Journal of dental education
-
Multicenter Study Comparative Study
Dental education from the students' perspective: curriculum and climate.
This cross-sectional study compares morale among dental students at five western U. S. dental schools, relates morale to various aspects of the school environment, and determines a prioritized list of the most important aspects of dental education from the students' perspective. Survey data were collected from students at the end of their first, second, and third years. ⋯ Faculty and clinic experience were the most frequently cited positive aspects of schools; curriculum and clinic experience were the most commonly cited negative aspects. Students commonly perceived clinical experience to be the most important aspect of their education. As students neared graduation, they perceived business management as more important and lab work as less important.
-
This report is the third in a series of articles on the dental school work environment commissioned by the American Dental Education Association's Commission on Change and Innovation in Dental Education. The report is based on the most extensive research to date on faculty satisfaction in the dental school environment. The purpose of the study was to assess faculty perceptions and recommendations related to work environment, sources of job satisfaction and dissatisfaction, and professional development needs. ⋯ Tenured associate professors expressed the greatest level of dissatisfaction. Opportunities for and support of professional development emerged as an area requiring substantially more attention from dental schools. The authors of the study suggest that dental school leaders use these findings to assess their individual dental school's work environment and to plan changes as needed.
-
This article describes how a multidisciplinary problem-based learning (PBL) curriculum was established at the School of Stomatology at Wuhan University (WHUSS) in China for preclinical education in a seven-year dental school program. Based on positive feedback from a modified PBL program implemented in one discipline, a multidisciplinary PBL curriculum was established. PBL training for facilitators and students, development of resource materials, curriculum design, and case writing were done in a manner that is consistent with the characteristics and learning style preferences of Chinese dental students. ⋯ The experience at WHUSS indicates that there are clear benefits for students in the PBL format. A benefit to faculty is that PBL tutorial facilitators were partly liberated from their traditional roles and developed additional skills for facilitating. However, conflict arises when PBL-trained students encounter the traditional exam-centered education system.
-
Dental education in the United States and Canada is currently experiencing a crisis with respect to faculty recruitment and retention. The major reasons for the status of dental and specialty education are lower salaries and lack of interest. To make up for this deficit in the specialty of periodontology, our current educators need to utilize strategies targeted towards an existing potential teaching resource: the postdoctoral students in periodontology. ⋯ Developing a culture of mentoring in postdoctoral periodontology programs can be an important tool to enable individuals to become more involved in the process of teaching and mentoring during their postdoctoral training. This outcome could ameliorate the deficit of periodontists engaged as formal educators. Moreover, development and expansion of a culture of mentoring in a periodontolgy program may encourage recent graduates to become more involved in teaching subsequent to graduation.
-
During the inaugural year (2006-07) of the Academic Dental Careers Fellowship Program (ADCFP), 110 faculty members at ten different dental schools were interviewed by dental students who were participating as ADCFP fellows in this year-long program designed to introduce them to faculty roles and activities and help them gain an appreciation for the rewards and issues associated with academic life. The goals, format, and components of the ADCFP are described in a companion article in this issue of the Journal of Dental Education. One of the fellows' assignments during the ADCFP was to interview faculty at various academic ranks who had differing degrees of work emphasis in teaching, research, service/patient care, and administration. ⋯ A series of negative themes were also consistently identified: bureaucracy/administrative burdens and barriers, time commitment, financial frustration, political frustration, lack of mentorship, required research emphasis, lack of teaching skills development, student engagement, isolation, and funding uncertainty. This article reports the approximate frequency of each theme, presents representative statements that describe the motivations and attitudes of dental faculty members who were interviewed, and concludes with a review of programs/methods aimed at marketing academic careers to current students. The purpose of this review of the rewards, benefits, and challenges that current dental faculty face is to provide students who are considering dental education with a frame of reference to guide their further exploration of this career path and to help students appreciate the many positive aspects of academic life that may not be readily apparent from their own interactions with faculty members.