Training Needs for Multidisciplinary Health Teams: Dental Nursing, Pharmacy, and Secretarial Staff
Abstract
Background: Modern healthcare intrinsically depends on MDTs in order to manage complex patient needs, improve safety, and enhance outcomes. While much has been rightly aimed at clinical professionals, the crucial contributions of support staff, including dental nursing, pharmacy, and secretarial staff, remain underappreciated, and their educational needs are also not commonly addressed systematically. These form the operational backbone of patient care; however, training often occurs in silos without a standardized interprofessional approach that fosters true collaboration.
Objective: This review aims to synthesize current evidence to identify core training needs for dental nurses, pharmacy staff, and health care secretaries within MDTs.
Methods: A narrative review of the literature for the period 2013 to 2024 was conducted using major academic databases such as PubMed, Scopus, CINAHL, and ERIC. Studies included in this work focused on training interventions, competency frameworks, and perceived training needs for these three support roles.
Results: The review showed that current paradigms of training have serious deficiencies. Key findings included: 1) A universal need for enhanced communication and health literacy training across all three roles; 2) Critical needs for role-specific clinical-legal training (e.g., dental nurses in infection control, pharmacy staff in medication reconciliation, secretaries in data governance); and 3) a profound deficiency in interprofessional education (IPE) that brings these roles together with clinicians to practice teamwork. Successful training models were characterized by simulation, standardized protocols, and leadership endorsement.
Conclusion: Health care institutions must invest in integrated strategies that combine robust profession-specific upskilling with mandatory, structured IPE to optimize MDT performance. In this respect, defining competencies and a voice for dental nursing, pharmacy, and secretarial staff within the team becomes more than an educational aspiration; it becomes a strategic imperative for building resilient, patient-centered health care systems.
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Copyright (c) 2024 Haitham Abdulhadi Alraddadi, Sultan Marzouq Albeladi, Ibrahim Salem Owaydhah Alessi, Fawaz Ayed Alotaibi , Salman Ahmed Salman Al Faifi, Mohammed Saad Binseaidan, Ibrahim Hyayan Alreshidi , Mohammed Bader Alanazi, Amany Hameed Alenazi, Hussain Hamad Abdullah Najmi, Abualqasim Abdullah Masmali, Hameed Ahmed AL Kharmani
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