Ahmad Norasmatul Akma, Abu Kasim Noor Hayaty, Musa Sabri, Othman Siti Adibah, Naimie Zahra
Department of Restorative Dentistry, Faculty of Dentistry, Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Department of Paediatric Dentistry and Orthodontics, Faculty of Dentistry, Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
PLoS One. 2025 Aug 22;20(8):e0330636. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0330636. eCollection 2025.
Dental academics are the foundation of dental institutions. They are mostly dental specialists and scientists driven by a passion for teaching and intellectual challenges. Although most have not been trained or certified as educators, they are tasked with educating the next generation of dentists within their fields of expertise. Beyond teaching, dental academics juggle multifaceted roles as educators, researchers, administrators, and clinicians. The effort to balance these multiple roles may lead dental academics to face identity conflicts, loss of work satisfaction and ultimately burnout and attrition from the workforce. Given the limited literature on defining faculty competencies and roles in medical and dental education, and an ongoing retention issues, it is crucial to clearly delineate these roles to assist dental academics establish their academic identity and plan their careers. This study aims to systematically define the specific roles of dental academics using the Fuzzy Delphi Method (FDM). Engaging 27 experts in the first round and 23 in the second, consensus was reached on items derived from evidence-based literature to define these roles. Analysis yielded 17 accepted items representing the four main roles of dental academics. Each primary role encompassed a diverse range of job descriptions, precluding a single, definitive description. The application of FDM not only refines the understanding of academic roles but also contributes to establishing the identity of dental academics, aiding their adaptation to the multiple roles and supporting their career advancement.
牙科专业人员是牙科机构的基础。他们大多是牙科专家和科学家，受教学热情和智力挑战的驱使。尽管大多数人没有接受过教育方面的培训或认证，但他们肩负着在其专业领域内教育下一代牙医的任务。除了教学之外，牙科专业人员还要兼顾教育工作者、研究人员、管理人员和临床医生等多方面的角色。平衡这些多重角色的努力可能会导致牙科专业人员面临身份冲突、工作满意度下降，最终导致职业倦怠和人员流失。鉴于关于界定医学和牙科教育中教师能力和角色的文献有限，以及持续存在的留用问题，明确界定这些角色对于帮助牙科专业人员确立其学术身份和规划职业生涯至关重要。本研究旨在使用模糊德尔菲法（FDM）系统地界定牙科专业人员的具体角色。第一轮有27位专家参与，第二轮有23位专家参与，就基于循证文献得出的用于界定这些角色的项目达成了共识。分析得出17个被接受的项目，代表了牙科专业人员的四个主要角色。每个主要角色都包含了各种各样的工作职责，无法用单一的、明确的描述来概括。FDM的应用不仅深化了对学术角色的理解，还有助于确立牙科专业人员的身份，帮助他们适应多重角色并支持其职业发展。
