Monitoring & Assessment in undergraduate Endodontology; towards a European standard

Chairs

The 'Monitoring & Assessment in undergraduate Endodontology; towards a European standard' Special Interest Group formed in 2014 and met for the first time at the ADEE meeting in Riga. The SIG is chaired by Dr. John Whitworth (UK), Prof. Vytaute Peciuliene (LT) and Assoc. Prof. Jale Tanalp (TR). 

Aims and Objectives

Following the publication of the revised undergraduate curriculum guidelines for Endontology (Int Endod J 2013, 46: 1105-14), the European Society of Endodontology seeks to share best practice and develop standards for the monitoring and assessment of student progression in undergraduate endodontics.

Phase 1 of this work explores the progression of students from the preclinical laboratory to patient care; what safeguards we should have in place to ensure safe transition, what skills and knowledge our students should possess, and how we should assess it. Discussions of the SIG will be primed by information from regulatory authorities such as the UK General Dental Council on safe transition to clinical practice, and by submissions from dental schools throughout Europe on their current practices.

The following aims and objectives have been agreed for the Special Interest Group:

1. To promote objective assessment & monitoring in undergraduate Endodontology.
2. To define standards for assessment & monitoring, specifically:
   1. at the transition between preclinical and clinical training;
   2. during clinical training and;
   3. at the point of graduation.
3. To develop quality assurance tools for European Endodontic education.
4. To promote collaboration between the ESE, Endodontic educators and the ADEE.
5. To engage with the ADEE network to promote discussion on all matters relating to Endodontic education.

2015 Szeged - Phase 2: monitoring and assessment in clinical endodontics (not the final examination)

Background:

Questionnaire was circulated to all dental school contacts on the European Society of Endodontology database (n=214), seeking information on relevant aspects of student supervision, activity levels and monitoring process during clinical attachments in Endodontics.

(Attachments: Full Questionnaire and Responses; PowerPoint Introductory slides download below). Responses: 46/214 (21.5%) - disappointingly low, so data must not be over-analysed.

Some highlights:   

3. Typical Staff : Student ratios  Average 1:7 (Range 1:3 - 1: 25)
4. Minimum levels of clinical activity in root canal treatment:  Huge variation from 1 case during clinical training to 70 canals in year 5 alone.
5. Guaranteed experience in other aspects of endodontology – from pulp capping to perforation repair.  Huge variation.
6. Schools concerned about the supply of suitable teaching cases.  More than 50% or respondents

Summary: It is very difficult for the ESE/ADEE to impose minimum levels of activity or methods of assessment to a vastly diverse Europe. To do so may risk many schools being unable to deliver, or undermining the resources of schools that can provide higher levels of experience.

Outcome: The SIG AGREED that

• We should not try to seek consensus on levels of activity.

• ESE/ADEE should return to the ESE Undergraduate Curriculum Guidelines and seek to translate these into a series of case scenarios that ALL European graduates from Reykjavik to Moscow should be able to manage

  • Schools with many patients:  may ensure that students gain experience in the usual way

  • Schools with limited patients: ESE/ADEE establish working groups to develop mock-cases of staged complexity, with: history, images, challenges in  medical history, diagnosis, patient management etc 

    PLUS templates for 3D printed tooth models to mount in mannequins and treat in  clinical areas.

  • Blended patient/simulation experiences are likely in most schools to ensure that students gain the necessary experience to manage the broad range of clinical scenarios that will be required.

  • Financial and human resources will be required to support this work.

Notice: ESE Executive, General assembly and Education Symposium, 16th - 18th September 2015, Barcelona 

The proposal to:

• Define a series of case scenarios that a European Graduate should be able to manage

Develop clinical case scenarios was approved as activity within the mission of the ESE, and the Society agreed to make a degree of financial support available to support the project.

ACTIONS:

1. Discussion Forum to be established on the European Society of Endodontology web site for exchange on this project. Those wishing to join, please contact the ese administrator ese-administrator@cardiff.ac.uk It is not possible to link the ADEE and ESE web pages, so this project will be managed through ESE.
2. Workshops to be established to:
   1. Define the range of case scenarios required to meet the expected outcomes of the ESE Undergraduate Curriculum Guidelines.
   2. Develop and refine case scenarios.
   3. It is envisaged that this may be the focus of the SIG in Barcelona 2016.

Meeting and Activitites - Riga 2014: Phase 1

At the Special Interest Groups first meeting in Riga 2014 an overview of the ESE Education & Scholarship Committee purpose and priorities was outlined as being concerned with the:

1. Reviewing and suggesting updates to the Undergraduate Curriculum Guidelines
2. Reviewing and suggesting updates to the Specialist Training Guidelines (PG)
3. Developing strong working relations with ADEE & other regulatory bodies
4. Promoting dialogue/educational development with European dental schools
5. Promoting education and scholarship related events & workshops within & outside the ESE congress

The SIG was also updated on the the 2013 ESE meeting in Lisbon which identified the following as being a priority for ESE:

1. Monitoring & assessment identified as important themes
2. Delegates wished to share good practice and work towards European standards
3. ESE educators wished to embed within ADEE to engage with a broader educational community

It was agreed that over the coming years the following would be a prioirty focus areas for the SIG:

1. Phase 1: 2014-15 Preclinical Endodontology
2. Phase 2: 2015-16 Clinical Endodontology
3. Phase 3: 2016-17 Final examinations

Further details of the SIG's Riga meeting and the agreed outcomes of the meeting are available to download below.

SIG Leader Announcements and Update

The European Society of Endodontology is pleased to share its updated Undergraduate Curriculum Guidelines with ADEE members available below.

Building on 1992 and 2001 editions, this current document provides consensus-based guidance on curriculum content and expected levels of competence across the broad discipline of Endodontology.

Expected levels of competence are expressed  with terminology adopted in the ADEE Profile and Competencies statement. We hope this document will be a valuable resource for students, educators and regulatory authorities and look forward to the feedback of professional colleagues in developing future editions.

For more informtaion on The European Society of Endodontology visit their webpages at http://www.e-s-e.eu/

ADEE Members' Forum Pages

Please click here to join our online discussions at the ADEE Monitoring & Assessment in undergraduate Endodontology; towards a European standard discussion forum.