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MDDUS ANNOUNCES WINNER OF DENTAL EDUCATION GRANT


MDDUSis pleased to announce that the 2011 winner of our £1,000 postgraduate dental education grant is Amy Louise Harper who works as a VDP at Loanhead Dental Practice in Midlothian. MDDUS is committed to promoting good


BURNOUT COMMON IN POOR PERFORMING DENTISTS


HIGH LEVELS of stress and burnout as well as alcohol and drug misuse are all prevalent factors leading to poor performance among dentists according to a wide-ranging literature review published by the National Clinical Assessment Service (NCAS). The Literature Review of factors influencing dental practitioner performance (www.tinyurl.com/lrfidpp) considers previously published work by academics around the world and concludes that high caseload, health concerns, practice environment, personal crises and feelings of isolation are also contributing factors which may lead to poor performance. NCAS Associate Director of Dentistry,Dr Janine Brooks,


said: “Dentistry has long been regarded as a highly stressful profession. However, to date there has been a lack of studies which have investigated factors associated with stress and its effect on performance. “Dentists often experience sustainedhigh levels of demand on their clinical expertise and, in addition, require strong inter-personal skills with the patients they treat. If they operate alone or within small teams, they may have no-one else to turn to. It is therefore of little surprise that these practitioners sometimes suffer from personal health problems such as burnout”. She added that it will be vital for moreresearch to be


conducted to gain a better understanding of the issues affecting performance among dental practitioners.NCAS receives between 80 and 100 referrals each year from healthcare organisations needing advice and support in regard to performance concerns of dental professionals.


practice within both the medical and dental professions and is interested in the professional development of its members. Each year we offer education grants of £1,000 to successful applicants from dental and GP training practices,


where both trainee and trainer are members of MDDUS. We recognise financial constraints can often be a barrier for medical and dental


trainees interested in pursuing some of the varied educational opportunities available. MDDUS grants can be used for any form of educational training including


attendance at courses, conferences and seminars, practice training and the purchase of textbooks. Contact Karen Walsh at kwalsh@mddus.comfor details of next year’s grant.


GDC REVIEWS CORE STANDARDS


THE GDCis asking for feedback on its core standards for dental professionals in advance of a formal consultation. Standards for Dental Professionals


was first published in May 2005 and sets out the principles that dental professionals agree to abide by as GDC registrants. Supplementary guidance is provided in accompanying booklets on specific areas of responsibility for registrants, such as patient consent and dental team working. This guidance applies to all GDC


registrants, although it was originally drafted before dental nurses, dental technicians, clinical dental technicians and orthodontic therapists were registered with the Council. The GDC is asking for feedback in


order to determine whether the standards guidance remains fit for purpose and also how it should be


made available in the future. More specifically the GDC want to know:


• how often dental professionals refer to standards guidance


• whether case studies would be useful


• whether there should there be separate guidance for each registrant group


• what format should be used.


A simple online questionnaire can be found on the GDC website (www.tinyurl.com/gdcsdp). This exercise will be followed by a more formal consultation as part of ongoing research with professionals and patients.


PRIVATE SCHOOLS YIELD QUARTER OF MEDICAL AND DENTAL STUDENTS


MORE THANa quarter of medical and dental students come from a tiny proportion of UK private schools, official figures show. Only seven per cent of UK schoolchildren


attend fee-paying schools, but graduates go on to form 28.5 per cent of medical and dental university students, according to data from the Independent Schools Council (ISC). The figures, which originally come from


the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service, also show that more than a quarter of students enrolled on European language degrees, and more than a fifth on history and


philosophy degrees are from private schools. Architecture and engineering also had disproportionate numbers of private school pupils, at 11.6 per cent and 10.8 per cent respectively.


The ISC, which represents 1,260 schools, said the figures showed that private schools had excellent teaching and gave pupils superior advice on university applications. It denied results were because many of its schools were academically selective. Michael Pyke, a spokesman for the Campaign for State Education, told the


Guardian the figures were not surprising because most private schools were academically selective, unlike most state schools. “Courses like medicine and architecture require considerable investment on the part of a student and their family. The reason there are disproportionately high numbers of private school pupils studying these subjects is not that they have had superior advice, it is because these children come from well-heeled and naturally ambitious families,” he said. Rudolf Eliott Lockhart, ISC's head of


research and intelligence, added: “Our schools are able to guide pupils towards the subjects that will benefit them, rather than the subjects that will help the school rise up a league table.”


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