School of Dentistry, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA.
J Dent Educ. 2012 Apr;76(4):383-94.
The University of Minnesota School of Dentistry launched its new dental therapy program in September 2009 after the Minnesota state legislature had authorized the training and practice of a dental therapist in May of the same year. The creation of this mid-level dental provider is seen as a workforce solution to help address the problem of access to dental care experienced by some members of our society. However, there is a lack of consensus and even controversy in organized dentistry about dental therapy, one of the mid-level provider models. This study explored the attitudes and perceptions of dental school faculty members who have been tasked to prepare these new dental therapists to do their work. Focus groups were conducted with a randomly selected group of faculty members, the results of which were used to develop a survey of faculty members in all departments of the school. A total of 151 faculty members responded to the survey: 68 percent of these respondents were fifty-one years of age or older; 79 percent were male; and 39 percent were full-time and 61 percent part-time. Fifty-four percent were clinical faculty members, and the rest taught in the preclinical courses and basic sciences. The study found that these dental faculty members believe dentists have a personal responsibility in the care of the underserved but do not agree that the dental therapists are part of the solution to improve access. There was a clear divide between the part-time faculty members, who practice outside the institution, and the full-time educators with regard to the role of dental therapists. However, there was an overall consensus that dental faculty members have a commitment and responsibility to educate future dental therapists regardless of their personal position. This is encouraging to dental therapy students, who can be assured that they will receive the education they need to prepare them to practice.
明尼苏达大学牙科学院于 2009 年 9 月推出了新的牙科治疗计划，此前明尼苏达州立法机构已于同年 5 月授权培训和实践牙科治疗师。创建这种中级牙科提供者被视为一种劳动力解决方案，以帮助解决一些社会成员所面临的获得牙科保健的问题。然而，在有组织的牙科领域，对于牙科治疗师（中级提供者模式之一），人们的态度和看法并不一致，甚至存在争议。本研究探讨了负责培训这些新的牙科治疗师开展工作的牙科学院教师的态度和看法。对随机选择的一组教师进行了焦点小组讨论，结果用于开发针对该校所有系教师的调查。共有 151 名教师对调查做出了回应：其中 68%的人年龄在 51 岁或以上；79%是男性；39%是全职教师，61%是兼职教师。54%是临床教师，其余的则在临床前课程和基础科学领域任教。研究发现，这些牙科教师认为牙医在为服务不足的人群提供护理方面负有个人责任，但他们不同意牙科治疗师是改善获得途径的解决方案的一部分。兼职教师（在机构外行医）和全职教育工作者在牙科治疗师的角色问题上存在明显分歧。然而，总的来说，教师们都认为，无论他们个人的立场如何，都有责任和义务为未来的牙科治疗师提供教育。这对牙科治疗师学生来说是令人鼓舞的，他们可以放心，他们将接受为他们准备实践所需的教育。
