article about university of alabama dental school

[omaralt]

here is the article copy/pasted from drbicuspid.. just fyi i took a great implant course w/dr. mccracken and he was great from my limited experience with him

direct link to article: http://www.drbicuspid.com/index.aspx?d=1&sec=nws&sub=rad&pag=dis&ItemId=307143&wf=797


Univ. of Ala. alums find gaps in dental school training
By Donna Domino, Associate Editor

March 14, 2011 -- A scathing report by the University of Alabama School of Dentistry Alumni Association details deficiencies in dental students' hands-on training at the school, citing instances in which clinic rotations involved playing video games with seniors, brushing their teeth, or being told to go to the beach.

The Dental Oversight Committee's (DOC) report, issued in December 2010, includes examples in which junior and senior dental students at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) had clinic rotations in 2010 at nursing homes where they only helped residents brush their teeth and played bowling video games with them. At some clinics, the students did not have any didactic lectures on the treatment they were supposed to perform, the report noted.

And a scheduled clinic rotation was canceled by Mike McCracken, DDS, PhD, an associate dean in charge of curriculum development, who e-mailed students that they had "no dental school responsibility" one week, recommending that they could instead "go to the beach."

Other rotations were described by students as a "waste of time," the report noted.

"Too many rotations are irrelevant, nonproductive, and involve too much observation on the part of students, rather than 'hands-on' clinical experience," the report stated, noting there was "excessive time spent standing around."

While the school of dentistry has good students, very competent faculty members, and well-liked administrators, "the students' training has suffered because they are not getting enough 'hands'on' clinical experience," the report noted.

Turf war fallout?

The DOC report was compiled after the committee surveyed and met with dental school students and faculty members last fall.

It follows an April 2010 decision by the UAB School of Dentistry to remove students from the nonprofit Sarrell Dental Center clinics, where they had been getting hands-on clinical training. Officials with Sarrell, the largest single provider of Medicaid dental services in Alabama, said at the time that the move was due to a turf battle with private practitioners and pressure from alumni dentists.
“Too many clinical rotations are irrelevant, nonproductive, and involve too much observation on the part of students.”
— University of Alabama School of
Dentistry Dental Alumni Association

But the university said a lack of proper faculty supervision was the reason students were taken out of training rotation at the Sarrell clinics.

Sarrell, which serves mainly poor children, has grown considerably since it opened in 2005. It now has 12 clinics around Alabama, and revenue has increased from $2.3 million in 2006 to $6.75 million in 2009.

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission subsequently launched an investigation into whether the Alabama Dental Association (ALDA) engaged in unfair competition or deceptive acts by allegedly refusing to deal with Sarrell.

Sarrell then filed a lawsuit against ALDA, claiming the organization had launched an "illegal conspiracy" to drive the clinic out of business.

"Of the 44 dentists we employ, the vast majority are University of Alabama dental school graduates," Jeffrey Parker, Sarrell CEO, told DrBicuspid.com. "Therefore, we have a major stakeholder interest in the success of our state's only dental school."

Additional problems

According to the DOC report, several faculty members complained that the dean, Huw Thomas, BDS, PhD, "leads by intimidation" and their concerns were "disregarded and pushed aside." Faculty also fumed that their efforts to discuss problems with Dr. McCracken were "dismissed" and they were labeled as "uncooperative."

Students felt as if they were "getting cheated" because there wasn't enough "meat and potato" lectures such as basic restorative techniques, the report stated. Reductions in clinic time also left students fearful of not completing requirements on time.

Faculty and students said Dr. Thomas and Dr. McCracken were often absent from the school, which the committee called "troublesome."

Students "desperately" need more clinic experience, the DOC found, noting that decreased clinic time was reflected on the last three Council of Interstate Testing Agencies exams.

"The DOC realizes that this report is extremely sobering, disturbing, and likely hurtful to some, but this committee went to great lengths to be accurate, truthful, and honest with all of the information that was gathered," the committee concluded. "The DOC wants each graduate to be an exceptionally well-trained dentist who will provide care for the citizens of Alabama."

The committee requested that several "major problems" listed in the report be addressed before the 2011 spring semester.

Some changes have already been made. In a letter to the DOC dated January 20, Dr. Thomas pledged to address the issues raised in the report.

"I am committed to seeing that our dental students receive the best possible didactic and clinical educational experience and are optimally prepared for a productive and rewarding career in our esteemed profession," he wrote. "It is my responsibility to ensure comprehensive assessment and action."

Dr. Thomas also said he has met with faculty to increase communication and has formed several groups to recommend ways to ensure that clinical rotations are "productive" and to better prepare students for exams.

In addition, Dr. McCracken's position has been eliminated but he remains a full-time tenured professor at the dental school, according to the university.

Zack Studstill, DDS, interim executive director of ALDA, and Gaines Thomas, DMD, ALDA's president, did not return calls seeking comment.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[browncrack]

Lots of rotations are a waste of time in dental school. Lot of things we do in dental school are waste of time. It would be nice if someone told us we could leave and do something productive somewher else every once in a while.

