Unit information: Anxiety Management in 2024/25

Unit name	Anxiety Management
Unit code	ORDSM0028
Credit points	20
Level of study	M/7
Teaching block(s)	Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24)
Unit director	Mr. Grossman
Open unit status	Not open
Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units)	None
Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units)	None
Units you may not take alongside this one	None
School/department	Bristol Dental School
Faculty	Faculty of Health Sciences

Unit Information

Why is this unit important?

This unit will improve your assessment, management and treatment of anxious patients, by ensuring you are familiar with the application of cognitive therapy in clinical contexts. This is a must pass unit.

This unit aims to :

• Review and update your knowledge and critical understanding of cognitive models of anxiety.

• Provide you with a knowledge and critical understanding of the theoretical framework that underpins Cognitive Therapy (including self-help and behavioural approaches) and of interventions for dental anxiety across the lifecourse.

• Improve knowledge and understanding of cognitive therapies with respect to assessment and selection of patient.

How does this unit fit into your programme of study?

This compulsory unit will run alongside the Clinical Conscious Sedation unit, following the Foundations in Conscious Sedation unit.

Your learning on this unit

An overview of content

This unit will deliver the knowledge and enhance your skills when managing anxious dental patients, improving patient experience. Following this unit, you should feel more confident to identify which patients may require adjunctive modalities such as conscious sedation.

How will students, personally, be different as a result of the unit?

You will feel more confident in your assessment, treatment planning and management of anxious dental patients, improving the patient journey and quality of care provided.

Learning Outcomes

You will obtain a knowledge and understanding of:

• Anxiety disorders in children, adolescents and adults

You will acquire the skills and attributes necessary to:

• Review and evaluate a variety of different Cognitive Therapies including self-help and relaxation techniques, behaviour management and hypnosis
• Critically assess the contribution of cognitive therapy research to the development of clinical practice
• Demonstrate principles of good assessment regarding the appropriateness of Cognitive Therapies for specific patients and be competent in your ability to select such patients
• Be familiar with the use of Cognitive Behavioural Therapies and the development of collaborative patient-clinician relationships

How you will learn

Teaching will use a blended learning approach delivered through a combination of synchronous and asynchronous activities. You will be expected to engage with all learning.

A range of teaching are used in the unit including:

• Self-directed computer-aided learning (CAL) sessions via the virtual learning environment (Blackboard), providing the necessary materials and references to attain knowledge.

• Clinical skills sessions and small group teaching through study days

• A written assignment to stimulate reflection and critical thinking, as well as clinical application of knowledge

• A written examination (Multiple Short Answer) to test knowledge from online learning, study and contact days.

How you will be assessed

Tasks which help you learn and prepare you for summative tasks (formative):

• Study days including practical exercises using tools to assess anxiety for dental patients
• Feedback from case study examples of Cognitive Therapies in practice
• Discussion as part of small group tutorials
• Example assignments/ questions will be provided with the opportunity to discuss them with a tutor will prepare you for the end of unit knowledge assessment.

Tasks which count towards your unit mark (summative):

1. Written assignment (40%)

2. Final written examination (Multiple Short Answer paper) of two hour's duration (60%)

When assessment does not go to plan

If you do not pass the unit, you will normally be given the opportunity to take a reassessment as per the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes. Decisions on the award of reassessment will normally be taken after all taught units of the year have been completed. Reassessment will normally be in a similar format to the original assessment that has been failed.

Resources

If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.

If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. ORDSM0028).

How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks, independent learning and assessment activity.

See the University Workload statement relating to this unit for more information.

Assessment
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit. The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. For appropriate assessments, if you have self-certificated your absence, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (for assessments at the end of TB1 and TB2 this is usually in the next re-assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any exceptional circumstances and operates within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.