Perspectives on dental education in the Nordic countries.
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The object of this review is to discuss the state of dental education and describe current developments at dental schools in the Nordic countries. The main focus is the undergraduate dental education; however, the postgraduate system will also be addressed. The curriculum model for undergraduate dental education in the Nordic countries is based upon the odontological tradition. The influence of biomedicine on dental education is increasing at present due to scientific and medico-technological developments and the altered disease profiles of oral and systemic diseases. These circumstances create new possibilities for dental education, but at the same time they raise some problems. In the long-term, the strong biomedical influence on dental education will be an advantage to future dentists' function and tasks in health care systems in the Nordic countries. In the short term, it may result in an identity crisis for dental schools, students, and our profession, as we experience the evolution from the traditional odontological curriculum model to one significantly influenced by ongoing changes in the biomedical field. Continuing professional education and advanced training in clinical specialties are likely to play important roles in this evolution. (+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)
Issues regarding practical validity and gender bias of the Perceptual Abilities Test (PAT).
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A brief history of the Dental Admission Test is provided, with emphasis on the development and utilization of the Perceptual Abilities Test (PAT). Concerns regarding the predictive utility of the PAT are discussed, and alternative approaches to assessing perceptual and motor skills are examined. To assess the predictive validity of the PAT, scores were collected for 492 students who graduated from the University of Oklahoma College of Dentistry over a ten-year period. Scores were compared to Preclinical Operative Dentistry practical exam scores for each subject. Correlational analysis indicated the PAT maintains a statistically significant capacity for predicting technical performance in dental school, but the practical significance of the predictive capacity is limited. The results also indicate a gender bias favoring male applicants. Implications regarding continued reliance by admissions committees on the Perceptual Abilities Test are discussed and recommendations are provided, including modification of the PAT, use of the PAT only as a gross screening tool, and discontinuing the use of the PAT in making dental school admission decisions. (+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)
Assessing the effectiveness of a new curriculum: Part I.
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Although it is important to assess the effectiveness of programs, courses, and teaching methods to ensure that goals are being achieved, it is very difficult to evaluate the impact of fundamental changes in a whole curriculum. This paper reviews measures that have been used in the past in dentistry and medicine for evaluating academic programs: curriculum guidelines; competency documents; discussion and focus groups; competency examinations; board examinations; oral comprehensive examinations; student, alumni, and patient satisfaction surveys; evaluation by instructors; and clinical productivity. We conclude that, since no standard method exists, several tools should be used to obtain a multidimensional assessment. (+info)
Dental education in Europe: the challenges of variety.
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Dental education varies considerably across Europe, with differing traditions of stomatology (dentistry as a specialty of medicine) and odontology (single autonomous discipline). Dental curricula within the European Union (EU) are governed by European law expressed in directives that are binding on all EU member states. The Dental Directives (78/686/EC) base the curriculum on the odontological model, but compliance by individual schools is often poor. The differences within the EU will likely intensify with the accession of Eastern/Central European countries where the stomatological tradition is strong. Moreover, current proposals within the EU will reduce even the limited existing effectiveness of the Dental Directives. The DentEd Thematic Network Project, which aims to promote convergence of European curricula through voluntary self-assessment and outside peer review, has involved about 25 percent of European schools. Its effectiveness in inducing changes in individual schools is unknown. It is not an accreditation system, and there is no intention to establish a European-wide common curriculum. Dentists' vocational training, here defined as "the organised education of the newly qualified dentist in supervised practice," is present in various models in many European countries, but is compulsory in only a few. Continuing dental education (CDE) is encouraged in most countries, but CDE-dependent licensure is required in only two. (+info)
Works in progress: a comparison of dental school experiences between passing and failing NERB candidates, 2001.
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The purpose of this report is to compare outcomes on the North East Regional Board of Dental Examiners (NERB) clinical examination to selected measures of academic performance in one U.S. dental school. The data came from results of the spring 2001 NERB examination at that school. Five measures of academic performance--number of Class II amalgam restorations completed, number of Class III/IV composite restorations completed, fixed prosthodontic units performed, fourth-year class rank, and GPA-were compared between those who passed and those who failed NERB's restorative exercise (RESTOR) and provisional fixed partial denture exercise (SIM). Analyses could not confirm a positive relationship between the school performance measures and the NERB outcome of passing RESTOR on the first attempt. On the other hand, those who passed SIM on the first attempt had, on the average, performed more amalgams, composites, and fixed prosthodontic units as students than those who failed; they also had, on average, better class rank and higher GPA. Therefore, only performance on SIM related to performance in school. However, both RESTOR and SIM had a similar number of failures from the top as well as the bottom portions of the class. These preliminary data from one dental school class raise questions about the validity of the NERB clinical examination for licensure decisions. (+info)