Work shadowing in dental teaching practices: evaluation results of a collaborative study between university and general dental practices.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to investigate the acceptance and assessment of work shadowing carried out by students and dentists in dental practices. Furthermore, the extent to which students perceive an improvement in their specialised, communication and social competencies, was to be examined. METHODS: 61 dental students in their clinical semesters at a German university participated in work shadowing placements at 27 different general dental practices. Before beginning, they received checklists of various competencies that they self-assessed using school grades (from 1 = 'very good', to 6 = 'failed'), which they also repeated after completion. The dentists supplemented this with their external assessments. In addition, the students were requested to fill out a 54-item questionnaire and compose a freely-structured report after the work shadowing; the dentists filled out a questionnaire containing 16 items. The statistical analysis was carried out by means of the Friedman Test, including a post-hoc test (Bonferroni-Holm correction). RESULTS: The analysis showed a significant overall improvement in the students' self-assessed competencies by 0.71* ± 0.43 grades. With an average of 0.33* ± 0.36, the dentists' external assessment proved significantly higher than the self-assessment. The greatest improvements were perceived by the students in the areas of accounting (1.17* ± 0.77), practice organisation (1.05* ± 0.61) and dentist's discussions (0.94* ±0.80) [*p < 0.05]. The students confirmed experiencing an expansion of knowledge, an improvement in their communication skills and indicated a high degree of satisfaction in regard to the dentists (school grade 1.58 ± 0.93). A maximum amount of satisfaction towards the work shadow students was demonstrated by the dentists, and this form of teaching was assessed with a school grade of 1.69 ± 0.89. CONCLUSION: Both students and dental practitioners demonstrated a high level of satisfaction in regard to the work shadowing. The students felt their knowledge had increased, viewed the dentists as motivating role models and acknowledged a significant improvement in their specialised, communication and social competencies. Work shadowing in dental teaching practices presents a sensible addition to academic teaching at a university.

Global networking: Meeting the challenges, facilitating collaboration.

The constant change of information and technology advancement as well as the impact of social media has radically changed the world and education and, in particular, the needs of students, organisations and disadvantaged communities who share the aim of training and providing quality healthcare services. Dental organisations and education centres around the world have recognised the importance of networking in delivering effective education to students, healthcare professionals and communities. Networking is one way to meet the challenges of delivering healthcare education and services. This can be achieved by sharing of resources, expertise, knowledge and experience to benefit all the stakeholders in healthcare delivery. The joint ADEE/ADEA Meeting in London on 8-9 May 2017 has facilitated discussions amongst dental educators from all over the world during a workshop on "Global Networking: the how and why for dental educators." The aim of this workshop was to determine how can dental educators worldwide network to share ideas, experience, expertise and resources to improve both the curricula and the teaching and learning environment. A pre-conference survey was designed and implemented to identify the domains of interest and needs of participants. A structured questionnaire was administered, and this information was used to guide discussions on three main themes: curricula, faculty development and mobility of faculty and students. Four questions were then defined to help group leaders to frame discussions in the four working groups. The four groups engaged in parallel discussions, with the ideas recorded and collated by group leaders, which later served for the thematic analysis across the groups to draw the key points discussed. Overall, a great desire and potential to create a global networking to share and gain support and expertise at individual and organisational level was apparent and the working group has proposed an action plan, acknowledging that it requires great planning, effort and commitment.

Harmonisation of Dental Education in Europe - a survey about 15 years after visitation of dental schools participating in the DentEd project.

