Changing Culture: Research/Scholarly Curriculum Track

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DESCRIPTION: (provided by the applicant) This proposal is an approach to changing the culture of research non-intensive dental schools and dental education such that they foster an appreciation of research/discovery, an interest in academic/research careers, and application of biomedical/clinical advances to practice. A comprehensive new curriculum has been designed to support student research and scholarly activity throughout all four years of dental education. The curriculum eliminates discipline-based courses and is structured into interdisciplinary content tracks integrating biomedical, behavioral, and clinical sciences. Faculty from these areas teach together and are an integral part of the educational fabric during the entire four-year curriculum. Formal development programs provide faculty with training and necessary skill sets required to deliver a research oriented evidence-based approach to dental education. Most importantly, the new curriculum includes a research/scholarly track that is not an "add-on" or afterthought, rather, it is a dedicated portion of the time that exposes all dental students to topics not traditionally included in dental curricula including careers in dental research/academics, post-graduate education/training opportunities, informatics/information resources, scientific literature, scientific writing, research design, research ethics/integrity, biostatistics, genetic testing/risk assessment, and application of biomedical/clinical science to practice through case-based rounds and structured literature reviews. Additionally, all interested students maintaining satisfactory academic and clinical progress are eligible for "hands-on" mentored experiences of 1-3 months in duration at local and national sites. These research/scholarly experiences are individually structured for each student such that students are excused from other parts of the curriculum and participate without hardship or penalty. The hypothesis to be tested is that a dental curriculum containing a dedicated research/scholarly track will foster an appreciation of research/discovery, an interest in academic/research careers, and the application of biomedical/clinical advances to practice. The specific aims of the project involve: 1) designing content and mentored student research/scholarly experiences; 2) providing faculty development activities; 3) program evaluation; and 4) dissemination of program information and outcomes as a potential model for research non-intensive institutions.