Elevating IPAC: Compliance and Support for the Dental Hygiene Profession
TIME:
9:15-10:15am
Course Outline & Learning Objectives:
This course provides dental hygienists with a comprehensive and practical review of IPAC protocols, focusing on regulatory compliance, professional accountability, and real-world clinical dynamics. Participants will examine the differences between guidelines, standards, and best practices and where each fit into the compliance equation. Core topics will be addressed to resolve long-standing confusion and support the RDH in clinical settings, including: gowns, water testing, type V chemical indicators, package data, and more. The course also explores the RDH’s responsibilities across independent and employee-based roles, especially in the context of team-based care. Participants will examine critical questions such as: Is the RDH responsible for the person reprocessing their instruments? Does the RDH have a role in training co-workers on IPAC when staff turnover is high? How do labor relations and practice culture impact the sustainability of IPAC standards in daily care? What ethical dilemmas arise when temping or walking into a shift in an office that is not IPAC compliant, and how should RDHs navigate these situations? Does having advanced IPAC knowledge strengthen professional autonomy? Elevate the profession? To make learning engaging and interactive, the course incorporates a True or False game, challenging participants to test their knowledge through carefully crafted statements based on real-world IPAC scenarios and regulatory expectations. This dynamic approach promotes critical thinking and reinforces key concepts in an enjoyable and memorable way.
Learning Objectives:
By the end of this course, participants will be able to:
Differentiate guidelines, standards, and best practices and their impact on compliance.
Clarify the RDH’s responsibilities related to IPAC in various practice settings.
Analyze labor relations and staff turnover effects on IPAC training and RDH roles.
Apply knowledge to assess and resolve IPAC challenges using professional judgment.
Speaker
Michelle Aubé-Simmonds, RDH
Michelle is a Dental Hygiene Speaker, Consultant and Educator with over 30 years of experience as a RDH and 4 years as a CDA. She is a professor and curriculum writer at Fanshawe College in both the dental hygiene and continuing education program sharing her knowledge in IPAC, professional practice, periodontal classification, social justice, advocacy and clinical applications. She is maxill’s CE and IPAC Director and wears various IPAC hats including auditing federal correctional facilities dental clinics for IPAC standards. Michelle is ODHA’s Regional Board Director and authors articles for CDHA’s OH Canada professional publication and continues to practice clinically in London ON. She is a CDHO IPAC Remedial Facilitator and IPAC Expert Opinion. Her strong ethics has allowed her to serve on the Discipline Committee at Algonquin College and hold the position of a CDHO Quality Assurance Assessor for 7 years. As a lifelong learner she is completing a BA in Adult Education at Brock University. Her diverse dental background and current status as a practicing RDH offer a fulsome and realistic view of dental-related topics. As a passionate champion for the profession, she advocates for equity, professional autonomy, and systemic change, true grassroots leadership at its finest.
