The purpose of this study was two-fold: to assess the current status of ethics education and to create a model ethics education curriculum for dental hygiene programs to address issues with current thinking in ethics education. To this end, the structure and sequence of randomly selected dental hygiene programs' ethics education curricula were…

The mixed-methods pilot study described in this article traces the development of a Spanish for Specific Purposes: Health Professions course that was designed to help future health care professionals develop their linguistic proficiency and intercultural abilities. The study included nursing, medical, and dental students and was conducted at a…

Many educational researchers have established problem-based learning (PBL) as a total approach to education--both a product and a process--from a pedagogical instructional strategy to skills development to assessment. This study provides qualitative evidences from educational practitioners in various professional disciplines, namely, Medicine,…

Professions exist to serve the needs of society and, in the case of the dental profession, patients. Academic dental institutions strive to help meet these needs by educating and developing future practitioners, educators, researchers, and citizen leaders who serve the community and shape the changing environment in which they provide care. As…

hapTEL, an interdisciplinary project funded by two UK research councils from 2007 to 2011, involves a large interdisciplinary team (with undergraduate and post-graduate student participants) which has been developing and evaluating a virtual learning system within an HE healthcare education setting, working on three overlapping strands. Strand 1…

The quality assurance consortium begun in 1979 and similar professional and foundation projects have influenced dental school curriculum development in the last decade. Other forces driving development of academic and practice programs for quality assurance include cost containment, risk management, electronic technology, and developments in…

Through a process involving identification of priorities and implementation of strategic initiatives to address them, the University of Missouri at Kansas City School of Dentistry has begun a process of curriculum reform. Several stages of reevaluation and the need for sensitivity and patience are anticipated, but a better environment for learning…

Suggests that practical and emancipatory knowledge (Habermas, 1971) have been underemphasized in dental curriculum, and that until they are fostered, visions of competency and the joining of theory and practice will be difficult to achieve. Highlights strategies to foster such knowledge within competency-based curricula: problem-based learning and…

The organization and operation of a flexible, modular core dental curriculum used at the University of Florida are described, experiences with 10 years of its use are outlined, and further refinements are projected. (MSE)

Studied the smoking cessation attitudes and practices of 244 fourth-year dental students through a self-report survey. Students generally endorsed tobacco prevention practices, but perceived barriers to service provision. Findings show the receptivity of students to smoking cessation education and the need to include cessation counseling training…

Considered the problems of dental educators and the dental profession in Europe. (Author/RK)

The historical basis for the application of basic and medical sciences in the dental curriculum is presented. Current issues are examined and future perspectives in applying biological sciences to clinical dentistry are explored. Some ideas for consideration in developing a more responsive curriculum are provided. (MLW)

Viewpoints of speakers and participants at a symposium on nutrition education in dental curricula are reported, and recommendations for action are outlined, including recruitment of nutritionists for dental faculties, screening and counseling exercises in clinical training, instruction in interpretation of computerized dietary analysis, and…

Guidelines developed by the Section on Physiology of the American Association of Dental Schools for use by educational institutions as curriculum development aids are presented. Primary educational goals, prerequisites, core content, and specific behavioral objectives are discussed. (MLW)