How do U.S. and Canadian dental schools teach interpersonal communication skills?
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The status of instruction in interpersonal communication was surveyed in forty U.S and Canadian dental schools. Key faculty members were identified, and syllabi and course descriptions were collected and content-analyzed. The following findings were obtained for responding schools: 1) only one-third of schools had courses specifically focusing on interpersonal communication; 2) more than half of the schools offered these types of courses only during the first two years; 3) the most common topics were communication skills, patient interviewing, and patient education/consultation; 4) the most frequently used method of teaching was lectures; active practice was used less often; 5) written examination was the primary instructional evaluation tool, whereas more sophisticated performance-oriented assessments were used less often; and 6) about half of the teachers did not have a D.D.S. degree; those not dentists were primarily psychologists. At least eight of the forty dental schools surveyed do not appear to meet the accreditation guidelines for predoctoral programs in this area of instruction. Some could not identify a faculty member responsible for such instruction. Schools offering more extensive instruction were more likely to offer active rather than passive teaching and use more sophisticated student evaluation strategies. This research suggests a need for reevaluation of teaching in this subject area. (+info)
Trends in dental specialty education and practice, 1990-99.
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Policy issues related to dental specialty education and practice have been the responsibility of the American Dental Association's Council on Dental Education and Licensure. In 2001, the council concluded a comprehensive study of the ADA-recognized dental specialties that included a review of specialty practice and the practice environment, membership in specialty organizations, requirements and trends in board certification, advances in research and technology related to each specialty, and trends in advanced specialty education. This paper provides an overview of the results of this study and the council's analysis of data and information provided by the dental specialty organizations and the ADA Survey Center with an emphasis on dental specialty education. The council concluded that none of the dental specialties should be considered for rerecognition, but identified concerns regarding the shortage of qualified faculty and educational program directors. As a result of the council's study, recommendations have been made to the dental specialty organizations and ADA-recognized dental specialty certifying boards that they continue to monitor the number of board-certified specialists and identify ways to increase the number of board-certified specialists. (+info)
Goals, costs, and outcomes of a predoctoral student research program.
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The aims of this work were to describe the goals and costs of a predoctoral student research program and compare the career choice and school donations of dental alumni who received student research experience to those without the experience. The identity of participants in the student research program was obtained from college records, and outcomes data on the student researchers from the years 1991 to 1994 were obtained with a telephone survey. Survey responses were compared to recent alumni surveys of the classes of 1992 and 1994, mathematically corrected to provide an estimate for non-research participants. A student research program that involves about one-fourth of the class currently costs in excess of $100,000. However, the benefits were found to be considerable. Compared to the class as a whole, after seven to ten years student researchers were 3.5 times more likely to complete specialty training, nearly five times more likely to become full-time faculty members, and 32 percent more likely to be donors. (+info)
Development of a mission-focused faculty evaluation system.
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The development of a new system for annual evaluation of faculty members is described. A narrative of the procedure, including accounts of the problems encountered, is used to show that such a process is too complex and too close to the fundamental identity of a dental school and the self-image of faculty members to be created in a one-time, rational effort or imposed by administrative edict. The process required five years to complete and involved an intermediate model. The goals of the new performance appraisal system were to minimize the extreme rating inflation and significant discrepancies from one chair rater to another that had existed previously. It was also a goal that the new system would create rich and effective feedback for faculty and would orient faculty members toward the mission of the school as a common focus. In achieving these goals, it is the authors' perception that faculty members at this dental school value procedural justice (fairness in the process), that evaluation is a political process, and that a performance appraisal system grounded in organizational mission rather than individual tasks of faculty members fits the emerging career model of knowledge professionals. (+info)
U.S. predoctoral education in pediatric dentistry: its impact on access to dental care.