INTRODUCTION: The DentEd Thematic Networks (TNP) were funded from the EU to converge and harmonise the dental curricula. Forty-four dental schools participated in this visitation process between 1998 and 2002. The aim of the survey was to evaluate the implementation of the Dented outcomes in the curricula and if the concept of core competences are integrated in the curriculum. MATERIAL AND METHOD: In October 2012, questionnaires were sent out to all dental schools participated in the visitation process of Dented and Dented evolves. The main question blocs were as follows: structure of the curriculum and facilities, education of students, content and quality of education, assessment, research, European involvement and value of visit for the school. RESULTS: Twenty-five dental schools (57%) answered to the questionnaire. The responder represented 20 European countries of 22, whose schools were involved (91%). The self-assessment report was stimulating the continuation of curriculum improvement. Most of them acknowledge that major competences are essential outcome for the graduated dentist. Twelve schools (58%) rated the value of the DentEd visit with strong positive influence. DISCUSSION: The visits showed strengths, weaknesses and threats. Three-quarter of all schools implemented the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS). But most of them did not realize the unit of ECTS with modules among the Bologna process. CONCLUSION: The self-assessment report was a core issue for the continuation of curriculum improvement. The challenge for the ongoing curriculum improvement is the implementation of the module system among the Bologna recommendations.

Connecting and Collaborating: Developing National Dental PBRN Study Concepts Through POD Engagement.

PURPOSE: This article illustrates the process by which the Southwest Region of the National Dental Practice-Based Research Network (www.NationalDentalPBRN.org) fosters collaboration among practitioners and researchers in study concept development through protocol development groups (PODs). The Southwest Region begins this process by engaging PODs, which comprise dentists, hygienists, and/or academic faculty who share research interests related to improving dental care. METHOD: The PODs use the Tuckman four-stage model of group development (forming, storming, norming, and performing) to develop study concepts. This well-structured model encourages engagement among group members and enables quality discussion through organized sessions. This model provides milestones for the group's progression and for the members' interactions. The Southwest Region Directors play a crucial role in guiding and directing the development of PODs by aligning the members' research interests with the goals of the National Network. RESULTS: POD engagement using Tuckman's stages has been successful in developing study concepts for submission to the National Network. Between 2012 and 2014, the Southwest Region has developed 14 PODs from 275 research ideas. Five of these study concepts have been submitted to the National Network for approval, including the Novel Tobacco Products POD, which showcases the applicability of Tuckman's model. CONCLUSION: Overall, the POD concept is a collaborative effort that brings together practitioners and academicians through shared research interests and capitalizes on participants' expertise and experiences. The Southwest Region will continue to develop PODs to foster new ideas for future studies in the Network.

Putting the mouth back in the head: HEENT to HEENOT.

Improving oral health is a leading population health goal; however, curricula preparing health professionals have a dearth of oral health content and clinical experiences. We detail an educational and clinical innovation transitioning the traditional head, ears, eyes, nose, and throat (HEENT) examination to the addition of the teeth, gums, mucosa, tongue, and palate examination (HEENOT) for assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of oral-systemic health. Many New York University nursing, dental, and medical faculty and students have been exposed to interprofessional oral health HEENOT classroom, simulation, and clinical experiences. This was associated with increased dental-primary care referrals. This innovation has potential to build interprofessional oral health workforce capacity that addresses a significant public health issue, increases oral health care access, and improves oral-systemic health across the lifespan.

Lessons in health and human rights: providing dental care to torture survivors.

New York City has a large number of individuals seeking asylem who are victims of torture. In addition to dental needs, which include cases of severe trauma to the mouth, these individuasl require special support because of their fear of contact by those they do not know. A cooperative program between the New York University College of Dentistry and Bellevue NYU, known as the Program for Survivors of Torture, is described.

The ethics of corporate social responsibility.

Corporations as well as individual professionals have an ethical obligation to help those in need. There is a sound tradition in American business for companies including social outreach as part of business strategy. This approach works best when corporations and community and professional experts work in partnership. Henry Schein's Corporate Social Responsibility program contributes expertise, logistics, connections, and funds to these partnerships in the United States and worldwide.

International peer review in undergraduate dentistry: enhancing reflective practice in an online community of practice.

To stimulate and enhance student learning in the areas of global citizenship, critical reflection and e-learning, an online international peer review using a purpose-built web platform, has been developed between international dental schools. Since its inception in 2007, n = 6 dental schools from six different countries have participated with n = 384 dental students engaged in online peer review. Project development was conceptually analysed utilising Lave and Wenger's notion of a community of practice (CoP). Analysis drew on the three core components within the CoP organising framework: domain, community and practice. All three components were evident in building project identity. The domain focused on both curriculum and institutional co-operation. The community was evident for both educators and students. Finally, analysis of practice was found to be significant in terms of sustained interaction and collaboration. Empirical evaluation is recommended as the next phase of project design.

