Humanism in Dental Education: A Comparison of Theory, Intention, and Stakeholder Perceptions at a North American Dental School

Abstract

In today's dental education environment, a humanistic culture is an expectation for all U.S. dental schools, codified in 2013 by its inclusion in the Commission on Dental Accreditation's standards for accreditation. The University of the Pacific Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry has made an active commitment to humanism since the mid-1970s. The aim of this study was to determine how well the school's students and faculty and staff members perceived the school was living up to its formal aspirational values and who was benefitting from the humanistic culture. Using an electronic survey, data were collected from a total of 195 students, faculty members, and staff members in 2014. Respondents were 15% of the 492 full- and part-time faculty members; 9% of the total student population of 540; and 29% of 255 staff members. In the responses, humanism was described as manifest by attributes such as caring, understanding, respect, and compassion. Although the findings confirmed the value of a humanistic culture, some portions of the school's formal definition and goals, such as good work ethic, professional responsibility, high ethical standards, increasing independence, and attainment of competence, appeared less frequently in responses. Authentic assessment of institutional culture proved challenging. Focus groups offered additional ways to assess how effectively the school lives its core value of humanism. There was recognition that more varied, robust methods were needed to assess institutional alignment with stated goals for a humanistic learning environment.

Climate Study of the Learning Environment for Faculty, Staff, and Students at a U.S. Dental School: Foundation for Culture Change

“…4,5,9,20,[22][23][24] Our study joins the recently published one conducted at the University of the Pacific in including the perceptions of dental school staff members in assessments, affirming that working in a humanistic environment is an important issue for them as well. 25 Fourth, all three groups in our study indicated that it was not always easy for them to feel comfortable with others at the school regardless of their position. Staff respondents had the lowest satisfaction ratings in general as compared to faculty and student respondents on this issue.…”

Death, dying, and bereavement in undergraduate dental education: A narrative review

“…Although the literature provides descriptions of strategies that have been used to increase compassionate care among healthcare professionals, there is lack of clarity on how and when to teach compassion, how to measure it, 48 and how to sustain it specifically in dentistry. Role modeling by instructors may assist in teaching a humanistic approach to care; 46,55 it may also be possible to increase compassion and empathy through communication skills training 48,56 . It does not appear that these results can be sustained long term without further intervention.…”

What can dental education gain by understanding student experience of the curriculum?

“…31,32 Multivalent relationships between students and educators are not a new finding, and in fact, the position of and treatment of students has been a perpetual concern of dental and other health professional education. 15,33 Professional development of educators, humanistic cultures 34 and serious calls for the professionalisation of clinical education are ways that have been proposed to help address this issue. A recent discussion paper 35 warns that the possession of a dentistry degree is not a sufficient scholarly background for effective participation in dental education.…”