Program Goals & Outcomes

The Cape Cod Community College Dental Hygiene Program provides an educational pathway for students to join a rewarding health profession that offers a wide range of career opportunities. At Cape Cod Community College, the students’ education is the first priority, and the Dental Hygiene Program is committed to helping the students in the development of clinical skills, critical thinking skills, and in the acquisition of a strong educational foundation in dental hygiene. Students are encouraged upon completion of the program to further their education and expertise, and to involve themselves in their profession locally and globally.

Program Goals

1. Educate students to provide equitable and quality dental hygiene care for patients from diverse populations and to recognize the cultural differences in the dental hygiene process of care on a global scale.
   
   
2. Prepare students to become competent, critically thinking health care professionals who promote health and the prevention of disease.
   
   
3. Prepare students to maintain high standards of ethical conduct.
   
   
4. Provide an equitable learning environment for students that will instill the pursuit of lifelong learning.
   
   
5. Provide a curriculum that includes scientific advancement, innovations, opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration, and the use of technology in the practice of dental hygiene.
   
   
6. Educate students about the value of active membership(s) in local, state, national, and international professional organizations.

Program Outcomes/Competencies

• Integrate knowledge from the basic, psychosocial, dental, and dental hygiene sciences into the dental hygiene process of care.

• Demonstrate interpersonal skills to effectively communicate and collaborate with professionals and patients across socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds.

• Utilize active learning, critical thinking, problem solving, research and evidence-based decision making to develop comprehensive oral health care solutions and protocols.
  
  
• Apply a professional code of ethics while adhering to appropriate legal and regulatory measures to create and maintain safe eco-friendly and sustainable practice compatible with emerging trends when providing equitable oral health services.
  
  
• Utilizing risk assessment and health literacy and disease and prevention strategies, beliefs of diverse individuals and populations in the promotion of health, wellness, and the prevention of disease.
  
  
• Safely perform the dental hygiene process of care inclusively (assessment, dental hygiene diagnosis, planning, implementation, evaluation, documentation) for all patients and community-based oral health programs.
  
  
• Demonstrate competency in the use of technology and security guidelines in the dental hygiene process of care.
  
  
• Continually perform self-assessment to maintain professional standards and encourage lifelong learning and a commitment to interdisciplinary collaboration.
  
  
• Demonstrate personal and professional growth through civic and social engagement through active involvement in professional activities and associations.
  
  
• Demonstrate an awareness of the variety of career opportunities within the dental hygiene profession.
  
  
• Comply with local, state, and federal regulations concerning infection prevention protocols.