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This study sought to identify faculty, organization, patient pool, and procedures taught in predoctoral pediatric dentistry programs using a questionnaire sent to all fifty-five U.S. dental schools in 2001. Forty-eight (87 percent) programs reported an average of 3.9 full-time and 2.1 part-time FTE faculty, resulting in a mean faculty to student ratio of 1:6.4. One-third employ general dentists to teach pediatric dentistry, and 36 percent report fewer faculty than five years ago. Two-thirds were stand-alone departments. Over half (55 percent) reported increases in patient pools, but also a lack of patients with restorative needs. Half of the programs supplemented school-based pools with special populations, and two-thirds sent students on external rotations, most often to treat high-caries children. Those not using external rotations cited lack of faculty. Accepted patients averaged about four years, with only 6 percent of the pool under three years. Low-income or Medicaid-covered children accounted for 88 percent of school patient pools. Half of the schools felt the pool inadequate to meet competencies, attributable to lack of patients' restorative needs or inadequate intake numbers. Fewer than half of the programs (48 percent) provided hands-on experience with disabled patients, and one-third afforded every student with this experience. Pediatric dentistry was mentioned in fewer than half of the competency documents. Results suggest that U.S. pediatric dentistry predoctoral programs have faculty and patient pool limitations that affect competency achievement and adversely affect training and practice. (+info)
Evaluation of a clinical outcomes assessment tool in a U.S. dental school.
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Quality assurance (QA) programs in dental schools have a component of their program devoted to treatment outcomes. To this end, our institution has implemented TOUCH (Treatment Outcomes Unacceptable for Clinical Health) seminars and Unusual Occurrence Reports (UORs). The seminars allow a faculty member to present a case to faculty and students with feedback from the audience on how the case was managed. The UORs track clinical incidents outside the range of normal. Participation in both of these QA measures has been less than expected. The goal of the current study was to discover the reasons for participation and lack of participation. A twelve-item survey was completed by seventy-one clinical faculty members and analyzed for trends. Faculty report only 28.3 percent of the unacceptable outcome cases they know about. The two most common reasons given for reporting an unusual occurrence were that it would help the institution reduce similar incidents and it would provide an opportunity to share learning experiences. The most common reason given for not reporting an unusual occurrence was not remembering to do so. Faculty members were most willing to present a TOUCH seminar if guaranteed that no negative repercussions would result. Suggestions for increasing participation in both programs include emphasizing their value, modifying the seminar format, providing more reminders, and reassuring against repercussions. (+info)
The New York State postgraduate fifth-year dental residency as a new licensure path: concerns for public protection.
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The recently enacted law creating an alternative pathway to dental licensure in New York state is benchmark legislation. Along with the positive effects of dental education that may ensue, the author has serious concerns that the strongly emotional and political debate occurring during the bill's consideration obscured important considerations for public safety and the erosion of standards for licensure in New York. In addition, this pathway has potential to negatively affect freedom of movement and licensure by credentials for practice in other jurisdictions. (+info)
Reexamining educational philosophy: the issue of professional responsibility, "Cleveland First".
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This paper proposes a shift of emphasis in the dental curriculum from measures to protect and improve the oral health of individuals to measures to protect and improve the oral health of the community or society. This shift represents a fundamental change in educational philosophy of the dental school. To illustrate this shift in emphasis, this paper describes a demonstration project to test the feasibility of this approach involving all seventy first-year students in the Case Western Reserve University School of Dentistry in a four-week experience placing dental sealants in erupting molars of second and sixth graders in fifty schools of the Cleveland City School System. In future years, the program is expected to reach all second and sixth graders in the Cleveland School System. The experience is a required integral component of the curriculum, involving every student in the class, and is designed to make a demonstrable difference in oral health in the City of Cleveland. The experience is reinforced with course material on professional responsibility. The school is developing additional intensive experiences for second-, third-, and fourth-year classes involving smoking prevention for adolescents, oral health maintenance for nursing home residents, and dental care delivery in the inner city. The initial year of the program has had effects on students' responses to other elements of the first-year curriculum that go beyond the experience of placing sealants in children's teeth. The focused efforts of dental students every year are expected to have a measurable effect on the disparities in oral health found in the City of Cleveland as well as a measurable effect on dental students' and dentists' attitudes concerning professional responsibility. (+info)