New Clinical Faculty Training Program: Transforming Practicing Dentists into Part-Time Dental Faculty Members

Junior faculty perspectives on the academic environment: A call for development and onboarding

BACKGROUND

One challenge in dental education is new faculty members can be hired with limited teaching experience or understanding of pedagogy. Recent publications document increasing initiatives of faculty development in US and Canadian dental schools. This study evaluates full-time faculty perspectives of their develop and academic environment.

METHODS

A 33-item questionnaire distributed to senior administrators and forwarded to faculty, collected data on demographics and satisfaction, utilizing a 5-item Likert scale, multiple choice, and binary yes/no questions. Responses were descriptively and statistically analyzed utilizing an analysis of variance, chi-square, and two-sample t-test.

RESULTS

There were 183 faculty respondents (37.7% male/62.3% female), age ranges were 20-29 (2.2%), 30-39 (53.5%), and 41-49(44.3). Respondents reported race/ethnicity: Caucasian (60.7%), Asian (19.1%), Hispanic (12.6%), Black/African American (5.5%), two or more races (2.2%), and Native American 0%. Length of employment was significantly associated with primary responsibility (p = 0.0023), recent publications (p < 0.0011), and short-term intent to remain in academia (p = 0.046). There was a statistically significant difference between age and satisfaction with professional development (p = 0.0411), achieving career objectives (p = 0.0151), well-being (p = 0.0492), access to resources for scholarly interests (p = 0.0114), communication (p = 0.0058), and assessment training (p = 0.0249). Non-Caucasian faculty reported greater dissatisfaction with being treated respectfully (p = 0.0302), departmental commitment to diversity and inclusion (p = 0.0075), and departmental cooperation/teamwork (p = 0.0323).

CONCLUSIONS

A significant number of junior faculty have interest in academic dental careers. Institutions should invest in improving onboarding and professional development. Improve the early experiences of faculty, and foster diversity and inclusion and faculty well-being.

The dental "box of horrors" clinical practice game: A pilot project

BACKGROUND

The dental department of the University Hospital of Nice has set the "box of horrors," an innovative concept inspired by the "room of horrors," created in 2006 in Canada, and utilized since 2011 in France.

PURPOSE

The aim was to assess the impact and perceived value of this clinical practice game utilized by fourth-year dental students.

METHODS

This pilot study following a cross-sectional pre- and posttest research design was used to assess students' change in performance. The experimental group was divided into 12 students teams (n = 50). A questionnaire was completed before they entered the box; they had then to find out 10 errors hidden in the box in a set time. A debriefing was held immediately after. The control group answered the same questions but did not follow the course inside the box. The percentages of correct answers were compared between the two groups with a Mann-Whitney test, and the scores per student were analyzed with a mixed effects ordinal multiple logistic regression. Finally, a satisfaction questionnaire was proposed.

RESULTS

After the course, the students from the experimental group performed 94% correct answers, while those from the control group showed 78% (significant difference). The outcome of the mixed effect multiple regression showed a significant group effect (p = 0.0001) and gender effect (p = 0.001).

CONCLUSION

Clinical games, although complex to implement, are interesting and rewarding tools. The adaptation of the tool to the dental sector appeared to be feasible.

Educational gaming for dental students: Design and assessment of a pilot endodontic-themed escape game

INTRODUCTION

The concept of escape games dedicated to dental students is a new learning experience that has not yet been extensively explored. The aim of this pilot study was to assess the impact and perceived value of an endodontic-themed escape game as assessed by fourth-year dental students.

METHODS

This study was conducted at the University of Nantes, Faculty of Dental Surgery using a cross-sectional pre- and post-test research design to assess students' changes in performance. Students in the fourth year of dental surgery study (n = 18) were divided in four groups for this study. The answers to the pre-test/post-test were 50 true/false questions. Moreover, a 20-question perception survey was given to all the participants after completion of the escape game. The study data were collected in May 2019. An unpaired t test analysed the mean differences between the groups.

RESULTS

The results showed a statistically significant increase in post-test results (75.33% ± 10.17% of correct answers) compared to the pre-test results (67.33% ± 5.94% of correct answers) P < .05. Analysis of variance revealed that this change in score was not significantly different between the four groups. The students perceived the endodontic-themed escape game to be relevant. A one-sample t test indicated that students' mean (SD) perception 4.4 (0.7) was statistically significantly higher than the mean value of the evaluation scale P < .001. The students found this educational game to be a useful experience that helped them recall/apply knowledge whilst promoting teamwork.

CONCLUSION

Therefore, this type of game can enhance students' learning and motivation.