In 1994, the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey-New Jersey Dental School (UMDNJ-NJDS) launched the Community-Oriented Dental Education (CODE) program. The CODE program provides senior dental students the opportunity to spend four days per week providing dental care in a community-based clinic. A survey of graduates of CODE (n=55) and randomly selected graduates of the traditional curriculum (n=110) was conducted via mail to determine attitudes relating to community service (CS), community-based learning (CBL), reasons for participating in their clinical program, perceived levels of clinical preparedness at graduation, and practice choices. A total of 111 surveys (66.9 percent) were returned to NJDS, with 84.6 percent of CODE alumni responding and 59.0 percent of traditional alumni (TA) responding. Of the 111 surveys returned, sixty-five (58.6 percent) were completed by TA, and forty-six (41.4 percent) were completed by CODE alumni. There were no differences among CODE and TA regarding attitudes toward CS and tendency to practice in underserved areas or to accept Medicaid payments. There were, however, some differences in attitudes toward CBL, reasons for applying or not applying to the CODE program, perceived impact of clinical education on graduates' preparedness, views of the extent to which the programs encouraged students to choose public or private areas of practice, and perceptions of how the desire to help communities influenced career and practice decisions. Some of these findings may be useful to schools as they plan extramural education programs.

As community-based dental education programs proliferate, so do concerns about the quality of education at extramural sites. While there have been some comparisons of the effects of community-based programs on attitudes and perceptions of competency, there is virtually no information about whether such programs can train students to carry out standard dental procedures as well as if they were prepared in the dental school proper. To address this gap in our knowledge about the educational outcomes of community-based programs, the following performance measures were retrospectively compared for 457 students in traditional senior year curricula and fifty seniors in a community-based program: scores and pass/fail rates on the Northeastern Regional Boards (NERB), clinical production, passage of competencies, and on-time graduation rates. Students in the CODE (Community-Oriented Dental Education) program at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ)-New Jersey Dental School (NJDS) demonstrated significantly higher scores on the restorative section of the NERB, but this did not translate into a better overall pass rate. CODE students passed the same competencies as graduates of the traditional program, yet demonstrated appreciably higher clinical productivity and on-time graduation rates. The additional clinical experiences for the CODE students may be a factor in their higher board scores. Based on these data, it is concluded that community-based dental educational programs can be at least as effective as intramural (school-based) educational experiences in providing students with a sound clinical education. Ms. DeCastro is an Instructor, Department of Community Health and currently

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 aim of this study was to determine if lower scores on the Perceptual Ability Test (PAT) of the Dental Admission Test (DAT) predicted which dental students required remediation in three preclinical restorative dentistry courses at Rutgers School of Dental Medicine. The academic records of 489 dental students from the graduating Classes of 2010 through 2015 were evaluated. The results showed that, for all three courses (Preclinical General Dentistry I, Preclinical General Dentistry II, and Preclinical Fixed Prosthodontics), the remediating students had significantly lower mean PAT scores than did the passing students. A one-unit decrease in a student's PAT score was associated with a 43% increase in the odds of remediating the Preclinical General Dentistry I lab, a 29% increase in the odds of remediating the Preclinical Fixed Prosthodontics lab, and a 47% increase in the odds of remediating the Preclinical General Dentistry II lab. The mean PAT score for passing students was 18.84 (standard deviation 2.35), and the mean PAT score for students requiring remediation was 17.03 (standard deviation 2.18). Studies like this can be useful because if students at risk of failing these courses are identified early and appropriate supports are provided, the need for remediation may be reduced if not eliminated.

The dental school plans to incorporate CODE into the curriculum so that more students have community‐based dental educational experiences. Future plans also include increasing standardization of reports, clinical and administrative procedures, resources, and processes across the sites in order to lower managerial overhead. This process will be aided by further enhancement of computerized information systems and electronic links. The major lesson learned is that new extramural programs can be created and sustained by pooling school resources with those from the private and public sectors. Funding sources and opportunities available to one party alone are insufficient. While one‐time funding was used to build and furnish the NJDS extramural sites, the clinics were established only after business plans demonstrated the availability of funds to sustain their operations. The Statewide Network of Community Oral Health Care and CODE models are still evolving, but they are replicable not only in dental education but in other types of health services. The details of the partnerships and funding streams will vary from site to site, but through outreach and careful negotiation with potential partners and detailed contracts, the community service and educational missions of a health professions school can have a successful outcome.