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Recruiting, selecting, and evaluating faculty
FEATURE
WORKSHOP OF ADVANCED ENDODONTIC PROGRAMS
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T h e o b j e c t i v e s of t h e W o r k s h o p of A d v a n c e d E n d o d o n t i c P r o g r a m s , h e l d in C h i c a g o , F e b r u a r y 21-22, 1975, w e r e to e s t a b l i s h c l e a r l y d e f i n e d c r i t e r i a a n d g u i d e l i n e s that will e n a b l e e v a l u a t o r s to d i s t i n g u i s h a m o n g t h e v a r i e t i e s of p r o g r a m s c u r r e n t l y b e i n g o f f e r e d a n d t h o s e in t h e p l a n n i n g s t a g e s . F i v e g r o u p s w e r e a r r a n g e d to d e t e r m i n e t h e c r i t e r i a a n d g u i d e l i n e s . T h r e e i n t r o d u c t o r y p a p e r s a p p e a r e d in t h e O c t o b e r i s s u e . P r o c e e d i n g s of G r o u p ], S e l e c t i o n a n d E v a l u a t i o n of F a c u l t y , l e a d b y H a r r y B l e c h m a n , a p p e a r in this i s s u e : A . Recruiting, s e l e c t i n g , a n d e v a l u a t i n g f a c u l t y ; B. T h e r o l e of r e s e a r c h in a d v a n c e d e n d o d o n t i c p r o g r a m s ; a n d C. D i s c u s s i o n .
Recruiting, selecting, and evaluating faculty Harry Blechman, DDS, AM Our assignment was "to establish criteria for the selection and evaluation of faculty, including department chairmen, in terms of competence in clinical skills, pedagogical skills, and conduct." In addition, the organizing committee of the workshop posed several questions to be considered. Teachers of a health related specialty must, by the nature of what is expected of them, be highly qualified individuals. They have two loyalties: one to their fields of specialization, the other to their role as teachers. Both require a high level of skill, knowledge, and understanding. As endodontists, they are expected to have superior skills and wide experiences; to command an understanding of the literature; and to have achieved successful practices as well as have gained management experience. They should at least be Board
eligible, preferably Board certified, serve as models of behavior, be inventive, energetic, and have demonstrated an inquiring mind and research orientation. As teachers, endodontists must be able to motivate students, to communicate with them on both a one-to-one basis and in fairly large groups. They must be able to relate to other health disciplines. They must like and understand younger people and the contemporary world in which we all live. Teachers must be resourceful, competent, reasonable, flexible, yet demanding. Above all, good clinical teachers must have developed those attitudes and values that serve the health of patients rather than the interest of their specialty or their own pockets. They should participate in continuing education programs, community oriented projects, dental so-
ciety programs, and should serve the academic community as committee members, planners, and innovators. Further, as Harrington and Van Hassel have recently observed, "the teacher's cheerfulness should remain undiminished by the realization that his peers in private practice show net incomes approximately double his own." What are the current factors that limit our ability to recruit suitable faculty candidates? It would seem to me that this problem should concern us before we consider the criteria for selection and evaluation of teachers. The fact is that there exists an acute shortage of qualified dental teachers. Expanded enrollments, shrinking budgets, new schools, among other things, have further polarized the problem. We may be appointing "poor" teachers without asking ourselves the question: "How many poor, inexpensive teach-
351
JOURNAL OF ENDODONTICS I VOL 1, NO I1, NOVEMBER 1975
ers equal one 'good' teacher?" The part-time turnover rate is high, and many new full-time teachers are attracted to dental education for the wrong reasons. Some 140 full-time endodontic teaching positions are unfilled, and 80% of all endodontic teachers are part-time. The chances of us obtaining qualified faculty for the next term is small indeed. Further, it seems that really competent educators are gifted souls who must be identified, motivated, and molded, or pirated from other academic institutions. Some dental educators have said, and I tend to agree, that there are currently too many specialty programs with too few qualified teachers and directors to lead them. There are really two separate but related issues that require brief comments. First, we will deal with the matter of too many programs. The A D A ' s Council on Dental Education accredits programs, Who decides how many we need, where they ought to. be and what their enrollment should be? Is it simply a matter of supply and demand? When we have too many endodontic specialty practitioners, will some turn to academics? It is probably safe to say that when that occurs, the number and capacity of the existing endodontic training programs will also wind down. Would higher salaries attract and retain more highly qualified teachers? Perhaps a moratorium should be placed on the new program certification process until we have addressed ourselves to questions of what the current state of the art is, and what the demands and needs of the public really are. Where do we go from here? How far? How fast? This discussion group may wish to concern itself with those
