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Patient Assessment Questionnaire (PAQ)

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PAQs is one of four assessment methods required to be undertaken during your Dental Vocational Training (DVT) year to provide evidence of satisfactory completion of training. 

The PAQ has been designed as a means of providing you with feedback from your patients on various aspects of your communication skills and professionalism. 

Research has shown that after technical competence, a dentist's interpersonal skills rate as the most important factor in how patients perceive quality of their dental care.  Even technical competence itself is thought to be judged by the patient in terms of dentist's communication, caring and information giving skills.

PAQs are recorded on a computer tablet that is handed out to consecutive patients at specific times during the training year. Trainees will have a period of three weeks only to collect the required number of PAQs but may be in the possession of the tablet longer. Detailed feedback on the results is given to trainees once the data has been returned and processed.  

Methodology
  • During the training programme, you will be supplied with an Android Tablet usually at one of your study days. Your Adviser/Centre Administrator will advise when you will receive the tablet and when to return.
  • The tablet should be handed out consecutively to your patients aged 16 and above. A minimum of 30 valid questionnaires must be completed by patients to allow accurate feedback to be calculated.  It is recommended that as many questionnaires as possible are completed on the tablet to ensure that there are at least 30 valid completed questionnaires.
  • The tablet does not keep a record of how many PAQs have been completed, please keep your own record.
  • The patients’ individual responses are to be entirely confidential.
What are the patients asked? See the video below for a demonstration of the PAQ
The PAQ - The questionnaire consists of 20 questions

Questions 1 and 2

These should be completed by the Dentist as they require information unique to you.  Please ensure you complete these questions accurately as incorrect submissions may be voided.

Questions 3 to 15

The patient is asked to rate your performance in different aspects of communication skills and professionalism using a 1-10 scale.  There is also a "can't say" option.  Items are deliberately colloquial in nature, designed to be easliy understood by the patients.

Item content was devised taking into account:

  • results of published research into factors that patient's rate as most influencing their overall satisfaction with quality of non-clinical domains of dental care
  • the DVT competency documents- communcation and professionalism domains
  • aspects of communication skills/professionalism in current medical/dental assessment programs

Questions 16 and 17

Questions included for statistical and evaluation purposes and a question designed to monitor for discrimination.

 

Questions 18 to 20

Comprises demographic and equality and diversity questions designed to identify potential sources of bias in patient ratings.

 

Free Text Box

A space is provided at the end of the questionnaire to allow patients to leave their comments on the encounter and any suggestions for improvement.

PAQ Tablet Guidance

PAQ unexplained discrepancies
Warning!

  • The questionnaires should be completed by patients only. DO NOT LET ANYONE ELSE APART FROM A PATIENT COMPLETE A FEEDBACK QUESTIONAIRE. 

  • Patients should complete the questionnaire at the time of the appointment. While assistance may be given to a patient who may have problems using the tablet, the responses must be those of the patient. 

  • DO NOT COMPLETE A QUESTIONNARE YOURSELF 

Electronic devices can provide data on usage and the Dental Assessment Unit has the ability to investigate this usage data. 

PLEASE NOTE THAT THE DEFAULT POSITION FOR ANY TRAINEE IDENTIFIED AS BREACHING THE ABOVE RULES WILL BE AN  AUTOMATIC REFERRAL TO THE NATIONAL REVIEW PANEL ON GROUNDS OF PROFESSIONALISM AND THEY MAY BE REFERRED TO THE GDC.

Should you feel that you are not going to collect enough PAQ results within the required timeframe, please follow the instructions below.

Three week window - What you need to know

  • You have a three-week window to collect a minimum of 30 PAQ’s, however we recommend collecting as many responses as possible. 

  • If you are going to require more than three weeks, please follow the guidance below and contact your Adviser BEFORE the three-week deadline. You may have the tablet longer than three weeks but any PAQs collected after this three-week period will be voided by the Dental Assessment Unit if an extension not been granted by the appropriate person . If you take holidays during the time you have the tablet, please follow the guidance below.

EXAMPLE

If the collection period was from Monday 24th October to Friday 11th November but the VDP was off on annual leave for 1 week during this period the end date for the collection period would be extended to Friday 18th November.

How do I request a PAQ Extension?

 

You will only need to request a PAQ extension if you are required to collect PAQs over more than 15 working days.  This does not include any days taken as leave or days the practise is closed.

You must request a PAQ extension BEFORE the date you are due to return the tablet to the appropriate Education Centre.

Please click here to see the PAQ extension flow.

 

What if I am on leave during the time I have the PAQ tablet?

You may have the tablet for longer than the collection period (15 working days) but you must not go over your collection period or the results will be voided.

If you are on leave or the practice is closed due to public holidays during the time you have the tablet, please email the dates to dental.assessment@nes.scot.nhs.uk BEFORE you start collecting PAQs.

Please click here to see the PAQ scheduled leave flow.

PAQ Deadlines

Deadlines will be advised in due course.  

PAQ Feedback
  • Feedback will be made available to you through the Turas Training Portfolio. Your trainer, adviser and director will also be able to view the feedback.
  • Feedback details the average rating per question (Q3 to Q15) and a rating histogram showing the frequency of patient responses per question. You will also be given feedback from Q16 and anonymous comments from Q20.
  • If you receive an average score of 3 or below for any question in Q3 to Q15, you will be required to undertake an additional round of PAQ distribution and score > 3 for all Q3 to Q15.
  • If you receive an average score of 3 or below for Q3 to Q15 as a group, you will be required to undertake an additional round of PAQ distribution and score > 3 for Q3 to Q15
  • If you receive an average score of 8.5 or below for Q3 to Q15 as a group, you will be required to undertake an additional round of PAQ distribution with the aim of improving your performance.
  • Responses to Q16, Q18 and Q19 do not appear on your feedback as they are designed for statistical evaluation of the PAQ. Should you wish to receive this information it can be made available as can general information on your participating patients e.g. age range and gender distribution.
Requirements of Satisfactory Completion

Patient Assessment Questionnaire (PAQ)

Defined number of PAQs submitted for analysis

Identification of poor performance is addressed using targeted training - additional defined number of PAQs submitted following action provides evidence of improvement

A signed Summary of Performance sheet for each valid PAQ round