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Continuing education: programs in four diverse institutions
Continuing education: programs in four
N ancy Resnick, BS, C hicago
As the profession of dentistry has grown, scientific discoveries and developments have continually arisen to enable the dentist to provide the highest possible quality of oral care. Because of the ongoing research in all areas of dentistry, continuing study is essential for the dentist dedicated to providing optimum ser vice for his patients. The American Dental Association, in its “ Prin ciples of ethics,” recognizes the importance of con tinuing education by stating: “ The right of a dentist to professional status rests in the knowledge, skill, and experience with which he serves his patients and society. Every dentist has the obligation of keeping his knowledge and skill freshened by continuing edu cation through all of his professional life.” The concept of continuing education has grown through the years to the point where by September 1974, 14 states had instituted a continuing education requirement for renewal of either state society mem bership or state licensure. Some programs have been criticized by the ADA, but such criticism does not imply that the Associa tion is averse to continuing education programs. On the contrary, the A D A is concerned about the quality of continuing education that is being provided, and thus, the quality of care the dentists taking such cours es will be providing to their patients. Although the A D A cannot officially certify continuing education programs, the Council on Dental Education has es tablished guidelines relative to such courses. The following are examples of various institutions with continuing dental education programs that fol low the guidelines recommended by the Council on Dental Education. These programs are not certified by the A D A , nor do they have formal approval from the A D A . They are, however, generally believed to provide continuing dental education courses bene ficial to practicing dentists. All are accepted by the Academy of General Dentistry for fellowship, mas tership, and member maintenance. 1214 ■ JAD A, V o l. 90, J u n e 1975
F irst D istrict D ental Society School
The Continuing Education Program of the First Dis trict Dental Society (New York) is the oldest and per haps the largest continuing education school in the country. David S. Shelby, director of the program, said the dental society is believed to have coined the term, “ continuing education.” During the 1974-1975 academic year, the dental so ciety school is offering 109 courses, both lecture-demonstration and participation, ranging from one to five full days in duration. The popularity of the courses, which are open to all licensed dentists and their auxil iary personnel, is confirmed by the fact that most courses are repeated twice and sometimes as many as four and five times throughout each school year. The courses are diverse and encompass most as pects of continuing education that are of interest to general dentists and specialists. A special course that was presented May 7, 1975, was titled “ Practice changes to cope with a continued recession.” In addi tion to discussion of this timely subject, practical sug gestions to combat the difficulties that many dentists and patients are facing were offered. Supplementing conventional lecture-demonstration courses are participation courses, courses that are given in hospital facilities, and those that are con ducted in the offices of dentists where instructors teach in typical private practice facilities. The first courses conducted by the dental society were presented in 1926 when small groups of regis trants participated in a few courses. The dental so ciety claims no other institutions existed at that time to provide equivalent postgraduate training. In 1938, the First District Dental Society began to publicize its program beyond the boundaries of New York state. When World War II ended. Dr. Shelby said, veterans found that only the dental society’s school offered a diversity of courses for retraining and keeping abreast of new developments in dentistry.
iverse institutions
David S. Shelby, director of the First District Dental Society Continuing Education Program expects the enrollment of the school to increase with each new academic year. Dentists attending the L. D. Pankey Institute practice new tech niques on lifelike mannequins on which tooth conditions can be exactly reproduced and easily changed.
