School of Medicine, Dentistry and Biomedical Sciences

Transcription

1 School of Medicine, Dentistry and Biomedical Sciences Academic Year 2011/12 Undergraduate Dentistry Year 1and beyond: 2011/2012

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3 An Introduction to Dentistry at Queen s The undergraduate course in Dentistry at Queen s was rated number one in UK by the influential Times Good University Guide in The School of Medicine, Dentistry and Biomedical Sciences is recognised as a centre of excellence for learning and has a strong research base. Dental students are therefore taught in a unique environment with exposure to expert clinicians and other health professionals, as well as world class research teams, while enjoying the educational, sporting, social, and cultural opportunities of the University and the city of Belfast. The undergraduate dental curriculum at QUB is based on the requirements of the UK General Dental Council (GDC) ( The First Five Years, GDC). In the first 2 years of the course, dental students are partly based in the Medical Biology Centre on the main QUB campus where there are state of the art facilities including a dissection suite, lecture theatres, tutorial rooms, laboratories, a clinical skills centre, a library, and an open access e centre. Dental clinical teaching is held in the School of Dentistry on the Royal Hospitals site and in community dental clinics in Belfast. In the 3rd, 4th and 5th years of the dental course, clinical experience and teaching is concentrated within the School of Dentistry as well as outreach teaching within the NHS community dental service clinics in Belfast. Other clinical attachments are spread throughout Northern Ireland in NHS partner teaching hospitals including the Ulster Hospital. The School of Dentistry has a close relationship with all aspects of the NHS and this makes for a special relationship between the University and the local community it serves and for whom it trains tomorrow s dentists. Dentists and dental students are expected to make the care of their patients their first concern, to listen to patients, respect their views, treat them politely and considerately, respect their dignity, privacy, and personal beliefs. The aim of the Dentistry course at QUB is To produce a caring, knowledgeable competent and skilful dentist who is able on graduation to accept professional responsibility for the effective and safe care of patients. QUB dental graduates are expected to have a sound knowledge of dentistry and its scientific basis and to be clinically competent in the core skills required of a practicing dentist in the 21st century. Students are supported throughout their undergraduate career by a mentoring system of academic staff and by a wide range of support and counseling services available centrally within the University. Student life at Queen s University is exciting and enjoyable. There are a wide range of social and educational activities organized by the dental students themselves creating a close knit and mutually supportive student community. The university also provides a wider social, cultural sporting and educational context for undergraduates in a wide range of disciplines. Donald Burden, BDS MSc PhD FDSRCPS FFDRCSI FDSRCS DOrthRCS MOrthRCS Professor of Orthodontics & Director, Centre for Dental Education The course uses the best of traditional dental teaching and experimential scientific and clinical learning with a mix of lectures, small group and chair-side clinical teaching, problem based, and self-directed study. The dental course is reviewed and revised every year and the quality management includes the active involvement of student feedback in this process including their contribution to staff student committees. Undergraduate Dental Education: The First Two Years and Beyond A Guide 3

4 The Dental Course at Queen s On completion of the 5 year course the degree of BDS (Bachelor of Dental Surgery) is awarded. Year 1 & 2 Year 1 and 2 provide the relevant core knowledge, attitudes and skills to allow students to maximally benefit from the later clinical phases of the course Year 3 Year 3 continues the clinical dental teaching and also includes medical and surgical teaching relevant to Dentistry. Year 4 and 5 Students continue dental management and treatment of their own patients within the various clinical specialties. In final year much of the clinical teaching is carried out within the Total Patient Care clinic. The Undergraduate Dental Course Queen s University has a long tradition of excellent dental education which is constantly updated in response to developments in science and clinical practice. Queen s places particular emphasis on the development of clinical skills. Dental students are therefore introduced to patients and their problems from the beginning of the course. The principles of the course are that the scientific and social foundations of dentistry are learned alongside clinical skills with an emphasis on an evidence based approach. Overview of Course: Years 1 & 2 Recently a comprehensive review of the first two years of the Dental course was undertaken with input from staff and students. This resulted in the development and implementation of a new course for the first two years. The Year 1 & 2 course is designed to be an integrated series of modules that are organised, managed and delivered in a coherent way. The first year has the specific purpose of introducing the core scientific knowledge that underpins clinical dentistry, together with clinical and communication skills as students are introduced to patients for the first time. During Year 2 students learn about the principles of disease and the methods of treatment of various dental and medical problems which dental patients may present with. They also learn how to undertake the examination of the different parts of the body and mouth. The principles of dental patient management are introduced including operative dentistry, dental health promotion and other core dental clinical skills. This clinical teaching takes place in dental clinics as well as in the Dental Clinical Techniques Laboratory. One of the strengths of the clinical teaching within the Dental course is that students receive close, one-to-one supervision particularly when they undertake invasive procedures. Years 3, 4 and 5: Developing Clinical skills and Experience The third year continues with the subjects started in second year and introduces a more advanced clinical teaching programme within the various dental clinical specialties. The 3rd year also includes clinical teaching in the general medical and surgical topics which are relevant to dentistry. In the 4th and 5th years, students concentrate on the theory and practice of clinical dentistry consolidating and advancing their skills in all of the dental disciplines. Fourth year also includes modules in dental public health & behavioural science, dental materials and evidence based dentistry. In fifth year students mostly work in a new state of the art Total Patient Care clinic in which they provide a full range of dental treatment to their patients without the boundaries imposed by specific clinical disciplines. Teaching of ethics is embedded throughout the curriculum both formally (lectures and small group teaching) and informally (chair-side teaching). The teaching of behavioural science is similarly embedded. Students receive instruction in cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) from year one onwards. 4 Undergraduate Dental Education: The First Two Years and Beyond A Guide

