Chairside Assistant Responsibilities/Accountabilities

 Arrive 15 minutes before first patient

Change into protective equipment appropriate for scheduled procedures. Wear uniform for any patient procedures in the treatment bay or imaging room. Safety glasses and face mask for any procedures involving suction, hand pieces, and model trimmers. Wear safety glasses for any procedure involving liquids such as darkroom chemicals, ultrasonic cleaners or cold disinfectants

Attend and participate in morning briefing. Assistants are expected to work harmoniously with all other employees.

Examine schedule for any today's appliances that need disinfecting

Disinfected appliance should not be returned to contaminated working model

Prepare treatment area for patient arrival using infection control procedures

 Pull a treatment chart out of patient folder, note today's procedure and place in a Plexiglas holder near a chair for viewing by other clinical staff. Never touch chart with contaminated glove because charts cannot be decontaminated

 Adjust water temperature for the days x-ray processing

 Make up 1:10 bleach: water solution for disinfecting impressions

Bring all necessary instruments to the patient chair for scheduled procedure and avoid reentering a drawer after beginning a procedure

 Refill mobile cart water bottle before turning on master switch

 If you must enter a drawer, call for assistance from a noncontaminated staff member or use pickups to pull the drawer open and to retrieve the instrument needed.

Escort the patient to the proper chair and treat every patient like they are an important guest

 Check for loose bands and inform rest of clinical staff if any problems are found

Ask the receptionist to update accompanying family if the change will prolong the patient's departure time

Examine patient oral hygiene, compliment patient on areas where they cleaned well, give tips on cleaning areas which need improvement

Make mental note to record patient hygiene on their chart and their progress report when you have degloved

When archwires scheduled for replacement, mark the midline with a marking pen before removal. If more than one archwire is removed, use a marking pen to label removed wires on the tray cover as upper and lower. Always save the old archwire wire

Notify the doctor that patient is ready for him and relate patient status to Doctor

Tell, show, and do when performing a new procedure on a patient

Place all contaminated metal instruments in the dry heat sterilizer after removing visible debris by ultrasonic cleaner immersion for 10 minutes

Place all plastic reusable items in the cold disinfecting solution and set timer for 26 minutes to insure proper disinfecting time

Place all sharps (wires, bracket, and bands) in the red sharps containers

Place contaminated disposables in trash cans marked with the biologic hazard label.

Spray-Wash-Spray all contaminated surfaces and fabrics while still wearing protective equipment. Unglove one hand to hold Lysol

Deglove and wash hands counting mentally from A to Z to insure proper wash time.

Fill out a treatment chart with today's procedures, findings, patient instructions, next visit procedure and timing in ink. Initial your entry

Record any patient personal happenings in pencil at the top of the chart as a conversation starting point at future visits.

Give parent a written or verbal progress report as patient is dismissed. Answer any questions that they may have in an unhurried manor.

Notify the receptionist if the patient incurred any charges during the appointment.

Change uniform if visibly soiled with blood.

Supply clean tray covers and headrest covers for each patient.

Help with clinical area housekeeping.

Lubricate handpiece in the second largest of the four holes after each use, and then attach to the compressor to blow out excess oil before Kavoklave sterilization

Sterilize the handpiece in the Kavoklave with distilled water up to the ring seen inside the Kavoklave

Empty water out of Kavoklave if the office will be closed for several days

Turn off mobile cart toggle switches when not in use

Fill water reservoir before pressurizing system with compressor.

Empty mobile cart waste container into toilet and spray inside of empty container with Lysol weekly

Check compressor oil level

Drain condensation from compressor tank weekly

Change cold disinfectants every 28 days, the date is written on the back of the disinfectant container by the sink

Remove impression trays from the soap bath daily

Clean used alginate trays removing the bulk of alginate material with a lab knife before dropping a tray in the soap bath

Change soap bath when sediment exceeds 1/2 inch

Use care when using lab knives and cold disinfect them daily

Avoid washing liquid plaster down sink drains

Monitor x-ray chemicals for top off or replenishment

Duplicate X-rays and Diagnostic casts if needed

Segregate all lab work into labeled plastic work pans
<

Label all radiographs or their drying racks

Inventory clinical supplies looking up the source of supply in the green inventory book and using the list of vendors in the inventory book to look up vendor telephone number and our customer number

When placing an order always record the salespersons full name, the number and type of products ordered, prices quoted and estimated delivery date followed by your initials on the yellow legal pad that serves as our order list

When products arrive, package contents should be checked against packing slip for accuracy. Initial packing slip with date product received, record purchase price including cost of shipping in the green inventory book and place the packing slip in the top bin above the printer for payment.

Record your hours worked daily in the "Medical Employee Attendance Record"

Fill out a written "Time Off Request" when time off needed and obtain Dr. Trepp's approval of same

Stock cups

Stock paper towels

Stock gloves

Stock cotton rolls

Stock disposable toothbrushes

Stock toilet paper

Pour up all working model impressions

Separate all impressions that have cooled

Remove bands from cold disinfectant bath and sort in band drawers

Remove instruments in cold disinfectant, towel dry and put away

Heat sterilized contaminated metal instruments if three plier racks of more

Clean the treatment bay and lab including stools, cabinets, counter tops, sinks that can be spray-wipe-sprayed

Treatment chair cracks wiped clean

Vacuum the carpet

Sweep the tile floor

Replace soiled headrest and the tray covers

Clean all wall and hand mirrors with Windex

Empty all full wastebaskets

Verify that all lab appliances for the next day are present

Pour the old bleach-water solution down the sink

Verify all radiographs are labeled and cephs traced

Add any supplies to the order list that need to be ordered

Turn off red lab safe light

Turn off ceph machine

Turn off Panorex machine

Turn off mobile bond cart master switch

Turn off welder

Turn off Kavoklave

Turn off heat sterilizer

Turn off ultrasonic machine

Turn off vacuum forming machine

Turn off model trimmer

Turn off lathe

Turn off overhead lights

Record needed repairs on "to be ordered list"

Change into street clothes before leaving for day.

Activate Security System and lock front door if last to leave.

You may schedule an appointment with Dr. William Trepp in his Pasadena, MD office by calling 410.696.4624 or in his Clinton, MD office by calling  301.868.6200. Written inquiries should be mailed to: 3020 Mountain RD, Pasadena, MD 21122, USA or 8918 Woodyard RD, Clinton, MD 20735, USA