The aim of this study was to gain insight into the nature of the role played by self-and peer assessment in the development of dental students' reflective practice skills and the value gained through structured encounters with standardized patients. Four standardized patient encounters in an objective structured clinical exam (OSCE) format served as a learning experience for students to demonstrate decision making and communication skills in complex scenarios regarding issues of ethics. Self-and peer assessment and peer-to-peer discourse were used to enhance student reflection. A sample of 16 peer pairs was randomly selected from the population of 108 fourth-year students who participated in the 2014 Clinical Dental Ethics OSCE. Data were collected from self-and peer assessment forms. Five overall performance themes (personal affect, verbal communication, professional demeanor, relationship-building, and patient management) and three student learning themes (application and knowledge, ways to change, and impressed with peer/increased confidence in self) were identified. The results showed that peer assessment ratings were consistently higher than those in the self-assessments, but overall the students deemed both their peers' and their own decision making and communication skills to be quite good. These students rated their experience with the OSCE and self-and peer assessments as positive, appreciating the importance of reflection and learning from their peers. These results provide support for the continued formative use of standardized patient OSCEs and self-and peer assessment to help students develop skills in decision making, communication, professionalism, and reflection.Dr. Quick is Associate Professor and

Purpose/objectives This study aimed to understand the impact of the COVID‐19 pandemic on dental school faculty's self‐reported burnout, loneliness, and resilience. Methods A 34‐item questionnaire composed of three previously validated scales – adapted Copenhagen Burnout Inventory, the brief resilience scale, and a short loneliness scale – and demographic information was sent by email to dental school faculty in four dental schools across the US during the sixth and seventh months of the COVID‐19 pandemic. Results Two‐hundred sixteen (19.63%) of faculty invited to participate completed the survey. On a scale of five, with five indicating extreme burnout and one indicating no burnout, the average personal burnout was 2.7 (SD = 0.83), and work‐related burnout (WRB) was 2.8 (SD = 0.83). Personal and WRB decreased with increasing age. WRB was significantly higher among full‐time faculty, females, and those living alone. Faculty who lived alone experienced more loneliness than those who lived with others. Resilience was not a statistically significant difference across demographic groups. Regarding the impact of COVID‐19 pandemic on their burnout, loneliness, and resilience on a scale ranging from “Never” (scored as 1) to “A great deal” (scored as 5), the average response for burnout was 3.3 (SD = 1.01), loneliness was 2.6 (SD = 1.10), and resilience was 2.8 (SD = 0.99). Conclusion(s) While self‐reported burnout and resilience scores did not show a significant increase during the pandemic, the rates of burnout and loneliness remain higher than the public. Dental education has real challenges and opportunities to explore individual and organizational interventions to combat burnout and loneliness and enhance resilience among faculty.

Introduction: Limited English proficiency (LEP) patients face multiple care barriers and disproportionate risks for communication errors. Working with trained interpreters as a health care team can improve communication and drive high-quality care for LEP patients. Simulation and interprofessional education provide key strategies to address the critical training gap that exists at the intersection of patient safety, interprofessional practice, and cultural competence. Methods: Using action research principles across 16 months, we created a 3.5-hour simulation-based training for oral health and interpreting learners. The curriculum included profession-specific orientations with didactic and experiential content, three immersive simulations using start-stop-rewind methodology, virtual scenarios, and summary reflection discussions. A comprehensive tool kit facilitated curriculum implementation and standardization. Results: Forty-nine students from dentistry (first-through third-year predoctoral), dental hygiene, and dental therapy participated in this elective training during the 2017-2018 academic year; as required training, 126 third-year dental students participated in fall 2018. Students' familiarity with provider and interpreter best practices, appreciation of challenges faced by LEP patients, and confidence in skills working with spoken language interpreters increased. For all evaluation parameters, pre-and postsurvey ratings were statistically significant (chi-square tests, p < .001). Discussion: The curriculum efficiently and effectively develops oral health and interpreting learners' abilities to work as a team with LEP patients. Curriculum design and resources address key barriers to feasibility and sustainability. The curriculum informs communication across all patient populations, revealing that getting by with partial understanding can be insufficient for any patient and any health care team.

A Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA) standard now requires that dental schools commit to establishing a "humanistic culture and learning environment" for all members of the academic environment. The aim of this study was to identify students' perceptions of factors that affect the dental school environment and to test differences in their experiences in terms of gender and year. This picture of the existing environment was meant to serve as a irst step toward creating and supporting a more humanistic academic environment. A mixed-methods approach was used for data collection during the 2009-10 and 2010-11 academic years at one U.S. dental school. Four focus groups were irst conducted to explore challenges and conlicts faced by students during their dental education. A written survey informed by the focus group results was then used to obtain quantitative data. The survey response rate was 47 percent (N=188). Faculty inconsistency, cheating, and belittlement/disrespect were experienced by many of the responding dental students during their education, similar to what has been documented in medicine. These students also reported experiencing both constructive communication (90 percent) and destructive communication (up to 32 percent). The female students reported more gender discrimination and sexual harassment than their male peers, and the clinical students reported more experience with belittlement and destructive communication than the preclinical students. The results suggest that greater effort should be directed toward creating a more humanistic environment in dental schools. Based on the issues identiied, steps academic institutions can take to improve these environments and student skills are outlined.

In a multicultural society, the ability to work effectively with spoken‐language interpreters is a critical skill for oral health professionals. The aims of this study were to design and evaluate training for oral health professions students to work effectively with interpreters as a health care team. A total of 89 University of Minnesota dental, dental hygiene, and dental therapy students and 41 Century College translating and interpreting students participated in the elective three‐hour training from 2016 to 2018. The 89 oral health professions participants were invited to respond to a seven‐item survey about working with interpreters and patients who are limited English proficient (LEP), along with a comparison group of an additional 462 oral health professions students who did not participate in the program. Of the oral health professions participants, 49 responded to the survey, for a 55% response rate; and 245 of the comparison group responded, for a 53% response rate. A qualitative focus group with 11 program participants and inductive analysis provided further insights. The differences between participants' pre and post self‐ratings were statistically significant (p<0.001) for each of the seven survey questions. After training, students were more familiar with provider and interpreter best practices and the context for patients who are LEP, as well as more confident in their skills to work effectively with interpreters. Student focus groups identified training relevance and necessity and learning format as the most significant success factors. This project highlights the process and value of creating these experiences for and with students and the value of simulation to develop knowledge, skills, and confidence.