Journal of dental education
-
In fall 2002, the ADEA Section on Comprehensive Care and General Dentistry conducted a survey of the predoctoral clinical curriculum models at sixty-four North American dental schools. Fifty-eight percent of the schools reported that most patient care is provided in a comprehensive care clinic setting, 22 percent reported that most patient care is provided in discipline-specific settings, and 20 percent reported a hybrid of comprehensive care and discipline-specific settings. ⋯ PCC curriculum models were frequently associated with the following institutional factors: more densely populated metropolitan areas; private institutional sponsorship; location within a university medical center; larger class size; and more students enrolled in advanced training at the school. Curriculum factors frequently associated with PCC models included the following: increased use of simulation technology: higher proportion of clinical/teaching track faculty; higher proportion of part-time faculty; higher proportion of generalist faculty; same faculty supervising both treatment planning and patient treatment; and use of competency exams as the main requirement for completion of the curriculum.
-
The new predoctoral dental education program at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, officially began on August 26, 2002. Key concepts identified as foundations for the UNLV clinical curriculum model include Student Active Integrated Learning (SAIL), the need to actively link oral health to systemic health, a sophisticated practice management model, a focus on culturally sensitive statewide outreach, establishing a strong biomedical research base, and development of future faculty. The predoctoral program will be comprised of five general practices. Students from each of the four academic years will be assigned to a practice group; each student will be expected to provide patient care within the scope of his or her current training.
-
This study collected validity evidence on the utility of critical thinking skills and critical thinking disposition in predicting initial clinical performance. The predictive value of critical thinking skills scores and disposition scores was examined to determine their unique contribution beyond that provided by traditional predictors: grade point average, age, and number of college hours. The study involved three phases: establishing content validity of three outcome measures; assessing students' baseline critical thinking skills and disposition using the California Critical Thinking Skills Test (CCTST) and the California Critical Thinking Dispositions Inventory (CCTDI); and assessing students' initial clinical competence, clinical reasoning, and clinical knowledge. ⋯ A series of hierarchical multiple regression analyses demonstrated that CCTST scores explained a statistically significant (p<.05) proportion of variance in students' initial clinical reasoning scores, acquired knowledge scores, and faculty ratings, above and beyond that explained by other predictor variables. CCTDI scores were not significant predictors of any outcome measure. It was concluded that CCTST is a good predictor of initial student outcomes and may have utility for student selection and retention.
-
This study aims to assess the difference in self-perceived stress before and after an academic assessment and its association with the marks scored and to study the association of salivary cortisol, Immunoglobulin A (IgA), and chromogranin A (CgA) with stress levels before and after the assessment. Thirty-one third-year dental undergraduates indicated how stressed they felt on a 5-point rating scale just prior to and immediately after a one-hour written test. Five-minute unstimulated whole saliva samples were also collected at those times to measure salivary cortisol, IgA, and CgA. ⋯ Dental students perceived a higher level of stress prior to the test, which declined after that. Pre-test stress scores were associated with raised salivary cortisol, but not IgA or CgA. Students who perceived higher levels of stress after the test generally had poorer results.
-
Dental students at the Harvard School of Dental Medicine (HSDM) participate fully in the first two years of the curriculum with the Harvard Medical School (HMS) while also taking parallel dental classes. HSDM students were first exposed to problem-based learning (PBL) in 1987 when the "New Pathway" curriculum was introduced at HMS in the first two years of the medical school curriculum (the HSDM courses remained traditional lecture-based classes). In 1994, HSDM incorporated PBL into the first, second, and third (clinical year) year dental courses, and the curriculum shifted from a five-year curriculum to a four-year curriculum. ⋯ Univariate linear regressions were computed for each measure against each outcome. Subsequent bivariate regression analyses revealed that the implementation of PBL has markedly affected NBDE Part I scores, graduation rates, attrition rates, entrance into postdoctoral plans, and percentage of graduates entering GPR/AEGD programs, while program length has had an effect on graduation rates, attrition rates, entrance into postdoctoral programs, and percentage of graduates entering GPR/AEGD programs. The findings of this report suggest that the implementation of PBL combined with a change in program length has been successful for all outcomes measured and that PBL alone has contributed to the rise in NBDE Part I scores among HSDM graduates.