|
Fostering Community in the Midst of Growing Pains
I suspect many of you have been like me these past few months: reading with interest about the new dental schools being developed and wondering what it means for our dental education community.
The burst of activity includes plans to open dental schools at universities and colleges in at least five states and Puerto Rico: Daemen University in New York, High Point University in North Carolina, Lyon College in Arkansas, Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences in Washington, the University of Pikeville in Kentucky, and Ponce Health Sciences University in Puerto Rico.
In June, the ADEA House of Delegates approved provisional ADEA memberships for the planned dental schools at Ponce Health Sciences University and High Point University. An ADEA provisional membership is open to any developing dental school planning to grant a D.D.S. or D.M.D. degree as part of an accredited college or university in the United States or Canada.
In one way, the news of these emerging dental schools is exciting. The fact that additional dental schools are on the horizon can be seen as an affirmation of the importance of oral health and the invaluable role that oral health professionals and dental educators play in the broader health care ecosystem. And I will cheer on anything that expands and improves access to oral health care.
But I also know that the bigger picture is more complex, and the emergence of new dental schools is likely to bring into sharper relief some issues our community has long grappled with, most especially the recruitment of dental students, along with the recruitment and retention of dental school faculty. Please be assured that ADEA is closely monitoring the impact of adding new schools to our current environment. We understand and are keenly aware of potential impacts that additional schools bring with their introduction.
Before delving further into that topic, I believe it’s important to highlight ADEA’s role when it comes to the creation of dental schools. ADEA’s role is to support and assist the faculty, students, staff and administrators at ADEA Member Institutions. What we don’t have is a role in deciding if a new school can be proposed and/or implemented.
ADEA does not review, consider, advise, approve or reject any plans related to the establishment of dental schools. Nor does ADEA play a formal role in the accreditation or dental licensure processes.
The creation of any dental school is a function of many factors: the will of state legislatures, the generosity of philanthropists, the availability of faculty, the needs of any given region, the requirements of various agencies and the general economic climate.
Accreditation is handled by the respective commissions in the United States (Commission on Dental Accreditation) and in Canada (Commission on Dental Accreditation of Canada). Licensure to practice dentistry is handled by individual state licensing boards in the United States and the dental regulatory authority of each Canadian province.
What ADEA does, and has been doing for close to 100 years now, is to serve as The Voice of Dental Education. We honor that commitment through research, advocacy, faculty and leadership development, professional networking opportunities, educational meetings and a raft of resources to help professionals on the frontlines of dental education. We welcome all qualified dental schools, allied dental and advanced dental education programs into our fold and support them because we think that every ADEA member brings a perspective that enriches us as a community.
So as we consider the rising number of dental schools, what should we be doing to address the challenges that may come with that development? I propose that we do what we’ve always done: work together to develop lasting solutions and support one another along the way. However, we must not be lackadaisical in our approach. A tipping point exists, and determining exactly where that is remains essential to success for all of us.
Consider what we’re already doing (and this is just a taste of ADEA’s activity):
- We advocate for more federal resources to help dental schools and programs that are under increasing financial pressures.
- We invest in our four centralized application services so we continue to attract as many applicants as possible for our dental schools and programs.
- We develop resources for faculty recruitment and retention, a recent and notable addition being the ADEA Faculty Diversity Toolkit.
- We partner with sister organizations to press for meaningful reform. For example, ADEA is a founding member of the Coalition for Modernizing Dental Licensure, a diverse group that seeks to modernize the dental licensure process, including increased portability. A streamlined licensure process will make dentistry an even more attractive career option, appealing to a greater number of students.
A major new initiative, New Thinking for the New Century, is the brainchild of Dr. Nader Nadershahi, the Chair of the ADEA Board of Directors. One overarching project goal is to develop plans and recommendations to address the most pressing challenges facing dental education.
As part of that project, a survey of ADEA members and sister organizations identified faculty and staff recruitment as the No. 1 challenge. A subcommittee is now working on recommendations, which will be shared at the 2023 ADEA Annual Session & Exhibition. Two other subcommittees are focusing on leadership development and succession planning and preparing students for the future of collaborative practice, and their recommendations also will be presented at next year’s conference.
In short, our community is (again) coming together to address the challenges we face. Concerns that there may not be enough qualified faculty or students for new dental schools only underscore the value of the programs and other resources that ADEA has developed to support quality dental education.
Viewed in isolation, the prospect of more dental schools might seem worrisome, given the competition for students and faculty. But in the context of appreciating what we have accomplished and continue to accomplish when we come together, I’m confident the future of dental education is bright, and we will rise to the challenge of attracting the students and faculty we all want.
Wishing you all the best,
|