An Innovative, Comprehensive Faculty Recruitment and Development Program at One U.S. Dental School: Early Results.

Dental faculty recruitment and development are critical to replenish and cultivate sufficient and adequately prepared educators to educate future generations of dentists. At Rutgers School of Dental Medicine, the From Practice to Preceptor (FP2P) program, now in the last of its five years of funding from the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), has an overall aim of recruiting, training, and retaining a diverse and well-prepared dental faculty workforce. The FP2P program introduced novel methods for recruiting and preparing new faculty members since its goal is to help participants transition from being practicing dentists to becoming part- or full-time faculty members. The recruitment and selection process has emphasized reaching community practitioners in general or pediatric dentistry, individuals from underrepresented groups, and those with a passion for teaching. The two-year program with weekly meetings was designed to develop participants' skills to meet the teaching, clinical, and administrative roles of dental faculty. The aims of this study were to determine if the program recruitment methods used would result in participants who were more ethnically and racially diverse than the school's current faculty and to determine if, after training, participants perceived they had increased knowledge, skills, and abilities in specified areas as compared to before training. Participants completed pre- and post-program surveys assessing their perceived level of preparedness in critical competencies for dental faculty. Surveys were completed by 94% of participants in cohorts one through four; 75% (n=15) of cohorts two and three completed both the pre- and post-program surveys, which were used for this analysis. Over 30% of the 35 participants to date were from an underrepresented group. Survey results suggest the participants increased their perceived preparedness in administrative, clinical, and educational competencies. Follow-up is needed to ascertain how many go on to become dental educators and whether they are better prepared to succeed as new faculty compared to nonparticipants.

The Benefits of Volunteering as an Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Educator.

A faculty shortage crisis exists in oral and maxillofacial surgery (OMS) education affecting dental students, OMS residents, and OMS full-time faculty. This report was designed to help nonacademic OMS practitioners better understand the problem and appreciate the potential benefits of volunteering as a part-time faculty member. Volunteer part-time faculty can help bolster the efforts of the faculty leaders (full-time and part-time) by taking on some of the dental student and/or resident educational responsibilities. They can also help free up some of the full-time faculty members' time to allow them to complete the scholarly activities required of full-time academicians. Volunteer part-time faculty can greatly benefit from their involvement in dental education. Exposure to faculty leaders and dental students and residents can be educationally enriching and stimulating for volunteer part-time faculty. Students and residents will benefit from learning the differing approaches to patient management that volunteer part-time faculty can provide. In addition, volunteer part-time faculty can have a scope of practice or practice emphasis that differs from and complements that of the faculty leaders. Finally, residents can also benefit from exposure to private practice management strategies that volunteer part-time faculty share. The present report explores how all parties can benefit from OMS faculty volunteerism.

Sustaining supply of senior academic leadership skills in a shortage environment: a short review of a decade of dental experience.

For the past decade, and expected for the next decade, Australia faces a significant health workforce shortage and an acute maldistribution of health workforce. Against this background the governments at both national and state level have been increasing the training places for all health practitioners and trying to redress the imbalance through a strong regional focus on these developments. Dentistry has been an active participant in these workforce initiatives. This study examines the increasing demand for academics and discusses the existing pathways for increase, and also examines in detail the advantages of a sustainable, shared-model approach, using dentistry as a model for other disciplines. Three non-exclusive pathways for reform are considered: importation of academics, delayed retirement and the shared resource approach. Of the various solutions outlined in this review a detailed explanation of a cost-effective shared model of senior academic leadership is highlighted as a viable, sustainable model for ameliorating the shortage.

The need for geriatric dental education in India: the geriatric health challenges of the millennium.

The rapid growth in the elderly population in a developing country such as India poses social and financial challenges by causing a shift towards non-communicable diseases and increases in chronic diseases. The economic impact of the burden of chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, hypertension, diabetes and cancer are high. The link between oral health and general health are particularly pronounced in older populations and impairs their quality of life. This paper reveals that in order to address the increasing health challenges and demands of a growing geriatric population, undergraduates and graduate students in dental schools should be given comprehensive or holistic health assessment training. Cost-effective modern educational strategies and educational tools such as problem-based learning will help to overcome the dearth of trained faculty in geriatric dentistry. Multidisciplinary health-care approaches and extended health-care team work are of vital importance to older patients who could benefit physically and psychologically from more efficient dental treatment. With often more than one chronic disease affecting individuals and use of polypharmacy, there is a need to increase overall knowledge of geriatric pharmacy and geriatric medicine. Measures to help older people remain healthy and active are a necessity in developing countries such as India for effective social and economic development.

Assessment of graduate orthodontic programs in North America.

