Journal of dental education
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This report describes the second workshop in a series intended to prepare faculty for their roles in a newly instituted problem-based learning (PBL) dental program. The Facilitation of Learning workshop was designed to familiarize participants with the role of the facilitator in the small-group learning context, the skills required for facilitation, and identification of student behaviors requiring facilitator intervention. ⋯ The opportunity to observe and participate in a realistically simulated PBL group was most commonly identified as an effective workshop element by attendees, with participant discussions and opportunities for input from experienced facilitators and students (when used) also cited as effective. Participant criticisms and suggestions that will likely contribute to program enhancement notably included expressed desires for further observation and practice prior to facilitation of a PBL student learning group and availability of ongoing follow-up training and support for fledgling facilitators.
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Comparative Study
In the students' own words: what are the strengths and weaknesses of the dental school curriculum?
Dental students have little input into the selection of course topics and subject matter included in their dental curricula. Curriculum requirements are framed by the Commission on Dental Accreditation, which has stipulated competencies and associated biomedical and clinical knowledge that must be addressed during dental school. Although these competency requirements restrict the variance of educational experiences, students are eager to share their views on the curriculum within the realm of their educational experience. ⋯ Findings from this study are compared to results from a similar investigation of dental student perceptions conducted fifty years ago. We conclude that students participating in this study were positive overall about their learning experiences in dental schools, but identified several areas that appear to be problematic for many students at a variety of different schools including fundamental concerns about instructional quality in some areas of the curriculum. Academic program administrators in dental schools can use these findings to guide modifications that will enhance the overall dental education experience.
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Although dentistry recognizes that dental caries management encompasses more than restoring the consequences of the disease, caries risk assessment and management that go beyond traditional restorative care have not always had a strong and organized voice during clinical curriculum development and competency assessment in U. S. dental schools. This has resulted in confusion and great variability between the need for risk-based caries management and prevention and how practitioners apply these concepts in private and community settings. ⋯ From its inception, the program was centered on a competency requirement for graduation and the principles of evidence-based practice. The process, competency, and initial programmatic outcomes assessment measures are discussed. Barriers encountered are briefly reviewed from the following perspectives: dental school structure, faculty support/calibration, students, reimbursement, and standard of care/public expectations.
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To fulfill the Healthy People 2010 Objective 1.7, "Increase the proportion of . . . health professional training schools whose basic curriculum for health care providers includes the core competencies in health promotion and disease prevention," the Healthy People Curriculum Task Force has developed a curriculum framework for clinical prevention and population health for all the health professions. This framework has four components: 1) evidence base for practice; 2) clinical preventive services, including health promotion; 3) health systems and health policy; and 4) community aspects of practice. Within these four common components are nineteen domains, for which each health profession is identifying its own educational objectives. ⋯ Faculty members have commonalities in attitudes about the advantages and problems in improving teaching in clinical prevention, yet dental schools act individually in curricular design and implementation. The conference introduced a method of conceptualizing change, so that dental schools might address organizational barriers in clinical curriculum development. Even with the new common curriculum framework, other barriers to improved dental prevention and population oral health exist: these include organizational change in dental schools, dental practices, and dental clinics; reimbursement issues and incentives; and lack of accepted and explicit standards in dental care.