The dental society, therefore, “ led the w ay,” he said, and “ it continues to be a vital part of the training of the dentist who works toward continually improving his craft.” The school has had its facilities in the Statler-Hilton Hotel, but is presently seeking new space to accom modate the expansion that is taking place and its con comitant need for changes in equipment, facilities, and audiovisual aids. Dr. Shelby is currently developing innovations in the program to ensure its continued growth and via bility, as well as its overall relevance to contemporary dentistry. In addition to a regular rotating faculty, he plans a guest faculty that has expertise in areas of special interest. “ The enrollment will undoubtedly increase with each new academic year,” Dr. Shelby said, “ and the school is ready to meet this exciting challenge of con stant growth by providing the best in continuing den tal education.” L . D. Pankey Institute for A dvanced Dental Education
The L. D. Pankey Institute for Advanced Dental Ed ucation in Miami, Fla, provides a unique program of continuing dental education. Founded in 1972, the institute provides a combination of technical and phil osophical ideas, based on the philosophies of L. D. Pankey, the institute’s mentor. Dr. Pankey’s philosophy basically states that the dentist must think of what he can do for his patient
without undue consideration of the cost, then learn how to do it to the best of his abilities, and finally, per suade his patient to understand and accept the quality treatment he needs. Then, Dr. Pankey and the insti tute administration believe, the patient will receive lasting dentistry that is fairly valued regardless of the cost, and the dentist will earn spiritual and material rewards through his dedicated service to others. The institute’s definition of a fair fee is “ that fee for which the dentist can accomplish the best work he knows how to do, and that the patient will pay with gratitude and appreciation,” according to Loren Miller, the in stitute’s director. The institute aims to teach dentists how to perform total dentistry and how to function as total human beings, with the proper balance between their pro fessional and personal lives. The almost evangelistic attitude of the school toward the practice of dentistry is accompanied by a disregard for traditional teaching techniques. Rather than using what the institute regards as the usual “ show and tell” techniques, dentists attending the courses learn by doing. Each participant brings his own instruments and does a given procedure in his own way. He then follows an instructor through the procedure, done in the institute-suggested way, after which he is asked to compare the results and decide how much of the Pankey method he wants to apply to his own practice. Dental techniques are practiced on lifelike man nequins in a 17-chair operatory. Closed-circuit tele vision is also widely used. R e s n ic k : CONTINUING EDUC ATION PR O G R A M S ■ 1215
Dentists enrolling at the institute begin by taking the first of seven courses, which includes instruction on special procedures and approaches in preventive and restorative dentistry, coupled with considerable work in occlusion. The last course in the continuum is par ticularly designed for the inclusion of auxiliary per sonnel and dentists’ spouses. Two orthodontic cours es also are offered, in addition to courses in periodon tics, personal growth, and a course for dental techni cians. Each course is conducted over a five-day per iod. “ An additional emphasis of the institute is the bring ing together of various schools of thought so that the traditional disagreements can be dispelled and so that the profession can forge ahead into an area of com mon understanding particularly in the area of occlu sion,” Dr. Miller said. The institute also believes that a dentist must know the state of his own physical and oral health. There fore, on a first visit to the institute, each student re ceives a thorough physical examination, including blood chemistry, urinalysis, a stress electrocardio gram, and pulmonary function studies. Three cardiol ogists oversee the medical tests. As of April 1975, 1,895 attendees have participated in the courses since the inception of the institute. This number, which includes the many dentists who have returned to take more than one course, points to the institute’s success. In all, 55 classes are being con ducted during the 1975 academic year to accommo date all the dentists seeking to attend. Although the institute’s temporary facilities in the D uPont Plaza C enter in Miami have been used ef fectively, expansion of the programs and enrollment has necessitated plans to construct a new permanent building. Additional information on the institute can be pro cured by writing the L. D. Pankey Institute for Ad vanced Dental Education, Suite 302, DuPont Plaza Center, 300 Biscayne Blvd, Miami, Fla 33131. A lbert Einstein C ollege o f M edicine
Since 1960, the Postgraduate Dental Program of Al bert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, N Y , has offered a multitude of continuing education courses for the practicing dentist. U nder the direction of Irving Yudkoff, the courses embrace practical and theoretical application of new techniques and research developments to the general dental practice. The postgraduate dental program is part of the Divi sion of D entistry, Bronx Municipal Hospital Center, A lbert Einstein College of Medicine. The division’s director is Donald Sadowski. 1216 ■ JAD A, V o l. 90, J u n e 1975
A participant (left) at the Albert Einstein Postgraduate Dental Program’s periodontics course examines a patient as instructor Daniel M. Nachmanoff, Kew Gardens, NY looks on.