352
questions before considering the subject of selection and evaluation of faculty and director. After all, the larger the number of endodontic teachers needed and the smaller the available pool of suitable applicants, the less rigorous and discriminating tile selection process can be. The converse is, I believe, also true. Assuming that we have no answers to the questions that I have just posed, and advanced training in endodontics will continue along current lines, then I submit that advanced education students appear to be our best source of teachers. Accordingly, the proper selection, preparation and assignment of advanced students as teachers is essential. If you agree with what I have just suggested, you may wish to give priority to an applicant for advanced study in endodontics who shows a strong interest in pursuing an academic career. Second, in regard to teacher training, I would urge that each endodontic trainee be required to engage in teaching as an integral part of the endodontics program. His activities as a teacher should be structured and sequential, and his performance monitored and evaluated. As Joe Tenca pointed out at the Houston Workshop in October 1973, "teaching promotes learning and leadership." He suggests that "all endodontic specialists should be engaged in some form of teaching, ranging from fuil-time or part-time assignments at dental schools to lectures to dental societies and study clubs." We may wish to consider recommending mandatory teaching as a condition for continued recognition as an endodontic specialist. Many educators go a step further. They believe that motivation and achievement in research are pre-
requisites to excellence in teaching, and that learning, teaching, and research are essential and inseparable elements in an advanced education program. I do not believe that a few months of teacher training will turn a poor teacher into a good one. I do believe, however, that one can identify potentially good teachers and motivate them to pursue academic careers. One technique that we have found extremely helpful is to invite the prospective faculty member to either deliver a lecture, lead a seminar, or demonstrate a clinical or laboratory procedure. Much can be learned, not only about the applicant's competence and knowledge, but also his ability to communicate and command attention and respect. A n effective teacher should build feedback mechanisms into learning situations so that errors may be promptly corrected, alternatives explored, and principles reinforced. Accordingly, teachers must know learning theory and learning mechanisms. Department heads should evaIuate their faculty yearly with respect to their current involvements and competence. This can only be done by personal monitoring of the faculty member's activities, and the prompt institution of corrective measures as well as complimenting him for a job well done. A number of educators have suggested that teacher training centers offering a full-time, one year program leading to a master's degree in dental education are needed for prospective full-time endodontic teachers. Shorter courses for part-time teachers and continuing education opportunities for current faculty may also be valuable.
WORKSHOP OF ADVANCED ENDODONTIC PROGRAMS
~
22
T h e o b j e c t i v e s of t h e W o r k s h o p of A d v a n c e d E n d o d o n t i c P r o g r a m s , h e l d in C h i c a g o , F e b r u a r y 21-22, 1975, w e r e to e s t a b l i s h c l e a r l y d e f i n e d c r i t e r i a a n d g u i d e l i n e s that will e n a b l e e v a l u a t o r s to d i s t i n g u i s h a m o n g t h e v a r i e t i e s of p r o g r a m s c u r r e n t l y b e i n g o f f e r e d a n d t h o s e in t h e p l a n n i n g s t a g e s . F i v e g r o u p s w e r e a r r a n g e d to d e t e r m i n e t h e c r i t e r i a a n d g u i d e l i n e s . T h r e e i n t r o d u c t o r y p a p e r s a p p e a r e d in t h e O c t o b e r i s s u e . P r o c e e d i n g s of G r o u p ], S e l e c t i o n a n d E v a l u a t i o n of F a c u l t y , l e a d b y H a r r y B l e c h m a n , a p p e a r in this i s s u e : A . Recruiting, s e l e c t i n g , a n d e v a l u a t i n g f a c u l t y ; B. T h e r o l e of r e s e a r c h in a d v a n c e d e n d o d o n t i c p r o g r a m s ; a n d C. D i s c u s s i o n .
