A GUIDE

TO YOUR

PET ASSESSMENT

Here’s what you need to know

Introducing

the Practice Enhancement Tool

The Practice Enhancement Tool is a computerbased self-assessment program that is easyto-use and allows you to review your practice, knowledge, skill and judgment based on peer-derived standards.

This online assessment provides a vehicle to demonstrate your continued competency and knowledge, while supporting your personal journey of continuous learning.

RCDSO

.ORG

Completing

the PET Assessment

Our governing legislation, the Regulated Health Professions Act, requires the

College to have a Quality Assurance Program that includes self, peer and practice assessment. The College wanted to build a program that would provide a positive and fruitful learning experience. That’s why we hired a dedicated consultant, designed an easy-to-use assessment and worked very closely with the National Dental Examining Board and the Wilson Centre at the University of Toronto in the development and ongoing delivery of the PET assessment to ensure its validity and integrity.

In accordance with our Quality Assurance Regulation, every member with a general or specialty certificate of registration is to complete a self-assessment

once every five years.

This online assessment provides a vehicle to demonstrate your continued competency and knowledge. We expect that the overwhelming majority of members will be notified that relative to their peers, they are competent in all areas of practice covered by the assessment.

Some members may be notified that relative to their peers, their results indicate that they may benefit from continuing education activities in one or more areas of practice. Members who are notified about a weakness in a specific area of practice will have six months to pursue continuing education activities before retaking the PET in that same area. The Practice Enhancement

Consultant is available to assist members by interpreting and discussing their results, implementing a continuing education plan or suggesting additional resources to address any weakness in order to ensure their success.

What You Need to Know

The PET Assessment Explained

200

QUESTIONS

RCDSO

.ORG

The assessment consists of 200 multiple choice and case study questions that are based on a foundation of knowledge that is required of all dentists.

AREAS OF

PRACTICE

The questions in your assessment will cover six areas of practice from the following list:

• caries

• endodontics

• general medicine

• infection prevention

& control

• jurisprudence & ethics

• medical emergencies

• operative & preventive

• oral medicine & pathology

• oral surgery

• orthodontics

• pediatric dentistry

• periodontics

• pharmacology

• prosthodontics

• radiology

Please refer to the letter you received from the College, which identifies the six areas of practice that will be covered by your assessment.

OPEN BOOK

FORMAT

The assessment is essentially open-book. You can refer to textbooks, journals and other resources to help you answer the questions. This is all part of the learning process. You can pause during a session, log out and research a particular subject area before proceeding, or use a built-in feature of the PET that allows you to flag questions that you want to review before answering.

OPEN ACCESS

FOR 30 DAYS

You can log out and log back in repeatedly during the

30-day period, completing as many of the assessment questions as you wish during any given session. Your progress is automatically saved. You may also go back and change any of your answers before completing your assessment.

Home Page

Once your start date arrives, to start, click Begin your assessment. You will be taken to your first question.

a.

b.

c.

a.

Click Begin your assessment to start your assessment.

b.

Your results will be displayed here once your assessment is completed.

c.

Instructions will appear in the

Next Steps box once your assessment is completed.

Once You’re Finished

Once you’ve completed your assessment, your results will be displayed immediately. Your results will be available on the Home Page.

f.

Sample Question

Follow the prompts to answer the questions and complete the assessment.

i.

d.

e.

g.

h.

d.

Use the Next or Go To options to jump to another question. e.

Click on the Images to enlarge.

f.

View your progress throughout your assessment on the

Question Status Bar.

g.

In order to advance to the next question, you must click the Save Answer button and save your answer, OR h.

you can flag questions by clicking the Flag Question button.

i.

Click Help to access FAQs and other resources.

Here to Answer

Your Questions

The Practice Enhancement Consultant can assist you by interpreting and discussing the results of your assessment and, if needed, help you in coming up with a continuing education plan to address any weakness that is identified by your assessment.

Practice Enhancement Consultant

Dr. Greg Anderson [email protected]

1-800-565-4591

416-934-5620

What to Do Checklist

1. Carefully review this guide.

2. If you have any questions, contact our Practice Enhancement

Consultant.

3. Schedule time to complete your assessment.

4. Complete the assessment within your 30-day period.

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

1. How do I access the PET?

Go to https://pet.rcdso.org. Be sure to enter this into an address bar, not your search bar. To log in, you will need to enter your member ID and the temporary password provided by the College. The first time you log in, you will be asked to change your temporary password. You will also have the option of providing an email address in case you forget your password and to receive information from the Quality Assurance department.

2. What are the technical requirements?

The PET will work on both PC and Mac platforms. For best performance, use a high-speed internet connection. The PET works optimally with the latest versions of the following browsers: Firefox, Chrome, Internet Explorer and Safari.

3. I’ve logged in, but cannot answer any questions. What’s going on?

The letter you received from the College with your temporary password also notes your start date for the assessment. You can log in before your start date to change your password, provide an email address and review the help menu, but you cannot begin the assessment and answer any questions until your start date arrives.

4. Are there any resources that I can review to prepare for the PET?

The College has prepared a list of suggested textbooks, PEAK articles and other resources that may be of assistance for the PET. There is no single source of information to assist you with every question, but you may find these resources helpful.

Go to the College website and under quick links, you’ll find the Practice

Enhancement Tool Resources PDF. You can also contact the Practice Enhancement

Consultant, Dr. Greg Anderson, for any resource-related questions.

5. When will I find out about my results?

Once you have completed the assessment, the program will immediately let you know your results.