1 DDS Class of 2020, School of Dentistry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
2 Graduate Program Director for Dental Biomaterials and Professor of General Dental Sciences, School of Dentistry, Marquette University, Milwaukee, WI, USA.
J Dent Res. 2018 May;97(5):483-491. doi: 10.1177/0022034517749506. Epub 2018 Jan 12.
For decades, dental schools in the United States have endured a significant faculty shortage. Studies have determined that the top 2 sources of dental faculty are advanced education programs and private practice. Those who have completed both DDS and PhD training are considered prime candidates for dental faculty positions. However, there is no national database to track those trainees and no evidence to indicate that they entered academia upon graduation. The objective of this study was to assess outcomes of dental school-affiliated oral sciences PhD program enrollment, graduates, and placement between 1994 and 2016. Using the American Dental Association annual survey of advanced dental education programs not accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation and data obtained from 22 oral sciences PhD programs, we assessed student demographics, enrollment, graduation, and placement. Based on the data provided by program directors, the average new enrollment was 33, and graduation was 26 per year. A total of 605 graduated; 39 did not complete; and 168 were still in training. Among those 605 graduates, 211 were faculty in U.S. academic institutions, and 77 were faculty in foreign institutions. Given that vacant budgeted full-time faculty positions averaged 257 per year during this period, graduates from those oral sciences PhD programs who entered academia in the United States would have filled 9 (3.6%) vacant faculty positions per year. Therefore, PhD programs have consistently generated only a small pipeline of dental school faculty. Better mentoring to retain talent in academia is necessary. Stronger support and creative funding plans are essential to sustain the PhD program. Furthermore, the oral sciences PhD program database should be established and maintained by dental professional organizations to allow assessments of training models, trends of enrollment, graduation, and placement outcomes.
几十年来，美国的牙科学院一直面临着严重的师资短缺问题。研究表明，牙科教师的主要来源是高等教育项目和私人诊所。那些完成了 DDS 和 PhD 培训的人被认为是牙科教师职位的最佳人选。然而，目前没有全国性的数据库来跟踪这些受训人员，也没有证据表明他们毕业后进入了学术界。本研究旨在评估 1994 年至 2016 年期间与牙科学院相关的口腔科学博士课程的入学、毕业生和安置情况。我们使用美国牙科协会对未经牙科学院认证的高等牙科教育项目的年度调查以及从 22 个口腔科学博士项目中获得的数据，评估了学生的人口统计学特征、入学、毕业和安置情况。根据项目主任提供的数据，平均每年的新入学人数为 33 人，毕业人数为 26 人。共有 605 人毕业；39 人未完成学业；168 人仍在培训中。在这 605 名毕业生中，有 211 人在美国学术机构任教，有 77 人在国外机构任教。鉴于在此期间，空缺的预算全职教师职位平均每年为 257 个，因此，来自这些口腔科学博士项目的毕业生如果进入美国学术界，每年将填补 9 个（3.6%）空缺的教师职位。因此，博士课程一直以来只培养了少量的牙科学院教师。有必要加强指导，以留住学术界的人才。强有力的支持和创造性的资助计划对于维持博士课程至关重要。此外，口腔科学博士课程数据库应由牙科专业组织建立和维护，以便评估培训模式、入学、毕业和安置结果的趋势。
