| Sign In to gain access to subscriptions and/or personal tools. |
25-year Analysis of a Dental Undergraduate Research Training Program (BSc Dent) at the University of Manitoba Faculty of Dentistry
1 Associate Dean for Research and Professor, Oral Biology, University of Manitoba Faculty of Dentistry, Winnipeg, Canada; Correspondence: * corresponding author, iacopino{at}cc.umanitoba.ca Martin A. Taubman, Editor ABSTRACT Research in the context of the dental school has traditionally been focused on institutional/faculty accomplishments and generating new knowledge to benefit the profession. Only recently have significant efforts been made to expand the overall research programming into the formal dental curriculum, to provide students with a baseline exposure to the research and critical thinking processes, encourage evidence-based decision-making, and stimulate interest in academic/research careers. Various approaches to curriculum reform and the establishment of multiple levels of student research opportunities are now part of the educational fabric of many dental schools worldwide. Many of the preliminary reports regarding the success and vitality of these programs have used outcomes measures and metrics that emphasize cultural changes within institutions, student research productivity, and student career preferences after graduation. However, there have not been any reports from long-standing programs (a minimum of 25 years of cumulative data) that describe dental school graduates who have had the benefit of research/training experiences during their dental education. The University of Manitoba Faculty of Dentistry initiated a BSc Dent program in 1980 that awarded a formal degree for significant research experiences taking place within the laboratories of the Faculty-based researchers and has continued to develop and expand this program. The success of the program has been demonstrated by the continued and increasing demands for entry, the academic achievements of the graduates, and the numbers of graduates who have completed advanced education/training programs or returned to the Faculty as instructors. Analysis of our long-term data validates many recent hypotheses and short-term observations regarding the benefits of dental student research programs. This information may be useful in the design and implementation of dental student research programs at other dental schools.
Key Words: dental education • research curriculum • dental student • academic careers • mentorship INTRODUCTION
Current Trends in New Science and Dental Curricula The general lack of incentives for clinical dentists to incorporate research experiences/training or follow an academic career course, particularly involving a requirement for original research as part of their job, has resulted in many unfilled faculty positions both in Canada and in the United States. Indeed, a crisis looms for dental schools in North America, since it has become very difficult to fill these faculty positions with full-time dental instructors capable of academic scholarship and willing to accept lower levels of remuneration compared with private practice (Chmar et al., 2006). This is particularly important in light of current faculty shortages (250 unfilled positions in US dental schools as of 2004–2005) and the most recent data regarding US dental graduates, as the 2003 ADEA Survey of Dental School Seniors demonstrated that only 1.9% of graduates (47 out of 4000) were interested in pursuing academic/research careers (Weaver et al., 2004; Chmar et al., 2006). Recent reports have hypothesized that this problem may be overcome by dental school curricula that create sophisticated consumers of research, foster an appreciation of research/discovery, and stimulate an interest in academic/research careers (Iacopino, 2007; Iacopino et al., 2007). These curricula enhance access, acceptance, and applicability of science/scholarship through the integration of biomedical/biodental clinical sciences, scholarly approaches to evidence-based paradigms in clinical patient management, and application of biomedical/biodental technological advances to clinical practice settings (Iacopino, 2004, 2007; Iacopino et al., 2004, 2007). Approaches have included a mandatory dedicated four-year research/scholarly curriculum track (Schuler, 2001; Iacopino, 2007), as well as various courses, special programs, or elective student experiences (Schuler, 2001; Rossomando et al., 2004; Iacopino, 2007). Each approach has demonstrated a positive influence on student attitudes toward careers in academic dentistry. Indeed, new dental faculty have indicated that student participation in research/scholarly activities and active mentorship by faculty were crucial factors in developing their interest in academic/research careers (Schenkein and Best, 2001). Previous reports have emphasized the need for dental schools to integrate research and scholarship into the curriculum such that they produce future leaders for the profession, and it has been estimated that dental schools must engage 20% of their best and brightest students with enriched academic curricula for 20% of their educational program to accomplish this (Herzberg et al., 2006).
Background to The Manitoba BSc Dent Program — Researcher Base The University of Manitoba Faculty of Dentistry mentor profile for the BSc Dent program represents basic biomedical scientists within the Oral Biology department as well as clinical researchers from the various disciplines within the clinical departments. For many clinical specialties in both medicine and dentistry, major barriers exist to exploiting potential interactions between basic and clinical researchers. Heavy teaching loads of clinical dental faculty discourage many who might be interested in pursuing either independent research or collaborative work with basic scientists. The BSc Dent program began at Manitoba as an attempt to bring the undergraduate research experience to the Faculty, to stimulate both clinical and basic research, and to encourage collaborative interactions between the clinicians and basic scientists. Completion of the program through formal presentation of the research results and acceptance of a written manuscript does not occur within a defined time frame, but is individualized for each student. There is flexibility in the program, since the students often return for a third summer, thereby maximizing the research experience and the opportunity to produce a publishable study. There is a verbal research presentation by the student, summarizing the findings, styled after a MSc thesis defense. Generally, two or three examiners provide oral feedback/questions to the student in front of an audience. Written feedback is provided, and often revisions are required before final acceptance of the manuscript. Unlike many such programs, there are no specific courses required for the BSc Dent. This program represents a research immersion experience only. The present study was undertaken to determine if students who elected to enter the BSc Dent program displayed academic credentials different from those of the general pool of dental students, and if program completion was associated with high performance in dental school or the pursuit of graduate-level education and/or academic careers. METHODS Student records from the BSc Dent program over a period of 25 years (1980–2005) were obtained from the University of Manitoba and from the office of the Dean of Dentistry. All individual identifiers were removed prior to acquisition of the records. Other studentship records were obtained from sponsoring organizations such as the Manitoba Medical Service Foundation and the Canadian Institute for Health Research. The following features and characteristics of the overall program and the BSc Dent students were examined: (1) student entering grade point averages (GPA), dental aptitude test results (DAT), and GPA during the four years of dental school between BSc Dent program students and the general student body; (2) valedictory graduation status and career choice of the 25-year BSc Dent cohort; and (3) the number of students participating in the program over the 25-year period. Statistical analyses, where appropriate, were undertaken with Student’s t test. RESULTS
Comparisons of students’ entering grade point averages (GPA), dental aptitude test results (DAT), and GPA during the four years of dental school in the general and BSc Dent programs are shown in Table 1
The selected demographics of valedictory graduation honors and career choices for the students passing through the BSc Dent program are shown in Table 2  . The majority (60%) of graduates of the program remained in Manitoba, providing dental care to Manitobans. About 14% of graduates maintain a connection with the faculty through instruction and/or appointment as junior faculty members, including former students who hold clinical instructor positions. A significant number have also entered graduate programs (17%) at the University of Manitoba or elsewhere.
