an exposure incident and also MSDS (Material Data Safety Sheets.)

            Exposure control plans are important because it is an employer’s job to help protect their employees from dangerous pathogens, but sometimes incidents do occur and if a plan is not developed the employee will not know the proper way to deal with an exposure incident. Exposure Plans must be revised and edited annually and new employees must receive training.

            Following these rules is a very important factor in my career choice because one slip up could cause me not only my career but my health. As a young adult in dental school this will be important to follow these rules and know them well so once I get into my career I will have proper training and knowledge on these procedures.