?@?@Unfortunately as of February 9th 2004, graduates from Qualifying Program of UWO will not receive a DDS or DMD. The policy, which the University of Western Ontario adheres to and which has been mandated by the Canadian Dental Association (CDA) unduly lessens opportunities and restrains fair competition for qualifying program students.
?@?@The definition of terminology used in a dental profession eliminates fair competition. Certificate denotes a trade skill, while DDS denotes an academic degree.
1. The following quote defines the term, DDS(Doctor of Dental Surgery) degree, which is awarded to all graduates of the dental school at U.W.O. excluding qualifying program students.
?@?@Especifically the DDS program is designed to graduate students who are able to pass the National Dental Examining Board of Canada Written Examination and Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE), receive a certificate to practice dentistry in Canada and have the prerequisites to apply for most advanced training programs. These graduates will posses the knowledge and skill to conduct a quality general practice and also sufficient knowledge of basic science to permit and stimulate professional and intellectual growth (School of Dentistry Official Website, U.W.O).
2. Granted that UWO Dental faculty do not lower the academic standards for QP students in order to allow them to pass academic requirements; granted that QP students and regular students in the DDS program are integrated in the same classrooms and the same dental clinics at the university; granted that both end up applying for the same license to practice, and granted that both categories of dentists graduate from UWO only when they acquire what it takes to pass the NDEB and the OSCE, as well as what it takes to receive a certificate to practice dentistry in Canada and what it takes to apply for most advanced training programs,it follows that qualifying program students are denied a title that they deserve. Refusal to grant qualifying program students with the DDS degree results in or is likely to result in a reduction or limitation of the real value of qualifying students expertise as well as a disadvantaged position in the job competition in Canadian dental practices.
3. QP students (in their 1st year) and regular DDS program students (in their 3rd year) are integrated within the same classes as are 2nd year QP students and 4th year regular students.
4. Both classes receive the same lectures, study and are supervised under the same full-time professors, and must fulfill the same clinical requirements for graduation.
5. If QP students are not up to the same level of competence as DDS students, then they do not graduate in the first place, nor are they given the opportunity to apply for a license to practice dentistry in Canada, like the regular students.
6. QP students have always had a higher output in the clinical field due to their prior years of experience. This fact has been acknowledged by Dr. Cogan, Dean of the School of Dentistry, in a speech during the graduation ceremony of the qualifying program in May 2003.
7. Work opportunities are compromised for Western QP students because they do not carry a recognized degree from a North American university. Despite QP students' competence and license to practice, despite the superior quality of their training from UWO, QP students end up having less of an edge when it comes to competing for jobs in Canada. A number of QP graduates can attest to the fact that they have always been placed on the defensive when they had to explain to potential employers looking for associates, where the Qualifying Program stands with regards to the DDS or the DMD programs. Some have not yet found associate work, and some have been refused an interview. With hundreds of students graduating all over Canada carrying DDS and DMD degrees, it is not surprising that QP dentists have a lesser advantage in the competition for jobs.
8.?@The amount of money that QP students pay does not justify a lesser title.
QP students now pay approximately $36,000 per year for tuition alone, not to mention books, equipment, and miscellaneous expenses. Surely, such a large sum of money is not being charged for a sub par program, nor should it be charged for a certificate program. QP students willingly incur a debt load in excess of $100,000 trusting that they are receiving the best training and education only to discover, when they graduate, that their certificate limits their options.?@Refusal to grant qualifying program students with the DDS degree eliminates fair competition based on the North American Free Trade Agreement. Dentists are listed under the list of Medical/Allied Professionals in Appendix 1603.D.1 of the North American Free Trade Agreement, each Party shall grant temporary entry and provide confirming documentation to a business person seeking to engage in a business activity at a professional level in a profession set out in Appendix 1603.D.1, if the business person otherwise complies with existing immigration measures applicable to temporary entry. . . . (
http://www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca/nafta-alena/chap16-en.asp). The following is evidence that qualifying program dentists are not permitted to practice dentistry in the U.S.
9. Upon successful completion of the Qualifying Program and the NBDE examinations, the candidate will be eligible for licensure/registration in all provinces of Canada. NOTE: Currently, these programs are not recognized in United States licensing jurisdictions as meeting the educational qualification for licensure.(Website of the Association of Canadian Faculties of Dentistry
www.acfd.ca/eligibility.html)
10. Only graduates receiving a DDS or DMD degree from a U.S. or Canadian dental school may take the NERB regional dental licensing examination accepted in the 15 Northeastern U.S. states (fax from the North East Regional Board of Dental Examiners, INC.)
11. Some members of the CDA (Canadian Dental Association) consider that the completion of a degree will lead to the export of QP graduates to the US and therefore a loss of these individuals from the Canadian professional community at our expense (excerpt from an e-mail written by Dr. Kogon, Director of the U.W.O School of Dentistry A copy is available upon request). Please note: It is NOT up to U.W.O. or to the CDA to restrict where licensed QP dentists should practice. All licensed dentists in Canada should have equal opportunities and freedoms.
12. Foreign trained dentists all over North America who complete a two year program from an accredited Dental school are granted a DDS or DMD degree except for only three universities in North America, all three of which are Canadian: The University of Western Ontario, The University of Toronto, and Dalhousie University.
13. Three accredited dental schools in Canada provide a two year DMD or DDS program to foreign-trained dentists: The University of British Columbia, the University of Manitoba and Alberta University. Foreign trained dentists who graduate with a certificate from the qualifying program of U.W.O. are no less competent than foreign-trained dentists who graduate with a DDS or DMD degree from UBC, UM or AU.
?@?@Not only are QP students disadvantaged in future prospects because of a lesser title, they are also disadvantaged in their own universities when it comes to equal footing with DDS program students.
1. One form of differentiation between the two programs on campus is manifested in the UWODSS, which is the student body representing UWO dental students. QP students are not allowed to join or become members the UWODSS despite the fact that their counterparts in the regular DDS program have this privilege. This lack in QP students' rights to become members in the UWODSS, is a hint of a gap between the QP students and the DDS students, one, which may be carried through and exacerbated once both parties have entered the work field.
2. Another form of differentiation can be seen in the graduation ceremonies. Both categories of students graduate separately. See table below:
?@?@Graduation Ceremony of DDS Students Graduation Ceremony of QP Students several awards are given such as -best _____________ -best _____________
?@?@Two awards only are given to students competing only with other QP students (12 students in total). Representatives from the ODA (Ontario Dental Association) are present and provide each student with a membership certificate. Representative for the 2003 ceremony were absent due to personal reasons, and QP students were not given their membership certificates.
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