Undergraduate Dental Education: The European perspective

Consultation has now closed!

ADEE would like to sincerely thank and acknowledge those who participated in the open consultation process for the updating of its taskforce documents.  

As well as comprehensive responses from ADEE member-institutions and interested individuals, responses were also received from the following national and regional associations and bodies:

• British Association of Dental Hygiene and Therapy
• British Association of Oral Surgeons
• British Dental Association
• British Prosthodontic Society
• British Society of Paediatric Dentistry
• British Society of Periodontology
• Council of European Dentists
• European Association of Dental Public Health
• European College of Gerodontology
• European Dental Hygienists Federation
• European Dental Students’ Association
• European Federation of Periodontology 
• European Society of Endodontology
• Faculty of Dental Trainers, Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh
• Federation of European Dental Competent Authorities and Regulator (FEDCAR)
• General Dental Council
• Health Education England (North West)
• International Association for Disability and Oral Health
• Irish Dental Council

In all, a total of 211 comments for consideration were received by the taskforce.  In preparing its final document for presentation to the ADEE General Assembly in Vilnius on Friday 25th August 2017 the taskforce took each comment on individual merit.  

Such comprehensive consolation and the involving of multiple stakeholder, (educators, National Bodies, European Associations, Regulators and students) has enabled the delivery of a stronger document created through consensus.  

Following the General Assembly meeting, the final documents will be made available online and in publication in the European Journal of Dental Education.

Written consultation 22/05/17-16/07/17

ADEE commenced the review process of its Taskforce documents in 2016. Through a process of collaboration and key stakeholder engagement, a new suite of documents have been developed and are now available for consultation. Interested parties are invited to participate in the consultation process as outlined below having read the following updated documents.

All stakeholders and interested parties are invited to review and provide comment on the May 2017 draft documents:

• Undergraduate Dental Education: The European perspective
• Domain I - Professionalism
• Domain II - Safe and Effective Clinical Practice
• Domain III - Patient-centred Care
• Domain IV - Dentistry in Society
• Contemporaneous methods of teaching, learning and assessment, in Dental Undergraduate Education

Feedback can be provided via the template attached, see appendix 1.

Background

The Association for Dental Education in Europe (ADEE) has represented dental schools throughout Europe since 1975 and has become an international voice of dental education.
In 1999, ADEE commissioned 3 task forces in order to harmonise dental education systems in Europe:

• Profile and Competences for the Graduating European Dentist 
• Curriculum Structure, Content, Learning & Assessment in European Undergraduate Dental Education 
• Quality Assurance & Benchmarking. An Approach for European Dental Schools 

The popularity and influence of the resulting documents is demonstrated by the number of downloads and citations that have taken place, and they have been used by many schools, educational establishments and professional organisations globally.

Since the time of publication, several organisations, institutions and societies are now showing a preference for a "Learning Outcomes" approach to undergraduate dental education. Further, the importance of the "dental team" and a "team approach" to the delivery of patient-centred oral healthcare is being increasingly emphasised. Teaching excellence is also increasingly in the spotlight, with various metrics being proposed at institution, discipline and school level. Whilst many of the ways in which excellence is measured will depend upon graduate performance and success, there is also a growing interest in measuring levels of student satisfaction and support. As such, curricula need to be communicated clearly and effectively to both staff and students, and schools must be capable of implementing measures to ensure teaching quality. There is a growing body of research surrounding the self-perceived "preparedness" of graduates, and educators should be mindful of how their curricula shape the "safe-beginner".

Aim

With these developments in mind, the time is right to not only update the current suite of publications, but also to inject a fresh new approach that reflects best academic practice for European dental education. 

The updated Framework sees "Learning Outcomes" linked more explicitly within the defined curriculum and accompanying guidance specific to each Domain, relating to "Methods of Teaching and Learning" and "Methods of Assessment". It is anticipated that this new format will further increase the accessibility and utility of the Framework.

Timeline