According to Dr. Yudkoff, approximately 2,000 dentists have enrolled in the courses during the past 15 years; and many return each year to take different courses. During the 1974-1975 program, approximately 60 courses, related to 21 aspects of dental practice, are being presented. Most courses are of one to five days’ duration, although one, periodontics, extends over 24 weeks on a once-a-week basis. Although some of the courses are presented in sem inar or lecture formats, many include actual clinical participation. To accommodate the various formats used, the courses are presented in a large dental suite at the college, which includes a ten-chair dental clinic, facilities for laboratory techniques that can accom modate 20 participants, and a lecture and demonstra tion area designed for closed-circuit television. Addi tional teaching areas include a diagnostic and treat ment room that contains facilities for conventional and panoramic radiography. In addition to the formal courses offered through the school, a postgraduate extension program has been developed for practitioners who reside some dis tance away from teaching institutions. Faculty mem bers of the postgraduate dental program, who are specialists in their fields, often present short, inten sive courses in various cities if a sufficient number of practitioners express an interest in taking the course. If clinical facilities are available, these courses can be a combination of lectures and demonstrations. Special tuition arrangements can be made for study clubs, consisting of six or more members, who come to the school’s facilities. The program’s success is proven by the number of dentists who participate in several of the program courses. In April of each academic year, alumni who have accrued 100 hours or more of postgraduate in-
Both Army and civilian dentists participate in a periodontics course conducted by (left to right) Lt. Col. George Barnes, Col. Jay Seibert, Lt. Col. Marvin Levin, and Lt. Col. Rowland Hutchinson of the US Army Institute of Dental Research.
stmction at the school are presented a Dedicated Dental Scholar Award. In April 1975, 19 of the school’s alumni were honored for accruing 100 to 300 postgraduate hours. Additional information on the program may be pro cured by writing: Postgraduate Dental Program, Di vision of Dentistry, Albert Einstein College of Medi cine, 1165 Morris Park Ave, Bronx, NY 10461.
US military The United States Armed Services jointly employ the talents of thousands of dentists. To ensure that mili tary dentists can be kept abreast of recent develop ments in dentistry, the armed services provide varied continuing education programs. ■ US Arm y programs. Continuing education pro grams conducted by or under the aegis of the US A r my Institute of Dental Research (U SA ID R), for ex ample, are diverse. Nearly 20,000 dentists, both mil itary and civilian, from every state in the United States, as well as from 28 foreign countries, have par ticipated in the Army’s courses over the years. Currently, seven annual courses, including current concepts of restorative dentistry, prosthodontics, preventive dentistry in general practice, oral surgery, advanced clinical pathology of the oral regions, perio dontics, and oral diagnosis and therapeutics, are con ducted at W alter Reed Army Medical Center alone. Each of these courses is typically taught in the for mat of five-day illustrated lectures. An average faculty of 25, including civilian author ities, as well as military specialists, presents the courses. “ Varying philosophies of practice are adequately represented by the military specialists, but civilian faculty members contribute significantly to a better
rounded program,” explained Lt. Col. Jon L. Dan iels, deputy director, U SA ID R . The continuing education programs represent all primary specialty areas of military practice. The courses representing the major specialties (for exam ple, prosthodontics and oral surgery) serve in two ways: as a forum for the leaders in military special ties to discuss their work with one another and civilian counterparts, and as a source of current specialty in formation for the military general practitioner. Although the courses presented at Walter Reed are conducted primarily for the military general dental officer, civilian dentists are allowed to participate on a space-available basis. In addition to the courses offered at Walter Reed, U SA ID R also sponsors “ road” courses at other sites, exclusively for the military dental officer. Such cours es are either military staff officer presentations or par ticipation clinical courses. The staff officer programs are in management of oral health delivery systems and in dental plans and operations. These two courses are usually conducted in the Washington, DC, area at a retreat-type facility. They are usually seminars or working sessions with relatively little time devoted to formal presentations. The clinical participation courses are conducted both at the U SA ID R clinic at Fort George Meade, and at other installations on invitation. A current example of such a program is an inhala tion sedation course. The faculty is composed of members of the institute staff who lecture and make use of videotaped background material appropriate to the subject. Course attendees then participate in ac tual instruction in the technique and routine use of nitrous oxide-oxygen sedation in dental practice. “ Students gain sufficient practice in the sedation tech nique during the course to enable them to begin its R e s n ic k : C O N TIN U IN G ED U C ATIO N PR O G R A M S * 1217
Naval dentists hear taped lectures at the Naval Graduate Dental School.
