Journal of dental education
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Funded by The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the California Endowment and with student financial aid from the W. K. Kellogg Foundation, the primary goal of the Pipeline, Profession, and Practice: Community-Based Dental Education program is to reduce disparities in access to dental care. ⋯ By the final year (2007) of the five-year project, the schools are expected to achieve three objectives: 1) increase the time (sixty days/year) that senior students and residents spend in patient-centered community clinics and practices treating underserved populations; 2) provide didactic and clinical courses for students and residents that prepare them for their community experiences; and 3) recruit more underrepresented minority and low-income students. The national program office that directs the project is located at Columbia University, and a national advisory committee oversees the program for the sponsoring organizations. The challenge is to demonstrate that the Pipeline objectives are achievable and that the program is sustainable without external support.
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This article describes the conceptual and analytical framework that will be used to assess the effectiveness of the Pipeline, Profession, and Practice: Community-Based Dental Education Program. The evaluation will use a mixed method qualitative and quantitative data collection, analysis, and triangulation. ⋯ Gaps were found between the perceptions of URM and non-URM students in the adequacy of the curricula. The majority of all seniors described the current extramural clinical rotations as positive experiences, but URMs were more likely to report the experience improved their ability to care for diverse groups.
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The total number of vacant budgeted positions (296) fell by eleven positions between 2002-03 and 2003-04. However, the reported number of lost positions increased from thirty-nine to 147. The average number of vacancies per school was 5.3. ⋯ This is a change from recent previous years when the most influencing factors were salary/budget limitations and lack of response to position announcements. While there was no indication expressed in the survey that vacancies were adversely affecting the quality of dental education, almost 50 percent of the deans reported faculty recruitment and retention was a problem at their school, and over 55 percent indicated that they anticipated it would become more difficult over the next five years to fill vacated positions. Faculty recruitment, development, and retention remain priority issues in meeting the teaching, research, patient care, and administrative needs of the dental education community.