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The NZDREX Clinical Examination
The application enrolment form for the NZDREX Clinical Examination is normally sent to candidates after completion
of all prerequisites for the examination have been met, including sitting and passing the OTDP
Examination.
The form (DE003) is included here for
those candidates who may have mislaid their copy.
Refer to the NZDREX Examinations Timetable for the scheduled dates for this
examination.
The Candidate Handbook for the Clinical Examination can be read here.
The objective of the Clinical Examination is to determine whether you can plan, manage, deliver and evaluate oral
healthcare for individuals and communities. This includes determining whether you:
- can obtain and utilise patient information
- demonstrate competence in New Zealand's preventive approach to oral health care for individuals and the
community
- are competent in a wide range of interventive strategies to manage oral disease and disability
- can assess the effectiveness of intervention.
A pass in the OTDP Examination is a prerequisite for entry into the
Clinical Examination. The NZDREX Clinical Examination is exam held over five days. You must perform
satisfactorily in the first four components of the examination before proceeding to see patients.
The Clinical Examination comprises two sections. The first section comprises theory and simulated practical
sessions. The components of this section of the examination are:
- OSCE
This is an objective, structured, clinical examination that tests theoretical and practical knowledge.
You will be asked to write brief answers to questions or perform tasks relating to clinical care. You must
be prepared to explain the scientific basis of clinical decisions. Typical tasks take 10 minutes and may
include cardiopulmonary resuscitation, prescription writing, and problems of diagnosis and treatments,
based on radiographs, photographs and study models. The total examination time is approximately two
hours.
- Simulation 1 and 2
You simulate a wide range of tasks and procedures using manikins in a clinic. There are six hours of
operating over two half-days. A dental assistant works with you. Procedures may include operative,
periodontal, paediatric, prosthodontic, endodontic or orthodontic tasks.
Examiners evaluate the way you perform the tasks and the final results.
- Visual Interpretation
You view images in a lecture room setting and write short notes in answer to written questions. The images may
be photographs, drawings or radiographs. The questions may cover the aetiology, diagnosis and clinical
management of oro-facial disorders, treatment options, the uses of materials or equipment, or any other topic
relevant to general dental practice.
On successfully passing this section of the Clinical Examination, you will be permitted to attend the second,
practical section.
You will perform various clinical procedures for patients. Some procedures are irreversible. The procedures will
normally be completed in less than one hour.
The components are:
- Restorative dentistry and periodontology
- Exodontia and local analgesia
- Paediatric dentistry and orthodontics
- Oral medicine and diagnosis
- Communication skills
Procedures tested may vary. However, they will normally include all of the following:
- administration of analgesia
- exodontia or minor oral surgery
- history, examination, problem solving and treatment planning for patients of different ages and states of
health
- specific clinical procedures from the range expected of a general dental practitioner in New Zealand
During the time you are interviewing and examining the patient in the Oral Medicine and Diagnosis component, your
communication skills are evaluated by two examiners. You are expected to have mastered the current BDS
(Otago) communication competencies that are basic to the establishment of rapport with patients.
Two examiners assess each component of the examination. A letter grade (A to E) marking scale is used. A, B and C
are passes, while D and E denote a lack of clinical competence or a lack of professional skills considered
potentially dangerous and /or unacceptable.
Compensation may be allowed for marginal failures between sections of the examination.
Candidates who display high levels of competence in some areas of the Clinical Examination may be recommended to
re-sit only those parts that they have failed. However as the Clinical Examination is a test of overall clinical
competence, this is the exception rather than the rule. The components to be repeated will be determined by the
examiners.
Final results are awarded at an examiners' meeting at the completion of the examination. Results are usually sent
to candidates after about one week.
Candidates who have sat and passed the OTDP Exam through the Australian Dental Council (ADC) may apply to sit the NZDREX Clinical
Exam in New Zealand.
Priority of transferring candidates
The council has a priority entry criteria for applications wishing to progress to the clinical examination. This
is necessary as there are limited exam resources and there are often more applicants than places
available. Candidates who are transferring from the ADC have a priority of 7th out of 8. This priority does not
change after you have been declined a place once as it does with New Zealand candidates. This means that unless an
exam is under-subscribed there will be no places available to offer to transferring candidates.
Priority Criteria
- are new and have been declined a place once, or have failed and subsequently been declined a place twice
(other than priority 7).
- have passed the Written Examination, in the first attempt, ranked on the basis of their marks
- have been exempted from the Written Examination
- have passed the Written Examination, but required more than one attempt, ranked on the basis of their
marks
- have failed the Clinical Examination and subsequently been declined a place once
- have failed the Clinical Examination and are making their first application to resit
- have transferred from the ADC preliminary examination process
- have failed and been advised of the desirability of retraining before resitting
Registration in New Zealand
In order to gain registration as a dentist in New Zealand a candidate must:
- successfully pass both the written and clinical examination
- apply for registration
- successfully pass the New Zealand Conditions of Practice exam (a two hour open book exam)
- attend a registration interview in New Zealand to verify identity and authenticity of supporting
documentation
Once registration is granted the practitioner needs to apply for an Annual Practising Certificate. Candidates are
advised that until all the above are satisfactorily completed the TTMR provisions can not be utilised.
Assessment of Eligibility
If you would like to proceed as a transferring candidate you need to download and complete form DE001 and send this to us together with all
the supporting documentation and payment of the necessary fee. Once your
eligibility to sit the exam is approved you may apply for a place in a clinical exam. Following the closing date
for the exam and a review of all applications received you will be advised whether or not there is a place
available. If there are no places available your exam fee will be returned and you will be advised to re-submit
an application for the next exam and so on. Council does not 'hold' payments or applications.
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