Anti-racism structures in academic dentistry: Supporting underrepresented racially/ethnically diverse faculty.

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this paper is to describe the racialized barriers to recruiting and retaining historically underrepresented racially/ethnically diverse (HURE) faculty at U.S. dental schools and the linkages of these barriers to structural racism to assist dental schools in eliminating these hurdles through an antiracism framework. METHODS: Data is used to describe the trends in the racial/ethnic composition of dental school faculty and the parity gaps by race/ethnicity between dentists and the U.S. POPULATION: Literature on the recruitment and retention of faculty of color at higher education institutions is reviewed to identify challenges and best practices. Barriers to the full participation of HURE faculty, outlined in the American Dental Education Association's Faculty Diversity Toolkit, are also identified. Research on antiracism frameworks is also investigated to denote their uses and key components. RESULTS: There is a critical shortage of HURE faculty at dental schools and active HURE dentists in the U.S. A history of racism and its legacy reinforce biases, stereotypes, and power structures that harm HURE faculty at U.S. dental schools. An anti-racism framework is needed to holistically eliminate inequities and racialized policies and practices that persists as barriers for HURE faculty. CONCLUSIONS: Increasing the representation of HURE dentists in the workforce and dental school faculty requires a major disruption to culture and institutional practices that mask centuries of structural racism embedded within complex academic systems. Dental schools must use antiracism models to create strategic initiatives that support a humanistic, equitable, and antiracism environment where HURE faculty can thrive.

A comparison of patient satisfaction with conventional and nurse led outpatient follow-up after grommet insertion.

OBJECTIVE: The need to reduce costs while providing a first class service has led to the expansion in the role of nurses in otolaryngology practice in the National Health Service (NHS) in recent years. The aim of this study was to compare patient satisfaction with conventional and nurse led follow-up after grommet insertion. The hypothesis was that patient satisfaction is much greater with doctor led conventional follow-up as compared with nurse led out-patient follow-up. METHODS: The study was performed using a questionnaire survey using a validated patient satisfaction questionnaire. RESULTS: Our results indicate that there is no statistically significant difference in the mean factorial scores for interpersonal skills and technical competence, physical surroundings, and convenience between the conventional and nurse led follow-up clinic. The overall patient satisfaction was higher with nurse led grommet follow-up clinic than with conventional doctor led out-patient follow-up. This was statistically significant (Mann-Whitney U = 1357.50, Z = 02.39, P = 0.01). The waiting time in out-patients was also significantly less in the nurse led grommet clinic. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that nurses provide a high quality service resulting in high patient satisfaction. Nurse led grommet follow-up clinic has the potential for substantial reduction in outpatient access times in the NHS.