A new e-learning module on consent has gone live as part of the British Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons (BAOMS) and Health Education England e-Learning for Healthcare (HEE e-LfH) e-FACE project. This 12 module in the programme is designed to tackle the limited consent knowledge many young trainees have.

The sessions have been developed to demonstrate best practice, and are aimed at dental core trainees (DCTs) and specialty registrars in oral and maxillofacial surgery (OMFS).

Loz Newman, the consultant maxillofacial/head and neck surgeon who conceived this key module, said that consent is always important to surgeons: 'This is increasingly so in light of the 2015 Montgomery V Lanarkshire Health Board case' (https://bit.ly/2GYgGHs).

He explained that the module came about following a talk he gave at the Royal College of Surgeons of England (RCSEng): 'We were all concerned that young trainees are often sent to seek consent from patients inappropriately, for procedures where they have limited knowledge. We felt that not infrequently they were ill prepared for the task. Consent is barely taught in the undergraduate curriculum, and there is little in the postgraduate curriculum'.

The idea is to provide consent process training for DCTs that offers them some form of protection with a certificate awarded once the module is complete. This shows that they have had some formal training in consent that relates to specific surgical interventions in addition to aiding their learning.

'We thought it would be sensible to write clinical scenarios that would be more relevant and easier to digest than the more dry, legalese textbook approach to consent,' said Dr Newman.

DCTs currently working in OMFS departments should already be aware of the free-to-use material on the eLfH website. This has a range of easy-to-access e-learning across all of medicine and dentistry.

For further information on the e-FACE e-learning programme visit: https://www.e-lfh.org.uk/programmes/oral-and-maxillofacial-surgery/.