Journal of dental education
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This report describes the first in a series of foundation-building faculty development workshops focused on the instructional methodology of problem-based learning (PBL). The PBL Process workshop reported here introduced the learning theory topics supporting PBL and utilized an extended roleplay method to provide participants with personal experience with the PBL learning cycle. Overall, participants were satisfied with the methods and content of the workshop. ⋯ Participants expressed relatively greater difficulty understanding and performing activities related to qualitative assessment of learning processes. The workshop was developed to align with adult learning principles, and continued refinement of the workshop has enhanced the learning theory components underpinning PBL as well as the experiential aspects. These dual goals have resulted in blending the existing experiential workshop with an online distance-learning component addressing the learning theory topics relevant to PBL pedagogy.
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To assess the quality and quantity of sedation education in U. S. dental schools, a prospective, questionnaire-based survey was administered to general dental practitioners who graduated in 2003. Questionnaires were sent via facsimile to recent dental graduates using a list obtained through the American Dental Association. ⋯ S. dental schools. The general consensus of most 2003 dental school graduates is that they have gained little or no hands-on experience in sedation techniques and would have supported an increase in tuition and fees if an institution were to offer more efficient sedation training. With increased popularity and high patient demand for sedation techniques, the new dentist feels a need for sedation education before graduation.
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This article reports the results of a 2003 survey of medical emergency education taught in U. S. dental schools and compares the results to findings from surveys conducted in 1983 and 1992. A questionnaire was sent to the deans of all U. ⋯ Most schools included venipuncture and endotracheal intubation in their curriculum. Routine monitoring of vital signs remained fairly consistent over the past twenty years with a slight dip in the 1992 survey. A standardization of medical emergency education needs to take place to ensure an appropriate level of training for all dental students.
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The second in a series of perspectives from the ADEA Commission on Change and Innovation in Dental Education (CCI), this article presents the CCI's view of the dental education environment necessary for effective change. The article states that the CCI's purpose is related to leading and building consensus in the dental community to foster a continuous process of innovative change in the education of general dentists. ⋯ The article also describes influences external to the academic dental institutions that are important for change and argues that meaningful and long-lasting change must be systemic in nature. The CCI is ADEA's primary means to engage all stakeholders for the purpose of educating lifelong learners to provide evidence-based care to meet the needs of society.
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Dental educators provide learning experiences for dental students that help them develop the belief that universal access to oral health care is a social justice imperative that will compel them to provide care to underserved patients after they graduate. To accomplish these learning outcomes, dental schools first recruit underrepresented minority students and students with previous volunteerism experiences. ⋯ The long-term, educational outcomes of these learning experiences have not been assessed to date. Systematic surveys should be conducted of dentists who have had these educational experiences to measure the number who actually care for the underserved in private dental offices, community health "safety net" clinics, and the Indian and Public Health Services.