Journal of dental education
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The aim of this article is to provide a general overview of trends impacting the faculty of U. S. dental schools. ⋯ The first part of the report describes general characteristics of faculty trends, and the second part provides an analysis of those trends. This article was written as part of the project "Advancing Dental Education in the 21st Century."
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The purpose of this study was to examine data published over the past two decades to identify trends in the basic sciences curriculum in dental education, provide an analysis of those trends, and compare them with trends in the basic sciences curriculum in medical education. Data published from the American Dental Association (ADA) Surveys of Dental Education, American Dental Education Association (ADEA) Surveys of Dental School Seniors, and two additional surveys were examined. In large part, survey data collected focused on the structure, content, and instructional strategies used in dental education: what was taught and how. ⋯ Overall, trends in the basic sciences curriculum in medical education were similar to those for dental education. Potential drivers of curriculum change were identified, as was recent work in other fields that should encourage reconsideration of dentistry's approach to basic sciences education. This article was written as part of the project "Advancing Dental Education in the 21st Century."
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Interprofessional education (IPE) is a widely recognized and critical component of dental and health professions education and is included in two of the predoctoral education standards required by the Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA). Following a review of the literature on the state of IPE education in U. S. dental education programs, this article revisits six institutions identified in previous research as exemplars successfully implementing IPE on their campuses. ⋯ Strengths and weakness of IPE in dental education are discussed, along with opportunities for the future including reducing barriers to scheduling, increasing intraprofessional education, and consistent outcomes assessment. The article concludes with lessons learned by administrators and suggestions for improving incorporation of these requirements into predoctoral dental education programs by emphasizing the importance of IPE and dentistry's role in overall health. This article was written as part of the project "Advancing Dental Education in the 21st Century."
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In today's dental education environment, a humanistic culture is an expectation for all U. S. dental schools, codified in 2013 by its inclusion in the Commission on Dental Accreditation's standards for accreditation. The University of the Pacific Arthur A. ⋯ Authentic assessment of institutional culture proved challenging. Focus groups offered additional ways to assess how effectively the school lives its core value of humanism. There was recognition that more varied, robust methods were needed to assess institutional alignment with stated goals for a humanistic learning environment.
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This executive summary for Section 1 of the "Advancing Dental Education in the 21st Century" project provides a composite picture of information from 12 background articles on the current state of dental education in the United States. The summary includes the following topics: the current status of the dental curriculum, the implications of student debt and dental school finances, the expansion of enrollment, student diversity, pre- and postdoctoral education, safety net status of dental school clinics, and trends in faculty.