Delta Awards

Dental nurses are often school-leavers who enter the profession, then discover that they enjoy the work and would like to build a career in the field. Depending on which dental practice they work with, they will often be encouraged to get further training after they have achieved their initial registration.

Delta Awards provides a suite of superior, professional, quality assured and relevant courses that are offered to the dental nursing sector by training providers. Courses are for post-registration dental nurses seeking to progress their careers by improving their knowledge and skills and cover 17 specialist subject areas such as Paediatric Dental Nursing, Minor Oral Surgery, Sedation, Implant Nursing and Cone Beam CT Scanning. Level 3 and 4 courses are assessed via final examinations and external quality audits. Students are required to build a portfolio of evidence based around the subject studied and then sit a final written examination.

Delta Awards observes that the most proactive dental practices will come back to them again and again to facilitate on-going training of their nurses, as they offer the widest range of post-registration specialist certifications available throughout the United Kingdom, which truly meets the needs of today’s dental nurses.

Delta Awards were keen to implement a secure, high-quality software solution that would enable the management and delivery of final examinations online, whilst meeting qualification accreditation requirements. Dental nurses are very busy people, and moving online was intended to increase flexibility and convenience for students, who could take their exams at a time that suited their own study programme without having to travel to a test centre.

As a provider of online assessment software for a range of different medical organisations and awarding bodies, TestReach was a great fit for Delta Awards. A number of features were key:

• Item banking functions – to organise many questions in line with course requirements, to streamline question creation and review, and to facilitate the easy set-up of exam papers.
• Exam delivery via live remote proctoring, in real-time, within one application. Delta Awards did not want to use automated proctoring, as they needed to provide a secure level of test integrity for the exam.
• A straightforward process for candidates to follow when enrolling and taking their exams.
• It was important that their chosen vendor held ISO Certification for Quality Management and Information Security.

Delta Awards appreciated that TestReach remote proctoring uses exam proctors who are employees of the company, based in Ireland, who understand the underlying application and provide a knowledgeable and supportive service. The proctoring provides a close level of supervision, using video, audio and screenshare connections, all within the same application to ensure security. Secure computer lockdown means that candidates cannot navigate away from the exam paper to check other browser windows or applications. TestReach is certified with ISO 9001 for Quality Management and ISO 27001 for Information Security.

Whilst evaluating solutions, Delta Awards ran a pilot exam where – unbeknownst to TestReach - their tutors, rather than students, took the test to familiarise themselves with the exam process in practice. The tutors gave an excellent report on the seamless enrolment process and the in-exam experience, which gave Delta Awards the confidence to move forward with online exam delivery in partnership with TestReach.

Many dental nurse courses have a duration of 18 months, during which time students have to complete practical evidence requirements and a final examination. Use of TestReach has meant that students can book their exams when they are ready to do so, without having to wait until the practical assessment is complete. This allows real flexibility for the student to progress through their chosen programme at a speed that suits them.

In over four years of using TestReach, 100% of Delta Awards candidates have completed their exams and there have been zero complaints about the exam experience. Cherry Ali, Examinations Manager at Delta Awards, says: “It’s an easy exam process to follow. When we enrol candidates it activates a sequence of email notifications, so students know well in advance what they are doing. They can download the application, run through the system check and book their exam. On exam day they log back in and connect with the TestReach proctors, who are professional and friendly and make sure the exams are run without any cheating.”

“The TestReach team are very flexible and accommodating and have enabled us to grow our courses and certificates in line with demand over the past few years. There is no pressure to use more licences than we need at any given time.”

“When we first started looking at online exam providers, it was quite daunting as it was a new area for us. One thing we felt immediately is that TestReach were friendly and not at all intimidating! The team is always understanding, and if we ask for help with something, they give us all the time we need. Everyone in TestReach has been fantastic and so nice to deal with. I feel reassured knowing that the TestReach team are there to support us and ensure our exams are a success.”

Follow this link to read more about our work with the dental profession in this case study from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland Faculty of Dentistry