Journal of dental education
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Sixty-seven third-year dental students in Dunedin, New Zealand, participated in a communication skills course, using simulated patients, case-based scenarios, videotaped interviews, and class roleplays. The course introduced active listening techniques, taking a medical history, and emotion-handling skills. ⋯ Retrospective ratings indicated that the students considered communication skills to be significantly more important as a component of their undergraduate training after completion of the course than prior to it. As might be expected, students whose ratings were higher after the course also reported that the course helped them to develop new communication skills and techniques; increased their interest in the subject and their self-confidence; rated the tutor as more effective and the course materials as more helpful; and considered the course to be significantly more stimulating than those students whose ratings of the importance of communication skills remained the same or decreased.
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In June 2003 the U. S. Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of using race as a factor in higher education admissions decisions. ⋯ State organized dentistry officials did not appear to be as aware as others of the rulings, whereas legislators were mixed in their responses. Except for the University of Michigan undergraduate admissions procedures, it remains to be seen what the impact will be for other higher education institutions and for academic dental institutions. Although the rulings have provided guidelines for achieving diversity using race/ ethnicity as one of several factors, the rulings will possibly be challenged, thus requiring vigilance on the part of parent institutions and their ADI to ensure compliance with the spirit of the rulings and to avoid attack from opponents of affirmative action.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Equivalence study of a dental anatomy computer-assisted learning program.
Tooth Morphology is a computer-assisted learning program designed to teach the anatomy of the adult dentition. The purpose of this study was to test whether Tooth Morphology could teach dental anatomy to first-year dental students as well as the traditional lecture. A randomized controlled trial was performed with forty-five first-year dental students. ⋯ Analysis showed that the two groups' scores were statistically equivalent (p<0.05), with a priori equivalence bounds around the difference between the groups set at +/-5 points. It was concluded that Tooth Morphology taught the anatomy of the adult dentition as well as traditional lecture, as measured by exams. Based on the results of this study and student feedback, Tooth Morphology, in combination with interactive class meetings, has replaced the traditional dental anatomy lectures.
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This study characterizes the faculty shortage in U. S. postdoctoral pediatric dentistry (PD) education. The objectives of the study were to determine: 1) the changes in PD faculty numbers and teaching loads between 1995 and 2002 for postdoctoral PD education, 2) current faculty age and training, and 3) distribution of faculty by age. ⋯ About one-third of programs used general dentists to teach PD, while programs using foreign-trained educators grew from 4 to 13 percent. Twenty-nine percent of full-time and 27 percent of part-time faculty are fifty-five years or older, and young entry-level faculty, age twenty-five to twenty-nine, represent only 2 percent and 5 percent of full- and part-time faculty respectively. Faculty vacancies have increased along with numbers of students and residents, and the largest segment of PD faculty is within a decade of retirement age.
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A dental school in the modern academic health center often finds that its traditional mission of educating dentists has become more complex as a result of the increased emphasis placed on research and patient care. Although health care education clearly benefits from a rich environment including research and patient care, faculty often find themselves conflicted about their roles in the complex mix of activities in the health center. In order to support faculty in their educational activities, several schools have formed organizational structures with the specific purpose of providing financial and developmental assistance. This article describes a model for an organizational structure within the Harvard School of Dental Medicine designed to promote educational excellence and then describes two academies dedicated to promoting teaching quality at Harvard Medical School and at the University of California at San Francisco.