Recruiting, selecting, and evaluating faculty Harry Blechman, DDS, AM Our assignment was "to establish criteria for the selection and evaluation of faculty, including department chairmen, in terms of competence in clinical skills, pedagogical skills, and conduct." In addition, the organizing committee of the workshop posed several questions to be considered. Teachers of a health related specialty must, by the nature of what is expected of them, be highly qualified individuals. They have two loyalties: one to their fields of specialization, the other to their role as teachers. Both require a high level of skill, knowledge, and understanding. As endodontists, they are expected to have superior skills and wide experiences; to command an understanding of the literature; and to have achieved successful practices as well as have gained management experience. They should at least be Board
eligible, preferably Board certified, serve as models of behavior, be inventive, energetic, and have demonstrated an inquiring mind and research orientation. As teachers, endodontists must be able to motivate students, to communicate with them on both a one-to-one basis and in fairly large groups. They must be able to relate to other health disciplines. They must like and understand younger people and the contemporary world in which we all live. Teachers must be resourceful, competent, reasonable, flexible, yet demanding. Above all, good clinical teachers must have developed those attitudes and values that serve the health of patients rather than the interest of their specialty or their own pockets. They should participate in continuing education programs, community oriented projects, dental so-
ciety programs, and should serve the academic community as committee members, planners, and innovators. Further, as Harrington and Van Hassel have recently observed, "the teacher's cheerfulness should remain undiminished by the realization that his peers in private practice show net incomes approximately double his own." What are the current factors that limit our ability to recruit suitable faculty candidates? It would seem to me that this problem should concern us before we consider the criteria for selection and evaluation of teachers. The fact is that there exists an acute shortage of qualified dental teachers. Expanded enrollments, shrinking budgets, new schools, among other things, have further polarized the problem. We may be appointing "poor" teachers without asking ourselves the question: "How many poor, inexpensive teach-
351
JOURNAL OF ENDODONTICS I VOL 1, NO I1, NOVEMBER 1975
ers equal one 'good' teacher?" The part-time turnover rate is high, and many new full-time teachers are attracted to dental education for the wrong reasons. Some 140 full-time endodontic teaching positions are unfilled, and 80% of all endodontic teachers are part-time. The chances of us obtaining qualified faculty for the next term is small indeed. Further, it seems that really competent educators are gifted souls who must be identified, motivated, and molded, or pirated from other academic institutions. Some dental educators have said, and I tend to agree, that there are currently too many specialty programs with too few qualified teachers and directors to lead them. There are really two separate but related issues that require brief comments. First, we will deal with the matter of too many programs. The A D A ' s Council on Dental Education accredits programs, Who decides how many we need, where they ought to. be and what their enrollment should be? Is it simply a matter of supply and demand? When we have too many endodontic specialty practitioners, will some turn to academics? It is probably safe to say that when that occurs, the number and capacity of the existing endodontic training programs will also wind down. Would higher salaries attract and retain more highly qualified teachers? Perhaps a moratorium should be placed on the new program certification process until we have addressed ourselves to questions of what the current state of the art is, and what the demands and needs of the public really are. Where do we go from here? How far? How fast? This discussion group may wish to concern itself with those
352
questions before considering the subject of selection and evaluation of faculty and director. After all, the larger the number of endodontic teachers needed and the smaller the available pool of suitable applicants, the less rigorous and discriminating tile selection process can be. The converse is, I believe, also true. Assuming that we have no answers to the questions that I have just posed, and advanced training in endodontics will continue along current lines, then I submit that advanced education students appear to be our best source of teachers. Accordingly, the proper selection, preparation and assignment of advanced students as teachers is essential. If you agree with what I have just suggested, you may wish to give priority to an applicant for advanced study in endodontics who shows a strong interest in pursuing an academic career. Second, in regard to teacher training, I would urge that each endodontic trainee be required to engage in teaching as an integral part of the endodontics program. His activities as a teacher should be structured and sequential, and his performance monitored and evaluated. As Joe Tenca pointed out at the Houston Workshop in October 1973, "teaching promotes learning and leadership." He suggests that "all endodontic specialists should be engaged in some form of teaching, ranging from fuil-time or part-time assignments at dental schools to lectures to dental societies and study clubs." We may wish to consider recommending mandatory teaching as a condition for continued recognition as an endodontic specialist. Many educators go a step further. They believe that motivation and achievement in research are pre-
requisites to excellence in teaching, and that learning, teaching, and research are essential and inseparable elements in an advanced education program. I do not believe that a few months of teacher training will turn a poor teacher into a good one. I do believe, however, that one can identify potentially good teachers and motivate them to pursue academic careers. One technique that we have found extremely helpful is to invite the prospective faculty member to either deliver a lecture, lead a seminar, or demonstrate a clinical or laboratory procedure. Much can be learned, not only about the applicant's competence and knowledge, but also his ability to communicate and command attention and respect. A n effective teacher should build feedback mechanisms into learning situations so that errors may be promptly corrected, alternatives explored, and principles reinforced. Accordingly, teachers must know learning theory and learning mechanisms. Department heads should evaIuate their faculty yearly with respect to their current involvements and competence. This can only be done by personal monitoring of the faculty member's activities, and the prompt institution of corrective measures as well as complimenting him for a job well done. A number of educators have suggested that teacher training centers offering a full-time, one year program leading to a master's degree in dental education are needed for prospective full-time endodontic teachers. Shorter courses for part-time teachers and continuing education opportunities for current faculty may also be valuable.