Suppression of information on the prevalence and prevention of exercise-associated hyponatraemia.

It has been suggested recently that financial links between manufacturers of sports drinks and professional Sports Science organisations in North America have suppressed information on the existence and ways of preventing an epidemic of exercise-associated hyponatraemia (EAH). This article reviews evidence for the prevalence of both biochemical and clinical hyponatraemia. It concludes that a limited number of cases of EAH occur after ultra-long distance events, particularly when performed under cold and wet conditions, and that some eight deaths have been associated with EAH since 1985. However, this information has been widely reported, both in North America and in other parts of the world. Claims of an 'epidemic' seem unwarranted, and there is no solid evidence supporting the claim that information has been suppressed because of ties between sports scientists and sports drink manufacturers.

Collaboration between dental faculties and National Dental Associations (NDAs) within the World Dental Federation-European Regional Organization zone: an NDAs perspective.

Although improvements in certain oral health measures have been achieved, many global oral health matters and challenges exist. Collaborations and partnerships among various institutions are crucial in solving such problems. The main aim of the present study was to analyse the nature and extent of the partnership between dental faculties and National Dental Associations (NDAs). A questionnaire was developed, focusing on the relationship between NDAs and dental faculties within the World Dental Federation-European Regional Organization (FDI-ERO) zone with regard to major professional activities, such as dental education (both undergraduate and continuing education), workforce issues, improvement of national oral health, and science and knowledge transfer. The questionnaire was sent to all member NDAs within the ERO zone. The response rate was 21/41 (53.65%). The major activities in which NDAs were found to be involved were improvement of national oral health (100%), followed by continuing education activities (90%), whereas the activity which received least involvement was the development of an undergraduate dental curriculum (52%). The NDAs perceived their relationship with dental faculties to be quite satisfactory in the fields of continuing education, science and knowledge transfer, and the implementation of new technologies into daily dental practice. However, it was suggested that their relationship needed significant improvement with regard to the development of an undergraduate dental education curriculum, dental workforce issues and negotiations with the authorities regarding professional matters/issues. As the two important elements of organised dentistry, NDAs and dental faculties have a significant role to play in the improvement of oral health and in finding solutions to global oral health challenges; therefore, their collaboration and partnership are crucial for this purpose. On the basis of the perceptions of NDAs regarding their relationship with dental faculties, it can be concluded that their partnership can and should be further improved.

Authorship, collaboration, and funding trends in implantology literature: analysis of five journals from 2005 to 2009.

PURPOSE: To identify the trend of authorship in dental implant by exploring the prevalence of coauthored articles and to investigate the collaboration efforts, trends in funding involved in original articles, and their relationships. MATERIALS: Articles published in the Clinical Oral Implants Research, International Journal of Oral & Maxillofacial Implants, Clinical Implant Dentistry and Related Research, Implant Dentistry, and Journal of Oral Implantology from 2005 to 2009 were reviewed. Nonoriginal articles were excluded. For each included articles, number of authors, collaboration efforts, and extramural funding were recorded. Descriptive and analytical statistics (α = 0.05), including logistic regression analysis and χ² test, were used. RESULTS: From a total of 2085 articles, 1503 met the inclusion criteria. Publications with 5 or more authors increased over time (P = 0.813). The amount of collaboration among different disciplines, institutions, and countries all increased. The greatest increase of collaboration was seen among institutions (P = 0.09). Nonfunding studies decreased over time (P = 0.031). There was a strong association between collaboration and funding for the manuscripts during the years studied (OR, 1.5). CONCLUSION: The number of authors per articles and collaborative studies increased over time in implant-related journals. Collaborative studies were more likely to be funded.

Matching system within clinical training facilities group of clinical dental training in Tokyo Dental College Chiba Hospital.

