Developing the next generation of leaders in oral health.

Given the challenges facing oral health providers as practitioners, community leaders, and educators, expanding dental curricula with an introductory course on leadership is timely and necessary. Such a course will sow the seeds of leadership by defining its importance in the dental profession and creating an understanding that the skills associated with leadership need to be developed over a lifetime. This article reports on a conference session in which a group of faculty members and students discussed the need and value of teaching leadership, compared leadership programs from four U.S. dental schools, and proposed an implementation framework for leadership programs at other dental schools. The moderator led discussion of participants' suggestions for course materials and implementation frameworks in small-group sessions. The participants' responses were captured using standardized worksheets. Time, including faculty members' and students', was considered the biggest barrier to implementing a leadership course. A number of opportunities were identified, including the ability for interprofessional collaboration and the opportunity for students to grow and learn. Creating a core course with optional components was considered the most attractive option. In this experience, the participants gained perspective on the challenges and opportunities for developing a leadership curriculum and were provided with a tangible product for further development.

Leadership training for postdoctoral dental students.

Harvard School of Dental Medicine launched a course on leadership for its postdoctoral dental students in 2010 in order to introduce them to the art of leadership and the latest theories and principles regarding becoming a leader. Nine four-hour modules over a period of six months took the students on a journey of leadership self-exploration by building awareness of their capacity in core leadership skills; providing them with tools and frameworks for developing effective leadership skills; encouraging the immediate practice of core skills; creating space for honest reflection; and providing inspiration with guest lectures. A constant toggle between the present and their future as leaders was built into the course. In the student evaluations, the course received an overall rating of 4.71 (5=excellent), and the students reported an enhanced interest in all topic areas. They reported that the ability to build trust with others was the most beneficial skill for a dentist, while viewing advocacy skills as the least beneficial. All the students indicated an intention to continue developing their leadership skills. Through the course, the students developed an understanding of their leadership strengths and limitations through case studies, role-play, and self-reflection, as well as gaining an understanding of team dynamics and cultural perceptions in the context of dentistry.

Integrating leadership into a practice management curriculum for dental students.

Curriculum evaluations by recent graduates of the Harvard School of Dental Medicine suggested the need for additional coursework in practice management. Given the complex challenges facing practitioners, the course design was expanded beyond the suggested practice management to include leadership theory and skills. Students were able to distinguish and assess their level of various leadership skills at the end of the course. The course received an overall rating of 4.23 on a scale of 1 (poor) to 5 (excellent), with 84 percent of responding students indicating that their interest-specifically in the areas of clinical efficiency, practice management, reducing medical errors, communication, business, team building, leadership, and access to care-was enhanced. The responding students assessed their current leadership skills overall at 3.84. They assessed themselves best at "Integrity" (4.48) and worst at "Managing Conflict" (3.12). They felt that "Ability to Build Trust with Others" is the most beneficial skill for a dentist, while "Ability to Influence" is the least beneficial. Eighty-eight percent of students responding indicated that it is "Very Likely" they will continue to practice developing their leadership skills. Qualitative feedback was overwhelmingly positive and indicated that students found the course life-altering and highly valued its breadth of topics.