Clinical Competence of Graduates of Community‐Based and Traditional Curricula

Abstract

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 Students' Non‐Clinical Learning During Community‐Based Experiences: A Survey of U.S. Dental Schools

“…Prior studies have shown how CBDE has positively impacted students' clinical performance, improved their self-perceived communications and interpersonal skills, and contributed to their willingness to provide care in the future for populations that are underserved. 17,18,28,29 However, to the best of our knowledge, there has not been previous documentation of didactic content that is used to augment these community-based experiences. With our indings, one could speculate that the respondents deemed it important for students to be aware of the structural factors impacting underserved and rural communities.…”

“…15 As many of these rotations train students to provide care for multiple patients in a clinical session, CBDE also helps dental students gain experiences that increase their clinical productivity and eiciency. 11,[16][17][18][19][20][21] However, there is limited evidence of the extent to which these rotations augment clinical training with learning about the social, political, professional, and economic factors that shape the attitudes and behaviors of patients and health care providers.…”

Student-led oral health education for the homeless community of East London

“…Many attending the mobile clinic are often later successfully transferred to the fixed site clinic. 10 It may be that student input is more beneficial within the mobile dental service where more of the homeless patients are likely to be at the start of their treatment. Provision of oral health advice by students may additionally improve patient confidence in accessing mainstream services.…”

“…8 Clinically, students at the University of New Jersey who had spent their final years' clinical time within communitybased placements had more experience of restorative treatment and felt more clinically prepared than those who spent it within the dental school. 10 In 2011, the Department of Health commissioned London Pathways to set out a Homeless health standard 2 providing a national strategy for the healthcare of homeless people. This includes specific recommendations for the 'education and involvement in undergraduate and postgraduate training of… dental students' in the 'promotion and encouragement of accessible provision of dental care'.…”

Empowerment in a model of outreach undergraduate dental education

“…internationally (19)(20)(21); as such it is recognised as being able to give dental students an invaluable experience and expose them to a wide range of patients. Previous documentation from the GDC recommended a period of time in a primary care setting to extend the clinical environment that students could experience (22).…”