Since clinical dental training became mandatory in April 2006, Tokyo Dental College Chiba Hospital has been offering the following two types of training system: 1. a single system, and 2. a clinical training facilities group system. The clinical training facilities group system consists of program B, in which residents are trained in a cooperation-type clinical training facility for 3-4 months, and program C, in which residents are trained in two cooperation-type clinical training facilities for 7-8 months. A matching system within the clinical training facilities group is applied to select and decide on the cooperation-type clinical training facility for residents. In this system, the ranking of resident candidates that a cooperation-type clinical training facility would like to accept, and the ranking of training facilities that candidates choose are matched. The present study investigated the matching system within the clinical training facilities group in 2006, 2007, and 2008. The rate of matching to their third choice was more than 90% in program B and about 80% in program C in each year, suggesting a high matching rate. The percentage of cooperation-type clinical training facilities accepting dental residents dropped due to a decrease in the number of such residents. The distribution of accepted cooperation-type clinical training facilities is concentrated in Chiba Prefecture where our hospital, the management-type clinical training facility, is located, and the neighboring prefectures.

Guidinq change one school at a time.

Liaison teams have been developed in order to ensure that national initiatives identified in the American Dental Education Association's Commission on Change and Innovation (ADEA CCI) are implemented at the level of individual schools. Teams of four faculty members each have been identified at 43 United States and Canadian schools. These teams receive training at ADEA annual meeting and at summer institutes. Representative projects from three schools are described.

What the ADEA CCI series of articles means to me: reflections of a dental school dean.

In this reflection article, Dr. Huw F. Thomas, a U.S. dental school dean, identifies important messages and insights he gained from a series of twenty-one articles about the future of dental education published in the Journal of Dental Education from October 2005 to February 2009. This article addresses three questions: 1) What influence have these articles had on a dental school dean's perspectives about his role and priorities? 2) What important messages are contained within these articles for fellow deans? and 3) What messages do these articles send to dental education in general? The American Dental Education Association's Commission on Change and Innovation in Dental Education (ADEA CCI) was established to facilitate change and innovation in dental education. Through the ADEA CCI, ADEA brought together stakeholders in academic dentistry: dental schools, the American Dental Association (ADA) Board of Trustees, the Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA), the ADA Council on Dental Education and Licensure (CDEL), the Joint Commission on National Dental Examinations (JCNDE), the dental licensure community, the ADA Foundation, and advanced dental education programs. The goal of the ADEA CCI is to provide a forum to build consensus within the dental community for innovative changes in the education of general dentists. As part of the consensus-building process, the ADEA CCI commissioned a series of articles, published in the Journal of Dental Education, to raise awareness and stimulate dialogue about issues and forces shaping the future of dental education and propose strategies to achieve desired enhancements. Collectively, this series of articles is known as the Perspectives and Reflections in Dental Education (PRIDE) series to acknowledge the commitment of the academic dental community to reflect on current practices and future directions and also to represent the pride of dental school faculty members in their educational responsibilities and accomplishments.

["Other study programs" at university medical schools in Germany]. / "Sonstige Studiengänge" an Medizinischen Fakultäten von Universitäten in Deutschland.

Traditionally medical and dental study programs in Germany are carried out by the medical schools of the universities. In the context of the specialization of medicine and the academization of the other health professions, additional study programs have been developed. The dynamics of the development and the federal structure of Germany have led to the current situation, which is difficult to understand. Based on a survey published in November 2007 ("Landkarte Hochschulmedizin") and the analysis of the Internet websites of the 36 medical schools (2008/2009), a summary of the currently offered "other study programs" could be created. The result is that 28 medical schools offer a total of 27 undergraduate programs (B.Sc.), 55 graduate programs (M.Sc.), and about 15 MD (PhD) degree programs. These are not only designed for doctors, but also for other health professionals (for example biologists, nurses). Special attention should be paid to courses carried out in cooperation with other departments from the same or other institutions (universities, colleges and polytechnics), as well as to the integration of specialization opportunities in the second part of the medical studies. The study programs and training courses offered are also predicted to expand and to increasingly involve other health professionals.