Developing Common Competencies for Southeast Asian General Dental Practitioners.

Current policy in Southeast Asian dental education focuses on high-quality dental services from new dental graduates and the free movement of dental practitioners across the region. The Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Dental Councils have proposed the "Common Major Competencies for ASEAN General Dental Practitioners" to harmonize undergraduate dental education. This article discusses how the ASEAN competencies were developed and established to assist the development of general dental practitioners with comparable knowledge, skills, and attitudes across ASEAN. The competencies were developed through four processes: a questionnaire about current national oral health problems, a two-round Delphi process that sought agreement on competencies, a panel discussion by representatives from ASEAN Dental Councils, and data verification by the representatives after the meeting. Key themes of the ASEAN competencies were compared with the competencies from the U.S., Canada, Europe, Australia, and Japan. A total of 33 competency statements, consistent with other regions, were agreed upon and approved. Factors influencing the ASEAN competencies and their implementation include oral health problems in ASEAN, new knowledge and technology in dentistry, limited institutional resources, underregulated dental schools, and uneven distribution of dental practitioners. The ASEAN competencies will serve as the foundation for further developments in ASEAN dental education including policy development, curriculum revision, quality assurance, and staff development. Collaboration amongst stakeholders is essential for successful harmonization of ASEAN dental education.

Postgraduate Orthodontics Students' and Mentors' Perceptions of Portfolios and Discussion as Tools for Development of Reflection.

The aim of this study was to analyze the effects of a portfolio learning strategy designed to develop students' reflection abilities in a postgraduate orthodontic program in the UK. Nine first-year postgraduate orthodontic students and seven mentors participated in the one-year program, which included a reflective portfolio, mentorship, and discussion. After the program, the students' and mentors' perceptions were collected using focus groups and individual interviews, respectively. The data were analyzed using thematic analysis. Four categories emerged. The first, reflection, was considered a skill to learn, and time was needed for students to fully understand its meaning and achieve its outcomes. The second theme, characteristics of reflection, was descriptive at the beginning and more critical at the end of the experience. The third theme, outcomes of reflection, involved students' improved problem-solving and action-planning abilities and increased self-awareness, motivation, confidence, and communication skills. In the fourth theme, stimulation of reflection, students did not agree with mentors regarding the importance of reflective writing, but they recognized the value of the portfolio's reflective log in facilitating the reflective process. There was greater agreement between students and mentors regarding discussions with mentors and among peers as tools to achieve higher levels of reflection. Overall, these students and mentors considered the strategy an effective tool for improving students' reflection.

Validation of undergraduate clinical data by electronic capture (barcode).

Assessment of clinical activity is common in dental schools. An audit project to confirm that dental undergraduate clinical activity recorded by electronic data capture is an accurate representation of the clinical case entry is reported. A printout of clinical activity for a period of a week was generated retrospectively and used to identify case notes. Activity recorded in the case notes was compared with the computer printout. All discrepancies were noted. A total of 125 patient files with 270 barcoded items of treatment were retrieved; 29 of 78 (37.1%) paediatric and 23 of 47 (48.9%) orthodontic cases had discrepancies between the case notes and the computer entry. However, some items recorded in the notes do not require barcoding and vice versa. When these were accounted for, only 19 items of treatment appeared in the notes that should have been barcoded, a 7% shortfall in recording of clinical activity. The barcode system is an accurate and reliable way of recording undergraduate clinical activity.