 

[7mag]

yeah thats exactly what I was thinking

 

[dentaldore]

I was wondering if some current students could give more input about the major curriculum problems and students not being able to complete requirements in time...what are they doing to fix this and do students feel they are getting cheated in their education at UAB?

 

[browncrack]

Every school has students with problems completing requirements. This is not unique to UAB. Dental school stinks. It really makes no difference where you go to dental school- it stinks. No school is easy to get through.

 

[dentaldore]

I'm sure that is the case at many schools and you have to be proactive, however, the full report reveals much larger problems that the school is going through, including their curriculum and faculty presence. The full report is pasted below (yes, it is long, but if you just want the cliffs notes, skip to the bullet points):

UAB​

​

University of Alabama School of Dentistry​

​

Dental Alumni Association​

​

Dental Oversight Committee​

​

Annual Report​

December 2010​

​

​

Dental Oversight Committee Report​

The Dental Oversight Committee (DOC), a free-standing and on-going committee
of the University of Alabama School of Dentistry Alumni Association, was established in
June 2010, by Dr. Leigh Anne Nevins, current president. This committee was established
to deal specifically with relevant issues pertinent to the alumni association and its
relationship with the dental school. The Dental Oversight Committee has met, talked,
and emailed diligently for six months. The commitment of the committee members has
been extraordinary, and their passion for the School of Dentistry (SOD) is
unquestionable. The committee has been disappointed by the performance of the dental
students on the last three CITA exams and has heard many concerns expressed about an
alleged lack of organization at the SOD and an alleged deficiency in the clinical training
of the dental students.
This committee initially had its members sign a confidentiality agreement to
which the committee has adhered faithfully. After many initial phone calls and emails,
the DOC met at length (four hours) with Dean Huw Thomas on August 20, 2010. During
this meeting Dean Thomas was informed that the DOC was gathering information and
had plans to make contact with students and faculty members. Dean Thomas assured our
committee at the August meeting that faculty and students were free to speak to the DOC
with no recourse or retribution.

During September 2010, the DOC prepared and dispersed a faculty survey to eighty-one members of the SOD faculty. Thirty-three surveys (41%) were returned. On
November 5, 2010, the DOC met for six hours and interviewed one faculty member and
ten students (junior and senior representatives). A few days prior to the student
interviews, Dr. Thomas was notified that our committee would be talking with student
representatives.

