1. Course overview, aims and GDC context

Course overview

Medical emergencies can occur in any dental setting, at any time, and every member of the dental team has a role to play in recognising and responding to them. This course is designed as 2 hours of verifiable CPD and maps to GDC Development Outcomes A, C and D.

Suggested study time

  • Introduction, scope and legal/GDC context — 10 min
  • Prevention: risk assessment, medical history and practice preparedness — 10 min
  • The emergency drug kit and equipment — 15 min
  • Recognising and managing specific medical emergencies — 40 min
  • Basic Life Support (adult & child) and safe AED use — 20 min
  • Team roles, communication and human factors — 10 min
  • Documentation, incident reporting and post-event care — 10 min
  • Knowledge check (MCQ assessment) and course summary — 5 min

GDC Development Outcomes

  • Outcome A: Effective communication with patients, the dental team and others — clear instruction-giving and reassurance during a medical emergency.
  • Outcome C (primary): Maintenance and development of knowledge and skill within one’s own field of practice — recognising, managing and preventing medical emergencies is a highly recommended CPD topic.
  • Outcome D: Skills, behaviours and attitudes that maintain patient confidence and public trust — competent emergency management underpins patient safety and professionalism.

Verifiable CPD requirements

This course includes clearly stated aims and learning objectives, clinically relevant content, an MCQ knowledge check to assess whether objectives have been met, and a certificate of completion recording date, subject, hours and GDC Development Outcome(s).

Legal, regulatory and GDC context

The GDC’s Standards for the Dental Team (Standard 6.1) requires registrants to have up-to-date knowledge of how to deal with medical emergencies that may arise during dental treatment. The GDC also expects every practice to:

  • Hold, in every clinical area, a set of emergency drugs and equipment appropriate to the procedures undertaken.
  • Ensure all team members know the location of emergency equipment and their individual role in an emergency.
  • Provide opportunities for the whole team to take part in periodic, practical, simulated medical emergency and basic life support training — updated at least annually.
  • Ensure equipment is checked regularly (documented schedule) and that drugs are within expiry and replaced promptly when used or expired.

Important: this e-learning should be used alongside, not as a replacement for, hands-on practical BLS and emergency drill training.

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