routine use in practice,” said Lt. Col. Daniels. Further information may be obtained from the Commander, U S A ID R , Attn: Chief of Professional Development, Washington, DC 20012. ■ N aval dental continuing education. The Naval branch of the armed services also provides continu ing education opportunities for its dental officers through programs arranged by both the Naval Grad uate Dental School and the Eleventh Naval District. The courses are, however, limited to active duty members of the Federal Dental Service and Naval Reserve officers eligible for assignment to two weeks’ active duty. Each academic year since 1957-1958, a series of short continuing education courses has been offered at the Naval G raduate Dental School, National Naval Medical Center, Bethesda. These courses, sponsored by the Dental Division, Bureau of Medicine and Sur gery, Navy Department, are designed to present the latest developments in dentistry and “ to promote the highest standards of dental practice,” according to Capt. G. B. Crossmire, assistant deputy chief, Den tal Division. Approximately 600 dentists attend the 14 to 16 courses offered annually. About 15% of the partic ipants are inactive reserve dental officers in civilian practice. The courses, which range from comprehen sive dentistry to dental radiology, are conducted dur ing three- to five-day sessions by the staff of the school, supplemented by guest lecturers, who in clude both military and civilian authorities. 1218 ■ JA D A , V o l. 90, J u n e 1975
The courses are presented through a variety of in structional media: lecture, seminar, videotape, film, clinical exposure, laboratory exercises, and indepen dent learning programs (slide-lecture, slide-tape, and video-cassette programs). The courses are revised annually based on critiques and pre- and post-course examinations. Continuing education credit is awarded to participants on the ba sis of actual contact hours and may be used in meeting requirements established by state dental societies, state boards, and the Academy of General Dentistry. In addition to the short courses presented, the Naval Dental Division also sponsors a series of cor respondence courses to augment the educational pro grams available to dental officers. According to Cap tain Crossmire, more than 1,000 dental officers are currently enrolled in the correspondence course pro gram. The 16 courses offered in the program are devel oped and administered by the staff of the Naval Grad uate Dental School and are based on widely accepted dental textbooks or on texts written by the staff of the school. These courses are open to all dental officers on ac tive duty with the US Armed Forces or other federal agencies, and reserve officers on inactive duty. Naval reservists are awarded retirement credit for comple tion of the courses.
M rs . R e s n ic k is a n a s s o c ia te n e w s e d ito r o f A D A N ew s an d TH E JO U R N A L .
N ancy Resnick, BS, C hicago
As the profession of dentistry has grown, scientific discoveries and developments have continually arisen to enable the dentist to provide the highest possible quality of oral care. Because of the ongoing research in all areas of dentistry, continuing study is essential for the dentist dedicated to providing optimum ser vice for his patients. The American Dental Association, in its “ Prin ciples of ethics,” recognizes the importance of con tinuing education by stating: “ The right of a dentist to professional status rests in the knowledge, skill, and experience with which he serves his patients and society. Every dentist has the obligation of keeping his knowledge and skill freshened by continuing edu cation through all of his professional life.” The concept of continuing education has grown through the years to the point where by September 1974, 14 states had instituted a continuing education requirement for renewal of either state society mem bership or state licensure. Some programs have been criticized by the ADA, but such criticism does not imply that the Associa tion is averse to continuing education programs. On the contrary, the A D A is concerned about the quality of continuing education that is being provided, and thus, the quality of care the dentists taking such cours es will be providing to their patients. Although the A D A cannot officially certify continuing education programs, the Council on Dental Education has es tablished guidelines relative to such courses. The following are examples of various institutions with continuing dental education programs that fol low the guidelines recommended by the Council on Dental Education. These programs are not certified by the A D A , nor do they have formal approval from the A D A . They are, however, generally believed to provide continuing dental education courses bene ficial to practicing dentists. All are accepted by the Academy of General Dentistry for fellowship, mas tership, and member maintenance. 1214 ■ JAD A, V o l. 90, J u n e 1975
F irst D istrict D ental Society School
The Continuing Education Program of the First Dis trict Dental Society (New York) is the oldest and per haps the largest continuing education school in the country. David S. Shelby, director of the program, said the dental society is believed to have coined the term, “ continuing education.” During the 1974-1975 academic year, the dental so ciety school is offering 109 courses, both lecture-demonstration and participation, ranging from one to five full days in duration. The popularity of the courses, which are open to all licensed dentists and their auxil iary personnel, is confirmed by the fact that most courses are repeated twice and sometimes as many as four and five times throughout each school year. The courses are diverse and encompass most as pects of continuing education that are of interest to general dentists and specialists. A special course that was presented May 7, 1975, was titled “ Practice changes to cope with a continued recession.” In addi tion to discussion of this timely subject, practical sug gestions to combat the difficulties that many dentists and patients are facing were offered. Supplementing conventional lecture-demonstration courses are participation courses, courses that are given in hospital facilities, and those that are con ducted in the offices of dentists where instructors teach in typical private practice facilities. The first courses conducted by the dental society were presented in 1926 when small groups of regis trants participated in a few courses. The dental so ciety claims no other institutions existed at that time to provide equivalent postgraduate training. In 1938, the First District Dental Society began to publicize its program beyond the boundaries of New York state. When World War II ended. Dr. Shelby said, veterans found that only the dental society’s school offered a diversity of courses for retraining and keeping abreast of new developments in dentistry.