The distribution of the number of BSc Dent students as a function of the year of the program from its inception is shown in the Fig. The program has had a range of 1–11 students per year during the course of its existence. Initially, only one student was registered, but there has been substantial growth over the years. The last three years for which we have data showed a mean of 11 students taking part in the program. From a four-year class size of about 100 students, this represents approximately a 10% participation rate.
DISCUSSION As early as 1978, a survey of deans of Canadian and American dental schools showed that while there was not a large number of dental students seeking research involvement during their undergraduate training, most schools provided some opportunity for research training (Essick, 1978). As a means to move dental education toward an all-encompassing whole-patient evidence-based model, many schools have incorporated some form of research training for students. Anecdotal observations suggest that this research training occurred predominantly in basic science laboratories until more recently, when expansion into epidemiological areas has taken place. Recently, many schools have expanded or re-invented these types of student research experiences to make them more accessible and effective (Iacopino et al., 2004; Edmunds, 2005; Iacopino, 2007). The outcome of such experiences may be the foundation on which dental education can be revitalized (Bertolami, 2002; Iacopino, 2007). Thus, after more than two decades, common student research themes are being advanced, and dental research is now becoming firmly established as a fundamental essential of the undergraduate educational experience. In many cases, accessibility remains a major issue. However, it has been demonstrated that increasing student involvement in research has many potential rewards for faculty and students, as well as for the institutions where they reside (Rossomando et al., 2004; Edmunds, 2005; Iacopino, 2007; Iacopino et al., 2007). There has been much discussion regarding the ability of students to complete a meaningful research experience as part of the crowded and challenging dental curriculum. Analysis of recent short-term data suggests that students who elect to participate in these programs are high achievers, and it is possible for them to combine these aspects of dentistry successfully (Iacopino, 2007; Iacopino et al., 2007). Some argue that the overall performance of these students in the traditional dental curriculum will suffer. However, analysis of the long-term data from the present study shows few differences between the general student population and the BSc Dent program students in either their entering GPA or the scores achieved on their DAT, and a higher overall GPA for BSc Dent students was observed over the four-year dental program. In this context, a self-selection process may be operating, since minimal criteria set for the program require a GPA of 3.0 to enter. Nevertheless, this does not preclude the majority of the students who generally enter dentistry with GPA’s over 3.0 from entering the program. GPA data have been used as one metric in the analyses, although some have argued over its utility, given the well-recognized ‘grade creep’ of recent years (Sonner, 2000).
The student assessment measures (Table 2 Discussions of student research programs hypothesize that these graduates will gravitate toward academic/research careers and advanced education/training programs (Schenkein and Best, 2001; Iacopino, 2007; Iacopino et al., 2007). Analysis of preliminary survey data from these programs suggests that this is true. Analysis of our long-term career choice data validates these short-term observations, since 17% of our program graduates have entered graduate programs. We believe that the most important finding of this long-term program analysis is that almost one-third (31.5%) of BSc Dent graduates have gone on to pursue advanced education/training or faculty positions. Interestingly, no specific career counseling or career advice was provided to the students beyond any requested or provided from their mentors. While we do not have any detailed survey data on program completers per se (this is an area for future study), we do know that 11 program completers now occupy junior faculty positions at dental schools in Canada or the United States and are pursuing research careers at those institutions.
Recent reports have also indicated that although student research programs face an initial amount of inertia, such programs are likely to grow steadily as students and faculty members realize the benefits of this education/training (Iacopino, 2007; Iacopino et al., 2007). Once again, analysis of our long-term data validates these observations. The median student number did not occur until 1997, although the program began in 1980 (Fig. Discussion of the data emerging from various dental student research programs must continue such that dental schools are able to design approaches for their particular circumstances and mission. For the profession to advance, every dental school must play a role in establishing a culture that attaches value to research/discovery, evidence-based practice, and the application of new knowledge/technologies to patient care.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The BSc Dent program at the University of Manitoba Faculty of Dentistry acknowledges the continuing financial support of the Manitoba Medical Service Foundation. Received for publication March 13, 2008. Revision received September 17, 2008. Accepted for publication September 17, 2008. REFERENCES
Journal of Dental Research, Vol. 87, No. 12,
1085-1088 (2008)
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|
|
 |
|
Sign In to gain access to subscriptions and/or personal tools.
