Developing common competencies for Southeast Asian general dental practitioners

Chuenjitwongsa, S., Poolthong, S., Bullock, Alison and Oliver, Richard 2017. Developing common competencies for Southeast Asian general dental practitioners. Journal of Dental Education 81 (9) , pp. 1114-1123. 10.21815/JDE.017.067

PDF - Published Version Download (340kB)

Abstract

Current policy in Southeast Asian dental education focuses on high-quality dental services from new dental graduates and the free movement of dental practitioners across the region. The Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Dental Councils have proposed the “Common Major Competencies for ASEAN General Dental Practitioners” to harmonize undergraduate dental education. This article discusses how the ASEAN competencies were developed and established to assist the development of general dental practitioners with comparable knowledge, skills, and attitudes across ASEAN. The competencies were developed through four processes: a questionnaire about current national oral health problems, a two-round Delphi process that sought agreement on competencies, a panel discussion by representatives from ASEAN Dental Councils, and data verification by the representatives after the meeting. Key themes of the ASEAN competencies were compared with the competencies from the U.S., Canada, Europe, Australia, and Japan. A total of 33 competency statements, consistent with other regions, were agreed upon and approved. Factors influencing the ASEAN competencies and their implementation include oral health problems in ASEAN, new knowledge and technology in dentistry, limited institutional resources, under-regulated dental schools, and uneven distribution of dental practitioners. The ASEAN competencies will serve as the foundation for further developments in ASEAN dental education including policy development, curriculum revision, quality assurance, and staff development. Collaboration amongst stakeholders is essential for successful harmonization of ASEAN dental education.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Cardiff Unit for Research and Evaluation in Medical and Dental Education (CUREMeDE) Dentistry Social Sciences (Includes Criminology and Education)
Publisher:	American Dental Education Association
ISSN:	0022-0337
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	19 August 2019
Date of Acceptance:	20 February 2017
Last Modified:	28 Oct 2019 00:15
URI:	http://orca.cf.ac.uk/id/eprint/106250

Citation Data

Cited 4 times in Scopus. View in Scopus. Powered By Scopus® Data

Actions (repository staff only)

Edit Item