5 Year 1 Year 2 Semester 1 Semester 2 Semester 1 Semester 2 Clinical and Professional Skills 1 Anatomy for Dental Students 1 Physiology for Dental Students 1 Genes, Cells, Tissues & Organs Anatomy for Dental Students 2 Physiology for Dental Students 2 Clinical and Professional Skills 2 Clinical and Professional Skills 3 Behavioural & Social Sciences for Dentists Oral Biology Disease Mechanisms for Dentistry Pharmacology for Dentistry Modules in Years 1 and 2 Intercalated Degrees Opportunities are provided for students to study for an intercalated degree during their dental training. This involves an extra year of study usually taken as a year out from the dental course and allows students the opportunity to explore an area of particular interest in much greater depth. It involves a deeper exposure to research and research methods and provides an invaluable experience. All the intercalated courses are weighted towards research and many of the participants have the opportunity to publish their work or to communicate it at scientific meetings. Irrespective of the student s future career path intercalated degrees provide a unique exposure to modern science, and for many will be the foundation of successful academic careers. Intercalated degree options are offered within Queen s University: 1. BSc(Hons) between 2nd and 3rd year or 3rd and 4th year of the course. Subjects offered include Anatomy, Physiology, Pharmacology, Cardiovascular Science, Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Microbiology. 2. MRes or MSc in Public Health after Year 3 of the dental course. This will provide a valuable training and a higher level of degree. 3. PhD - for the exceptional student the possibility exists to intercalate a PhD. Postgraduate Study and Career Prospects On obtaining the BDS degree you are a qualified dentist and can register with the UK General Dental Council and can take up a post as a Vocational Dental Practitioner trainee (VDP). Depending on which branch of dentistry you intend to pursue you may be required to undertake further training. For example to become a hospital consultant a further 5-7 years of specialty training is required. Dental knowledge is rapidly changing and all dentists must expect to continue their education throughout the whole of their professional lives. It is also important that dentists work closely with the professions complimentary to dentistry. Staff Student Consultative Committees The undergraduate curriculum is constantly monitored and reviewed to ensure that it is up to date in both its content and the educational principles and on which it is based. In evaluating the curriculum student opinions is a most important source of information and we value your input. We will therefore be seeking your views from time to time by asking you to complete questionnaires. You will also be asked to elect representatives a Staff Student Consultative Committee which meets three times a year in the Dental School and includes representatives from all 5 years of the dental course. Undergraduate Dental Education: The First Two Years and Beyond A Guide 5

6 What is expected of you? The dental course is long and involves a lot of hard work! In the first two years there is a large amount of direct clinical and non-clinical teaching contact per week. However for dental students to be successful they will also need to make full use of personal study time in the timetable, and it is unlikely that they will be able to manage without also studying in the weekends and evenings. A steady approach will be more effective than last minute cramming! A professional, mature and responsible attitude is a key attribute of a dental student and future dentist, and you will be expected to demonstrate this from the very beginning of the course. This includes being appropriately dressed and well presented during all clinical sessions. A great deal of effort goes into arranging clinical and other sessions, and your patients and their relatives will regard you as being a dentist and will therefore expect you to behave like a dentist. 100% attendance is expected during the entire dental course. Dental students must be aware that unprofessional behaviour or serious health problems during their undergraduate training can affect their ability to register with the General Dental Council (GDC) and therefore to practice as a dentist following graduation. The GDC may prevent a graduating student from registering as a dentist and may consider any issue that could call a student s fitness to practise into question. This includes anything that happened before or during their education and training, and any decisions made by a QUB Fitness to Practise panel and the university. Dental students must be aware that their behaviour outside the clinical environment, including in their personal and social life, may also have an impact on their ability to register as a practicing dentist after graduation. 6 Undergraduate Dental Education: The First Two Years and Beyond A Guide

7 Semester Dates for 1st year dental students in 2011/2012 are:- Autumn Semester Weeks September-16 December 2011 Teaching 12 Weeks 19 December-06 January 2012 Vacation & Revision 3 weeks Weeks January-24 January 2012 Assessment (3 weeks) 25 January-27 January 2012 Inter-Semester Break Spring Semester Weeks January-05 April 2012 Teaching 11 weeks 02 April -20 April 2012 Vacation (3 weeks) Weeks April -27 April 2012 Teaching 1 week Weeks April-04 May 2012 Revision 1 week 08 May-18 May 2012 Assessment 2 weeks Other holidays: Wednesday 15 February Rag Day Monday 19 March St Patrick s Day Monday 07 May May Day Holiday Undergraduate Dental Education: The First Two Years and Beyond A Guide 7

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