Emergency medical training for dental students. (1/1060)

Twenty-four of the thirty-two German universities that have dental schools replied to a questionnaire survey that showed that all the schools responding held lectures on the topic "Medical Emergencies" although this is not mandatory for registration. All of the universities in the former East Germany also offered practical training sessions as part of the curriculum. The proportion of West German universities offering such courses is only 60%. The basic essentials of the theory and practice of emergency medicine should only be taught in courses with mandatory participation.  (+info)

A survey of undergraduate orthodontic education in 23 European countries. (2/1060)

This paper reports on a survey of teaching contents and time allocation within the undergraduate orthodontic curriculum in European countries in 1997, and on whether or not these countries set a formal undergraduate examination in orthodontics. A questionnaire and an explanatory letter were mailed to all members of the EURO-QUAL BIOMED II project. Answers were validated during a meeting of project participants and by fax when necessary. Completed questionnaires, which were subsequently validated, were returned by orthodontists from 23 countries. They indicated that orthodontics was taught in all undergraduate curriculums of the countries surveyed. The number of hours in the undergraduate curriculum devoted to orthodontics was reported as varying from 135 to 500 hours with a mean of 245 hours. The time reported as allocated to theory, clinical practice, laboratory work, diagnosis, and treatment planning varied widely. In general, clinical practice and theory were reported as being allocated most curriculum hours, whilst diagnosis, laboratory work, and treatment planing were reported as receiving relatively less time. Removable appliances were reported to be taught in 22 of the 23 countries, functional appliances in 21 countries and fixed appliances in 17 countries. An undergraduate examination in orthodontics was reported by 20 countries. It was concluded that orthodontics occupies a small proportion of the undergraduate curriculum in dentistry in most countries, the emphasis is on theory and clinical work, and that removable appliances, functional appliances, and certain aspects of fixed appliances are taught in the majority of countries that responded to the questionnaire  (+info)

A survey of perceived problems in orthodontic education in 23 European countries. (3/1060)

This paper reports on a survey of perceived problems in the provision of orthodontic education at the stages of undergraduate, postgraduate, and continuing professional education (CPE) in 23 European countries in 1997. A questionnaire, together with an explanatory letter, was mailed to all members of the EUROQUAL II BIOMED project. Answers were validated during a meeting of project participants and by further correspondence, when necessary. The topics covered in the questionnaire were adequacy of funding, numbers of orthodontic teachers, availability of equipment, regulations, training centres, numbers of orthodontists, availability of books, journals, and information technology. Completed questionnaires were returned by orthodontists from all 23 countries. Respondents from seven countries did not answer all questions. Respondents reported a perceived almost universal lack of adequate funding for postgraduate orthodontic training (from 18 out of 20 countries) and, to a lesser extent, at undergraduate (13 out of 20 countries) and CPE levels (17 out of 21 countries). Respondents from 12 of the 20 countries reported adequate numbers of qualified teachers at undergraduate level, but only seven out of 18 at postgraduate level and eight out of 19 for CPE. Lack of suitable equipment was reported as a more frequent problem by central and eastern European countries (six out of 20 countries at undergraduate level, eight out of 20 countries at postgraduate level, and 12 out of 19 at CPE level). Too few or too many regulations were only perceived to be a problem by the respondent from one country out of 19 at undergraduate level, by seven out of 19 at postgraduate level, and by eight out of 16 at CPE level). Lack of training centres was more frequently reported as a problem by respondents from central and eastern European countries, but was generally not perceived as a problem by respondents from west European countries. Respondents from seven countries reported a lack of training centres for CPE. Respondents from six countries reported that they perceived there to be too many orthodontists at postgraduate level, from seven countries that there were an appropriate number, and from seven that there were too few. A lack of books, journals, and information technology was reported to be a problem by respondents from four out of 19 countries at undergraduate level, eight out of 20 at postgraduate level, and 10 out of 20 at CPE level. At both undergraduate and postgraduate level, the majority of respondents from central and eastern European countries reported problems with books, journals, and information technology. The results of the survey confirmed many anecdotal impressions and provided an extremely useful background against which to formulate quality guidelines for orthodontic education in Europe.  (+info)

Suggested guidelines for the provision and assessment of orthodontic education in Europe. A report from the Professional Development Group of the EURO-QUAL BIOMED II Project. (4/1060)

The suggested guidelines for the provision and assessment of Orthodontic education in Europe, which are introduced, set out, and discussed in this paper, resulted from the work of the Professional Development Group (PDG) of the EURO-QUAL BIOMED II project. They were published in the final report of the project, after comments had been received from a range of national and European bodies and societies, including the British and the European Orthodontic Societies, Royal Colleges, and the General Dental Council.  (+info)

The black and white of dental education in the United States: enrollment and graduation trends. (5/1060)

Data from the American Association of Dental Schools (AADS) and American Dental Association (ADA) were evaluated for trends in dental school enrollment and graduation. In the last 20 years, African-American enrollment has varied from a low of 4.7% (1980-1981) to a high of 6.9% (1988-1989). This figure declined to 5.2% in 1997-1998. African-American graduation percentages in the last 20 years have varied between 3.4% (1979) and 5.4% (1996). The future percentage of graduating African-American dentists is projected to decline. Historically, minority dental education institutions have educated a significant percentage of African Americans and continue to educate approximately 40% of graduating African-American dentists. Strategies to increase recruitment of African Americans include: 1. Greater support for minority primary and secondary education including the establishment of mentoring programs. 2. Dental education outreach programs to minority secondary school and college students. 3. An increase in affirmative action programs. 4. Greater support for minority dental education institutions. 5. Student loan forgiveness programs, which aid recruitment of minority faculty and dental students who either teach or serve minority communities.  (+info)

Training in oral medicine. (6/1060)

88 members of the UK specialty society of oral medicine were asked about career satisfaction and their views on training programmes. 70% responded (79% of consultants and all accredited trainees). Men work longer hours than women, report less control over their work and experience more stress. Although high work satisfaction is reported, nearly one-third regret their choice of specialty. Men more than women do locum work while training. Most respondents would welcome flexible training, job shares, financial support during training and a mentoring scheme.  (+info)

Training, re-training and getting back to practice. (7/1060)

Career breaks occur for many reasons and may well be the pattern for the future. In a recent survey, reasons given for career breaks included personal and family sickness, childrearing, travelling and study. Childrearing was the most common reason for women to have a break and personal sickness for men. Although these breaks may be short, they may be multiple and therefore have enormous implications for workforce planning.  (+info)

Tobacco-use cessation programs and policies at the University of Manitoba's faculty of dentistry. (8/1060)

The deleterious effects of tobacco use on general health and oral health are well documented. While one-third of Manitobans are current smokers, up to 79% report they want to quit. Counselling by health care professionals can help achieve quit rates of 15-20%. Yet many health professionals do not provide tobacco-use cessation counselling because they feel they are not trained to do so. In 1998, the faculty of dentistry of the University of Manitoba implemented a number of tobacco-use cessation interventions in its undergraduate curricula and general teaching clinic. The faculty has also successfully obtained the inclusion of a dental fee code for tobacco-use cessation services in the provincial fee guide and has received approval to allow dentists who have completed an approved course in tobacco-use cessation training to prescribe bupropion HCl (Zyban), in consultation with a patient's physician, to aid smoking cessation.  (+info)