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Where Have All the Student Researchers Gone?
ADEA hosted a successful, value-packed Annual Session & Exhibition this past March. I hope you were able to participate and, if so, I trust you found your time there fulfilling and relevant. Yet, there is one observation from the Annual Session that, months later, still stands out in my mind, and I feel that I must bring it to your attention. In looking at attendance numbers, student research presentations at the Annual Session were not as numerous, robust or varied as in previous onsite meetings.
The low number of research participants during the Annual Session is particularly startling as one considers that the Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA) has a standard specifically dedicated to Student Research [Standard 6-3]. It notes that dental education programs “must provide opportunities, encourage, and support student participation in research and other scholarly activities mentored by faculty.” Notably, we create a disservice to our student community if we do not provide them with the treasured opportunity to engage as researchers. Cultivation of scholarship as a critical element of the underpinnings of the professions in dentistry should remain part of the fabric of our educational programs.
Where is the disconnect? I have found that students are indeed vested in the role research can play in their pursuit of oral health excellence. They are hungry for discovery. But what does it say about the state of oral health if we do not feed this appetite for scholarship? Discovery through application of critical thinking can fuel the desire to know why specific materials, procedures and treatments are effective. Across every discipline of the professions, this type of thinking can be imbedded. The infusion of this discourse across the curriculum invites a life-long mindset of the value scholarship adds to dentistry’s future.
I also had hoped to see more entries from a wide range of dental institutions at the Student Competition for Advancing Dental Research and its Application (SCADA) global competition. So again, I ask where have all the student researchers gone? And I don’t think I am alone in this observation. Over a decade ago, the National Institutes of Health stated, “Research exposure and experience in dental school is valuable to promote critical thinking, to make practitioners effective consumers of the literature, and to begin the preparation of future oral researchers.” (The Need for Research in the Predoctoral Dental Education, National Institutes of Health).
As most of you know, research does not need to be conducted exclusively in the research lab environment. ADEA’s position is that while many students think that lab research is the most important experience, social science research is just as fascinating and valuable. I acknowledge that some schools or programs may not have a large research agenda but focus on equally important aspects of oral health education and the development of new, effective methods of curriculum organization, delivery and assessment. However, there are other categories outside of pure biomedical science that need the focus of oral health students, including public health, patient care and access to care. We need to remind ourselves and our students of these significant options for research endeavors which will help create the future direction of oral health care practice, policy and procedures that support community health.
I feel the need to uncover the root of this lack of participation in student research. Are we doing our jobs as academics? As an organization? Do we have enough trained faculty serving as role models and mentors? Is there an overcrowded curriculum that doesn’t allow time for discovery? Do schools lack sufficient funding for support? Are schools still playing catch up on the heels of the pandemic, preventing time for research?
Of course, I suspect there is not just one, sole answer, but I hope you are as reflective as I am about the declining numbers of students pursuing research opportunities. It’s time to shift the focus to solutions that can excite students and faculty about creating the future. What needs to change? What actions would facilitate new thinking and foster common threads of discovery across programs? I hope you’ll join me in the pursuit of reversing this trend to raise the visibility unlocking opportunities for student research during ADEA’s next 100 years.
Consider that some of these students will become future faculty members and that it is only fitting we ensure we are making the case through advocacy and laying the groundwork for the role that research plays in oral health education. Who knows? Maybe together we help make 2024 a banner year. Now, that is a result I’d love to talk about in the near future.
Join me in congratulating the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) as they celebrate their 75th Anniversary on June 27, 2023.
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