iverse institutions
David S. Shelby, director of the First District Dental Society Continuing Education Program expects the enrollment of the school to increase with each new academic year. Dentists attending the L. D. Pankey Institute practice new tech niques on lifelike mannequins on which tooth conditions can be exactly reproduced and easily changed.
The dental society, therefore, “ led the w ay,” he said, and “ it continues to be a vital part of the training of the dentist who works toward continually improving his craft.” The school has had its facilities in the Statler-Hilton Hotel, but is presently seeking new space to accom modate the expansion that is taking place and its con comitant need for changes in equipment, facilities, and audiovisual aids. Dr. Shelby is currently developing innovations in the program to ensure its continued growth and via bility, as well as its overall relevance to contemporary dentistry. In addition to a regular rotating faculty, he plans a guest faculty that has expertise in areas of special interest. “ The enrollment will undoubtedly increase with each new academic year,” Dr. Shelby said, “ and the school is ready to meet this exciting challenge of con stant growth by providing the best in continuing den tal education.” L . D. Pankey Institute for A dvanced Dental Education
The L. D. Pankey Institute for Advanced Dental Ed ucation in Miami, Fla, provides a unique program of continuing dental education. Founded in 1972, the institute provides a combination of technical and phil osophical ideas, based on the philosophies of L. D. Pankey, the institute’s mentor. Dr. Pankey’s philosophy basically states that the dentist must think of what he can do for his patient
without undue consideration of the cost, then learn how to do it to the best of his abilities, and finally, per suade his patient to understand and accept the quality treatment he needs. Then, Dr. Pankey and the insti tute administration believe, the patient will receive lasting dentistry that is fairly valued regardless of the cost, and the dentist will earn spiritual and material rewards through his dedicated service to others. The institute’s definition of a fair fee is “ that fee for which the dentist can accomplish the best work he knows how to do, and that the patient will pay with gratitude and appreciation,” according to Loren Miller, the in stitute’s director. The institute aims to teach dentists how to perform total dentistry and how to function as total human beings, with the proper balance between their pro fessional and personal lives. The almost evangelistic attitude of the school toward the practice of dentistry is accompanied by a disregard for traditional teaching techniques. Rather than using what the institute regards as the usual “ show and tell” techniques, dentists attending the courses learn by doing. Each participant brings his own instruments and does a given procedure in his own way. He then follows an instructor through the procedure, done in the institute-suggested way, after which he is asked to compare the results and decide how much of the Pankey method he wants to apply to his own practice. Dental techniques are practiced on lifelike man nequins in a 17-chair operatory. Closed-circuit tele vision is also widely used. R e s n ic k : CONTINUING EDUC ATION PR O G R A M S ■ 1215
Dentists enrolling at the institute begin by taking the first of seven courses, which includes instruction on special procedures and approaches in preventive and restorative dentistry, coupled with considerable work in occlusion. The last course in the continuum is par ticularly designed for the inclusion of auxiliary per sonnel and dentists’ spouses. Two orthodontic cours es also are offered, in addition to courses in periodon tics, personal growth, and a course for dental techni cians. Each course is conducted over a five-day per iod. “ An additional emphasis of the institute is the bring ing together of various schools of thought so that the traditional disagreements can be dispelled and so that the profession can forge ahead into an area of com mon understanding particularly in the area of occlu sion,” Dr. Miller said. The institute also believes that a dentist must know the state of his own physical