Journal of dental education
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This article presents the development and implementation of a wiki-based application for the delivery of educational content in dentistry. The Dental Procedure Education System (DPES) is a new web application that uses SharePoint to combine online collaborative authoring characteristic of wiki spaces with instructional video documentaries. Harnessing the wiki's versatility, DPES offers faculty members an avenue to develop an authoritative source of information for both students, through DPES Pro, and the public at large, through DPES Public. ⋯ An authoring protocol, with a clearly defined sequence of steps, was established in order to keep the production of the DPES procedures consistent and predictable. Initial, anecdotal user reports indicate that DPES is well received among dental students and faculty members. Expected outcomes and benefits of DPES use are discussed, and directions for research are proposed.
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In a general effort to facilitate dental professionals' effective tobacco-dependence education (TDE), the student part of the project reported here had three purposes: 1) to promote tobacco cessation activities in the dental school clinic, 2) to evaluate dental and dental hygiene students' confidence level in treating tobacco-dependent patients, and 3) to determine the frequency, duration, and depth with which the students assisted tobacco-dependent patients. Surveys of senior dental and dental hygiene students at the Loma Linda University School of Dentistry were conducted in 2008. ⋯ After the curricular intervention, the follow-up survey found that the dental students more frequently showed their patients the effects of tobacco on the oral mucosa and more frequently discussed pharmacotherapy options and made referrals during routine care. Until all dental and dental hygiene students are required to meet written board and clinical competencies in TDE and given adequate mentoring by clinical faculty to treat tobacco-dependent patients, the likelihood of seeing major improvements in tobacco-cessation treatment in dental practices is low.
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Program evaluation is a necessary component of curricular change and innovation. It ascertains whether an innovation has met benchmarks and contributes to the body of knowledge about educational methodologies and supports the use of evidence-based practice in teaching. Education researchers argue that rigorous program evaluation should utilize a mixed-method approach, triangulating both qualitative and quantitative methods to understand program effectiveness. ⋯ These results also demonstrated that the students had learned to critically reflect on their practice and develop expanded professional identities; going beyond the role of clinician, they began to see themselves as educators, advocates, and researchers. This evaluation model is easily adaptable and is applicable to any health science or other professional degree program. This study also raised important questions regarding the effect of meta-reflection on student confidence and professional behavior.
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The significance of the educational environment in health professions academic institutions, increasingly recognized on a global scale, is fundamental to effective student learning. This study was carried out to evaluate students' perceptions of the educational environment in five undergraduate dental institutions in Pakistan. This non-interventional study used a postal questionnaire based on the Dundee Ready Educational Environment Measure (DREEM). ⋯ Nine items recorded scores <2 and were flagged for remediation. Significant differences were observed between students' perceptions of learning and of teachers (p<0.05). Many issues challenge the quality and delivery of dental education in Pakistan, and dental institutions need to develop robust mechanisms to incorporate contemporary international trends in dental education in order to improve the educational environment.
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Clinical dental faculty members' lack of scholarly activity not only impacts their ability to be promoted and retained in their institutions but limits the contributions they could make to clinical discovery. Contributing factors to this situation include the lack of purposeful mentoring and the widespread faculty shortages, which increase faculty workloads. One way to address this challenge is to develop and implement formal mentoring programs, endorsed by the dental school's administration, that use reward structures in which novice clinical faculty members are teamed with faculty members experienced in scholarly activity. ⋯ Preliminary data from this program suggest that this has been a successful plan for increasing the scholarly activity of the clinical teacher-scholar. Although not without limitations, this program may serve as a model for other schools to consider as they encourage their own clinical faculty members to undertake research initiatives. Similar programs at dental schools across the country can enhance discovery, research, and treatment by expanding the number of researchers who are addressing the public's oral and systemic health needs.