This study collected information on four main aspects of U.S. and Canadian orthodontic programs: demographic profiles of residents, requirements for graduation, graduate curriculum, and number of faculty and staff members. Program directors at seventy U.S. and Canadian orthodontic programs were invited to participate in a twenty-question survey and to distribute a ten-question survey to their residents. Twenty program directors and eighty-four residents completed the anonymous, online surveys on Qualtrics.com in July-August 2010. The average age of surveyed residents was 29.6 years of age; 73 percent were non-Hispanic white, with 14 percent Asian/Asian-American, 5 percent Hispanic, and 1 percent African American. A small percentage of residents (13 percent) were foreign-trained. The majority of residents (64 percent) were male. There was a wide variety of clinical and didactic requirements in the programs. Almost all programs emphasized treatment with functional appliances and clear aligners. An average of three full-time and ten part-time faculty members were dedicated to each residency program. This survey reveals a potential shortage of minority orthodontic residents currently being trained in orthodontic programs, in addition to several commonalities and differences among the programs' curricula, graduation requirements, and numbers of faculty and staff members. This preliminary survey will hopefully inspire measures to address the discrepancies revealed, particularly the lack of minority students and full-time faculty members.

Interactive distance learning in orthodontic residency programs: problems and potential solutions.

Sharing resources through distance education has been proposed as one way to deal with a lack of full-time faculty members and maintain high-quality content in orthodontic residency programs. To keep distance education for orthodontic residents cost-effective while retaining interaction, a blended approach was developed that combines observation of web-based seminars with live post-seminar discussions. To evaluate this approach, a grant from the American Association of Orthodontists (AAO) opened free access during the 2009-10 academic year to twenty-five recorded seminars in four instructional sequences to all sixty-three orthodontic programs in the United States and Canada. The only requirement was to also participate in the evaluation. Just over half (52 percent) of the U.S. programs chose to participate; the primary reason for participating was because faculty members wanted their residents to have exposure to other faculty members and ideas. The non-participating programs cited technical and logistical problems and their own ability to teach these subjects satisfactorily as reasons. Although participating distant faculty members and residents were generally pleased with the experience, problems in both educational and technical aspects were observed. Educationally, the biggest problem was lack of distant resident preparation and expectation of a lecture rather than a seminar. Technically, the logistics of scheduling distant seminars and uneven quality of the audio and video recordings were the major concerns of both residents and faculty members. Proposed solutions to these educational and technical problems are discussed.

Mentoring of dental and dental hygiene faculty: a case study.

Given the predicted shortages of dental faculty in the United States, it is important to retain faculty members. Mentoring could play a crucial role in this context. The objectives of this case study were to explore how a six-year mentoring program in the Department of Periodontics and Oral Medicine at the University of Michigan School of Dentistry changed faculty members' perceptions of support from colleagues and their mentoring expectations. In addition, we sought to determine how junior versus senior faculty members and mentors versus mentees differed in their perceptions of faculty roles, their self-perceived competence, and their awareness of departmental expectations at the end of the program. Data were collected with self-administered surveys from twenty-five of the thirty-six faculty members in this department in 2002 (response rate: 69 percent) and from thirty-seven of the fifty-four faculty members in 2008 (response rate: 69 percent). The results showed that the perceptions of support from colleagues improved significantly over the six-year period. During the same time period, mentoring expectations increased. In 2008, junior faculty members as compared to senior faculty members remained less positive about their role as faculty members, felt less well prepared for their professional life, and were less aware of departmental expectations. In conclusion, a departmental mentoring program resulted in improved support from colleagues and increased expectations concerning mentoring experiences. However, future targeted interventions are needed to address the identified differences between junior and senior faculty members. Recommendations for faculty mentoring efforts are discussed.

Status of current dental hygiene faculty and perceptions of important qualifications for future faculty.

PURPOSE: Dental hygiene educators are expressing concerns about faculty retirement causing an educator shortage. The primary objective of this study was to investigate current dental hygiene faculty demographic characteristics, future plans and perceptions of important skills for future faculty. METHODS: A Web-based survey instrument was designed after reviewing the literature and consulting with dental hygiene faculty. Permission to conduct this study was obtained from the University of Michigan. The survey investigated demographic characteristics, future plans and perceptions of important skills of future faculty. A cover letter was sent via e-mail to dental hygiene program directors requesting them to forward the link to faculty. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and chi-square testing in SPSS. RESULTS: The response rate was 65%. Program directors provided 24% of responses while non-directors provided 76%. The average age of faculty was 50 years. Within 5 years, 60 of the responding faculty will retire, which includes 20 program directors. Eight percent were in their first year of teaching. Greater than 90% of faculty perceived clinical, educational and technological skills as important for future faculty. Only 53% believed research skills were important, a significantly lower result (p<0.0001). Responses for research skills differed significantly by institution type (p<0.0001) and credentials (p=0.013). Older faculty ranked educational and clinical skills significantly higher than younger faculty (p=0.005, and p=.018 respectively). CONCLUSION: Future dental hygiene faculty will need strong educational backgrounds, clinical skills and technological skills. University and highly credentialed faculty place greater importance on research skills than community college/technical school faculty and those with fewer credentials. Ways to engage current faculty in research should be investigated. Nearly 10% of this sample will retire within 5 years, so ways to attract qualified individuals in the field of dental hygiene education should also be investigated.