and oral health. There fore, on a first visit to the institute, each student re ceives a thorough physical examination, including blood chemistry, urinalysis, a stress electrocardio gram, and pulmonary function studies. Three cardiol ogists oversee the medical tests. As of April 1975, 1,895 attendees have participated in the courses since the inception of the institute. This number, which includes the many dentists who have returned to take more than one course, points to the institute’s success. In all, 55 classes are being con ducted during the 1975 academic year to accommo date all the dentists seeking to attend. Although the institute’s temporary facilities in the D uPont Plaza C enter in Miami have been used ef fectively, expansion of the programs and enrollment has necessitated plans to construct a new permanent building. Additional information on the institute can be pro cured by writing the L. D. Pankey Institute for Ad vanced Dental Education, Suite 302, DuPont Plaza Center, 300 Biscayne Blvd, Miami, Fla 33131. A lbert Einstein C ollege o f M edicine
Since 1960, the Postgraduate Dental Program of Al bert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, N Y , has offered a multitude of continuing education courses for the practicing dentist. U nder the direction of Irving Yudkoff, the courses embrace practical and theoretical application of new techniques and research developments to the general dental practice. The postgraduate dental program is part of the Divi sion of D entistry, Bronx Municipal Hospital Center, A lbert Einstein College of Medicine. The division’s director is Donald Sadowski. 1216 ■ JAD A, V o l. 90, J u n e 1975
A participant (left) at the Albert Einstein Postgraduate Dental Program’s periodontics course examines a patient as instructor Daniel M. Nachmanoff, Kew Gardens, NY looks on.
According to Dr. Yudkoff, approximately 2,000 dentists have enrolled in the courses during the past 15 years; and many return each year to take different courses. During the 1974-1975 program, approximately 60 courses, related to 21 aspects of dental practice, are being presented. Most courses are of one to five days’ duration, although one, periodontics, extends over 24 weeks on a once-a-week basis. Although some of the courses are presented in sem inar or lecture formats, many include actual clinical participation. To accommodate the various formats used, the courses are presented in a large dental suite at the college, which includes a ten-chair dental clinic, facilities for laboratory techniques that can accom modate 20 participants, and a lecture and demonstra tion area designed for closed-circuit television. Addi tional teaching areas include a diagnostic and treat ment room that contains facilities for conventional and panoramic radiography. In addition to the formal courses offered through the school, a postgraduate extension program has been developed for practitioners who reside some dis tance away from teaching institutions. Faculty mem bers of the postgraduate dental program, who are specialists in their fields, often present short, inten sive courses in various cities if a sufficient number of practitioners express an interest in taking the course. If clinical facilities are available, these courses can be a combination of lectures and demonstrations. Special tuition arrangements can be made for study clubs, consisting of six or more members, who come to the school’s facilities. The program’s success is proven by the number of dentists who participate in several of the program courses. In April of each academic year, alumni who have accrued 100 hours or more of postgraduate in-
Both Army and civilian dentists participate in a periodontics course conducted by (left to right) Lt. Col. George Barnes, Col. Jay Seibert, Lt. Col. Marvin Levin, and Lt. Col. Rowland Hutchinson of the US Army Institute of Dental Research.
stmction at the school are presented a Dedicated Dental Scholar Award. In April 1975, 19 of the school’s alumni were honored for accruing 100 to 300 postgraduate hours. Additional information on the program may be pro cured by writing: Postgraduate Dental Program, Di vision of Dentistry, Albert Einstein College of Medi cine, 1165 Morris Park Ave, Bronx, NY 10461.
