Surgeons of Edinburgh (RCSEd), again without examination. Dr Felix has also played a promi-
nent role in the dental faculty at the RCSEd, serving as secretary from ı999 to 2005 and then dean of the faculty from 2008 until September 20ıı. He was a member of the Specialist Advisory Committee (SAC) for the Additional Dental Specialties from ı999 until 20ı0, serving as chairman (2007-20ı0) at a time when the GDC had tasked the SACs with the development of specialty curricula. When NES established an asso-
ciate dean post with a national role in 200ı, Dr Felix applied and was appointed following interview, holding the post until February last year when he was appointed acting dean after Dr Rennie’s retirement. He officially took up the post in April 20ıı and late last year the post was made substantive. Dr Felix acknowledges that his
predecessor played a big part in the development of dentistry in Scotland in recent years. He said: “Jim was probably the most successful postgraduate dental dean in the whole of the UK. So, from that point of view, he is an incredibly difficult, almost impos- sible, act to follow. “Through Jim’s efforts and his
interactions with a number of chief dental officers in Scotland, dentistry acquired a substantial uplift in funding, particularly as a result of the Dental Action Plan.” As a result of this funding, there
have been a number of innovative projects within dentistry in Scot- land such as the development of the dental outreach centres across the country – ı7 at the last count. “Dental students now get expo-
the hospital dental services tutor for the west of Scotland, with responsibility for all the dental trainees within the hospital system in the region. During this time, he also became
a council member of the British Society of Oral Medicine, moving on to the position of secretary between ı994 and 2002 and then president from 2003 until 2005. In ı996, Dr Felix was awarded
the Fellowship in Dental Surgery (FDS) of the Royal College of Physi- cians and Surgeons of Glasgow without examination and in ı997, the FDS from the Royal College of
sure to working in an environment that more closely resembles primary dental care, where the majority of dental students will end up spending their careers,” said Dr Felix. Dr Felix also highlights the fact
that Scotland is the only country in the UK to have introduced formal satisfactory completion of vocational training. He said: “Previously, to complete voca- tional training, someone had to work for one year in a recognised general dental practice under the supervision of a recognised trainer and attend 30 study days. “Now we have formal satis-
“Dental students now get exposure to working in an environment that more closely resembles
primary dental care” Dr David Felix
factory completion, which is underpinned by robust workplace- based assessments and is peer reviewed. This should inevitably give greater confidence to the public that anybody coming out of vocational training is appropri- ately trained.” As for his own style, Dr Felix
insists it will be a case of carrying on all the good work initiated by Dr Rennie, albeit in more trying economic times. He said: “The current financial climate will be a challenge, but from that point of view, we are, in comparison with other postgraduate dean- eries south of the border, still well funded. So that does make things a lot easier. “Postgraduate deaneries south
of the border still have aspirations of achieving some of the things that are happening in Scotland. But I think they are looking at a very challenging funding envelope and that is not so much the case in Scotland.” As a member of COPDEND
(Committee of Postgraduate Dental Deans and Directors), Dr Felix meets up with colleagues from across the UK four times a year to share good practice and develop common policies. However, he does acknowledge that the differing health systems can present certain challenges. He said: “In some areas, it is quite
difficult to have common policies simply because of the different health systems. But I think it is important to maintain contact with the deans south of the border. “Sometimes you will pick up
some areas of good practice that are worthwhile bringing up to Scotland, but in other areas, partic- ularly with vocational training, we are so far ahead of England.”
Continued » Scottish Dental magazine 23
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92