Maximising the potential of part-time clinical teachers.

BACKGROUND: A problem faced by health professions education throughout the world is a lack of full-time clinical teachers. This is particularly serious in dentistry and nursing, but is increasingly also true in medicine. To make up for this shortfall there is a growing reliance on part-time clinical teachers. CONTEXT: Part-time clinical teachers are essential for the education of students. However, compared with their full-time counterparts, the part-time teachers are often not adequately prepared for their roles as educators within the context of the clinical curriculum. They might not be trained in the latest educational practices, and may be unprepared for the time needed to excel as teachers and mentors. IMPLICATIONS: As part-time teachers take on more responsibility, it is important that they take part in orientation and training sessions to assist them in developing the skills they need to succeed. This will require a significant commitment from the institution as well as the part-time teacher, but is critical for maintaining the academic quality of the clinical training programmes. This also represents an untapped area for research into how to ensure the success of part-time clinical teachers.

The dental hygiene faculty shortage: causes, solutions and recruitment tactics.

PURPOSE: Peer-reviewed professional publications were examined for pertinent information associated with faculty shortages in the dental professions. The review found 6 suggested causes, including inadequate compensation, lack of diversity amongst faculty, inadequate mentoring for new faculty, lack of modeling to prospective dental hygiene educators, little awareness of faculty shortages and lack of institutional support for dental hygiene faculty. The causes and solutions for faculty shortages and recruitment tactics employed by parallel professions were evaluated to determine their applicability to the dental hygiene faculty shortage. There remains a scarcity of information regarding dental hygiene faculty shortages and how dental hygiene programs and institutions should address such shortages.

Factors influencing the quality of undergraduate clinical restorative dentistry in the UK and ROI: the views of heads of units.

In the light of concerns regarding expanded student intakes and reported workforce difficulties, a 2008 survey of heads of departments of restorative dentistry in UK and ROI dental schools sought to clarify the current situation with regard to: workforce configuration; barriers and facilitators of quality undergraduate clinical restorative dentistry; and, implications of the above for programme delivery. The response rate was 100% for the workforce statistics and 65% for the remainder of the survey. Findings were largely consistent across the 14 schools. Workforces were increasingly part-time with a shortage of full-time academics. While resources had generally expanded to meet increased student numbers and outreach teaching had augmented clinical learning, difficulties in recruiting patients and communicating with a fragmented workforce were risking the quality of undergraduate curricula. Issues to be addressed include a pervading sense of teaching being undervalued and staffing being sub-optimal.

Developing dental faculty for the future: ADEA/AAL Institute for Teaching and Learning, 2006-09.

This report summarizes the history and curriculum of the American Dental Education Association/Academy for Academic Leadership Institute for Teaching and Learning (ADEA/AAL ITL) Program for Dental School Faculty, describes participant feedback, and reviews how the program serves the faculty development initiatives of the American Dental Education Association. The fifty-hour program (6.5 days), conducted in two phases at collaborating dental schools, enhances core academic competencies of new and transitional faculty, including faculty members whose responsibilities include predoctoral, allied, and postdoctoral dental education. The program's mission is to prepare participants to become more effective teachers and develop other skills that will facilitate confidence, job satisfaction, and professional growth in the academic environment. From 2005 to 2009, 174 individuals graduated from the program, representing forty-three schools of dentistry in the United States and Canada and twenty-nine private practices. A total of forty scholarships have been awarded to participants by the American Academy of Periodontology Foundation, the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry, and the American Association of Orthodontists. In an online survey completed by 75 percent of ADEA/AAL ITL participants, 99 percent indicated they were positive or highly positive about their learning experience in this faculty development program. Ninety-six percent stated that the program had been important or very important in their effectiveness as a teacher. In 2010, the program will be held at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Dentistry, with phase I occurring on August 19-22, 2010, and phase II on October 22-24, 2010. In summary, the ADEA/AAL ITL is addressing an unmet need through a formal professional development program designed to help new and potential faculty members thrive as educators and become future leaders in academic health care.

The future of pediatric dentistry advanced education: the need for change in training standards.

This report describes the background, rationale and process for revision of training standards for advanced educational programs in pediatric dentistry in the United States.