US military The United States Armed Services jointly employ the talents of thousands of dentists. To ensure that mili tary dentists can be kept abreast of recent develop ments in dentistry, the armed services provide varied continuing education programs. ■ US Arm y programs. Continuing education pro grams conducted by or under the aegis of the US A r my Institute of Dental Research (U SA ID R), for ex ample, are diverse. Nearly 20,000 dentists, both mil itary and civilian, from every state in the United States, as well as from 28 foreign countries, have par ticipated in the Army’s courses over the years. Currently, seven annual courses, including current concepts of restorative dentistry, prosthodontics, preventive dentistry in general practice, oral surgery, advanced clinical pathology of the oral regions, perio dontics, and oral diagnosis and therapeutics, are con ducted at W alter Reed Army Medical Center alone. Each of these courses is typically taught in the for mat of five-day illustrated lectures. An average faculty of 25, including civilian author ities, as well as military specialists, presents the courses. “ Varying philosophies of practice are adequately represented by the military specialists, but civilian faculty members contribute significantly to a better
rounded program,” explained Lt. Col. Jon L. Dan iels, deputy director, U SA ID R . The continuing education programs represent all primary specialty areas of military practice. The courses representing the major specialties (for exam ple, prosthodontics and oral surgery) serve in two ways: as a forum for the leaders in military special ties to discuss their work with one another and civilian counterparts, and as a source of current specialty in formation for the military general practitioner. Although the courses presented at Walter Reed are conducted primarily for the military general dental officer, civilian dentists are allowed to participate on a space-available basis. In addition to the courses offered at Walter Reed, U SA ID R also sponsors “ road” courses at other sites, exclusively for the military dental officer. Such cours es are either military staff officer presentations or par ticipation clinical courses. The staff officer programs are in management of oral health delivery systems and in dental plans and operations. These two courses are usually conducted in the Washington, DC, area at a retreat-type facility. They are usually seminars or working sessions with relatively little time devoted to formal presentations. The clinical participation courses are conducted both at the U SA ID R clinic at Fort George Meade, and at other installations on invitation. A current example of such a program is an inhala tion sedation course. The faculty is composed of members of the institute staff who lecture and make use of videotaped background material appropriate to the subject. Course attendees then participate in ac tual instruction in the technique and routine use of nitrous oxide-oxygen sedation in dental practice. “ Students gain sufficient practice in the sedation tech nique during the course to enable them to begin its R e s n ic k : C O N TIN U IN G ED U C ATIO N PR O G R A M S * 1217
Naval dentists hear taped lectures at the Naval Graduate Dental School.
routine use in practice,” said Lt. Col. Daniels. Further information may be obtained from the Commander, U S A ID R , Attn: Chief of Professional Development, Washington, DC 20012. ■ N aval dental continuing education. The Naval branch of the armed services also provides continu ing education opportunities for its dental officers through programs arranged by both the Naval Grad uate Dental School and the Eleventh Naval District. The courses are, however, limited to active duty members of the Federal Dental Service and Naval Reserve officers eligible for assignment to two weeks’ active duty. Each academic year since 1957-1958, a series of short continuing education courses has been offered at the Naval G raduate Dental School, National Naval Medical Center, Bethesda. These courses, sponsored by the Dental Division, Bureau of Medicine and Sur gery, Navy Department, are designed to present the latest developments in dentistry and “ to promote the highest standards of dental practice,” according to Capt. G. B. Crossmire, assistant deputy chief, Den tal Division. Approximately 600 dentists attend the 14 to 16 courses offered annually. About 15% of the partic ipants are inactive reserve dental officers in civilian practice. The courses, which range from comprehen sive dentistry to dental radiology, are conducted dur ing three- to five-day sessions by the staff of the school, supplemented by guest lecturers, who in clude both military and civilian authorities. 1218 ■ JA D A , V o l. 90, J u n e 1975
The courses are presented through a variety of in structional media: lecture, seminar, videotape, film, clinical exposure, laboratory exercises, and indepen dent learning programs (slide-lecture, slide-tape, and video-cassette programs). The courses are revised annually based on critiques and pre- and post-course examinations. Continuing education credit is awarded to participants on the ba sis of actual contact hours and may be used in meeting requirements established by state dental societies, state boards, and the Academy of General Dentistry. In addition to the short courses presented, the Naval Dental Division also sponsors a series of cor respondence courses to augment the educational pro grams available to dental officers. According to Cap tain Crossmire, more than 1,000 dental officers are currently enrolled in the correspondence course pro gram. The 16 courses offered in the program are devel oped and administered by the staff of the Naval Grad uate Dental School and are based on widely accepted dental textbooks or on texts written by the staff of the school. These courses are open to all dental officers on ac tive duty with the US Armed Forces or other federal agencies, and reserve officers on inactive duty. Naval reservists are awarded retirement credit for comple tion of the courses.
M rs . R e s n ic k is a n a s s o c ia te n e w s e d ito r o f A D A N ew s an d TH E JO U R N A L .