Much information has been gathered and discussed at length. This report contains
input from all committee members and has been approved as written by all members.
Before disseminating information and making recommendations, it is the hope
and desire of the Dental Oversight Committee that changes and improvements will be
made quickly, that the present administration will provide the necessary leadership and
that the citizens of Alabama will be assured that well-educated dentists will be available
to provide excellent dental care for many future years. The DOC respects and admires
the superb reputation of the University of Alabama School of Dentistry and wants to help
insure that its tradition of excellence will be maintained. At the same time, the DOC is
cognizant of the significant budgeting problems created by the lack of state funding and
understands the pressures and strain that this reality places on Dean Thomas and the
present administration.
With this introduction, the DOC, first and foremost, wants to report that arguably
the most critical issue facing the SOD is a significant morale problem present within the
current faculty, including an apparent lack of dialogue, lack of communication and,
indeed, a lack of trust between the faculty and the administration. A significant number
of faculty members do not feel free to express concerns to the SOD administration and do
not feel that changes made by the SOD administration serve the best interests of the
school. faculty, students and patients. To be more specific, the survey of the faculty
asked precisely those two questions: "Do you feel free to express concerns to the SOD
administration?" and "Do you feel the SOD administration has the best interests of the
school, faculty, students and patients when making changes?" Only four of 33 faculty
members (12%) answered "Yes' to those two questions, whereas 23 of 33 (70%)
answered "No" to both questions. The other six faculty members answered the two
questions with five answering "No," one "Yes," and six "No opinion." In the opinion of
the DOC, this information reveals a major disconnect between the faculty and the
administration that the committee feels must be addressed and rectified immediately.
This report will recommend and suggest numerous logistical changes, some major and
some minor. However, the DOC feels that the most critical issue to address initially is
the apparent morale problem present within the SOD faculty. Productive changes in
direction require teamwork and the complete cooperation of the faculty and
administration. Dean Thomas feels he has an "open door" policy and is "always
approachable." On the other hand, the faculty does not feel that this is the case. The
faculty feels "intimidation."
An equally disturbing revelation from the surveys and numerous conversations
the DOC members have had with faculty and students is the apparent lack of organization
of the Master Schedule as it relates to the junior and senior years. While the curriculum
changes appear to be workable for portions of the freshman and sophomore years, the
DOC feels that the schedules for the junior and senior students are chaotic and
unorganized and need to be improved dramatically. While acknowledging the
complexity of many clinical rotations (both internal and external), the DOC believes,
with hard work, attention to detail, good communication, appropriate goals set down, and
proper follow up assessments, many improvements can be made. Dr. Mike McCracken,
Associate Dean in charge of curriculum development, has many responsibilities related to
the Master Schedule. Thus far, neither he nor any other administrator has eliminated or
improved the organizational problems.
Other than the organizational problems, there are major problems within the
current rotations. Specifically, too many are irrelevant, non-productive, and involve too
much observation on the part of students, rather than "hands-on" clinical experience.
Too many inside and outside rotations have proven to be non-productive, with excessive
time spent "standing around." As loyal alumni who love the SOD and its history of
excellence, the DOC members are very concerned about some of these rotations.
Examples of non-productive outside rotations are those to Fairhaven Nursing Home, to
the Veterans Administration Geriatric Unit, to the Jefferson County Health Department
for juniors who are not allowed to treat patients, and to the non-existent Foundry Clinic.
There are also rotations within the SOD where students are only allowed to observe or
assist. Rotations to the Periodontal Clinic, the Prosthodontic Clinic, the Pediatric Clinic
and the Orthodontic Clinic involve very little patient interaction and very little "hands-on"
clinical experience. The DOC is disturbed by the above-mentioned problems and
feels that they must be addressed and rectified, if possible, before the 2011 spring
semester. The SOD has good students, very competent faculty members and well-liked
administrators, but the students' training has suffered because they are not getting enough
"hands-on" clinical experience. We have now been notified by concerned students that
Dr. McCracken has informed them there will be no changes in their second semester
clinical rotation schedule, even though he has been aware of the problems associated with
the schedule for the entire school year.
The final portion of this report lists many of the problems enumerated by faculty
and students. They relate to the third and fourth years at the SOD.
The logistical problems and suggested changes that were vocalized by faculty and
students are as follows:
• Students desperately want more Comprehensive Care Clinic (CCC) time.
The DOC also believes this change would be beneficial to the SOD and
the students because it offers more "hands-on" clinical experience.
Reducing time in the less productive rotations would allow more time in
the CCC.
• There is an obvious lack of communication between the administration
and the faculty/staff and the students.
• Faculty members who cover CCC work very hard, but there is a need for
more clinical instructors. Some wondered why Dr. Thomas, Dr.
McCracken, Dr. Burgess and Dr. Gilbert do not cover CCC.
• Faculty morale is low. Several faculty members stated that the Dean leads
by intimidation and that there is no trust evident.
• Funding for the SOD should be a line item in the state budget.
• Several bay leaders are present only two days a week. For the purpose of
continuity and better clinical training, bay leaders need to be present in
CCC a minimum of three days a week.
• Concerns were expressed about the didactic lectures (8~9 a.m. and 1-2
p.m.) during junior and senior years. Students state that there is not
enough "meat and potatoes," that is, not enough lectures on basic
restorative techniques. Concerns were also expressed about the timing and
the sequence of lectures. The DOC believes that junior and senior lectures
should be a well organized review of pre-clinical lectures.
• The SOD has very good department chairs.
• Periodontal treatment of patients, except for prophylaxis and root
planning, should be moved out of the Second Floor Clinic and back into
the Periodontal Clinic. Students rotating in the Periodontal Clinic should
perform periodontal procedures, including root planning. This can be their
assigned patients or patients reporting to this clinic for specific care.
Comprehensive Care faculty should be allowed to check and sign off on
ALL second floor prophylaxis and root planning procedures. Therefore,
the designation of "PERlO CHAIRS" in the CCC will cease.
• Some of the patient coordinators (staff) are good and some are not They
literally determine the patient flow of each student Coordinators need to
be better trained, better motivated and better calibrated. Perhaps students
should be allowed to help with confirming their patients.
• The first two years and the pre-clinical training are deemed satisfactory by
students, but years three and four are the problem.
• The International Program does not need to be expanded. It takes away
CCC chairs and requires one full-time faculty member.
• The "new curriculum approach" is not the problem. The problem is the
"organization" of the new curriculum.
• There are logistical issues regarding the availability of patients and the
availability of clinical instructors. There is an inadequate number of
periodontal faculty and prosthodontic faculty in CCC.
• Town Hall meetings produce only lip service to students' concerns.
Concerns expressed are written down on the white board only and then
promptly erased with no action plan. Students are losing trust.
• Junior and senior clinic time needs to be maximized and the Master
Schedule should be set in advance, at least by May for the next year. The
curriculum must be organized, approved by department chairs and
submitted to the students at least one semester in advance.
• Clinic rotations that do not involve direct student "hands-on
performance," excluding assisting, should be immediately disbanded and
be substituted by Comprehensive Care Clinic time.
• Chairs should be assigned by an OPEN POLICY that allows ANY student
who needs a CCC chair to receive one.
• ALL restorative faculty should be placed on the schedule for adequate
CCC coverage. Research faculty should increase their assignments to this
clinic immediately to increase the number of faculty needed for the
increased number of students in the clinic. No more than eight students
per instructor should exist.
• Students are very fearful of not completing requirements on time due to
the reduction in clinic time.
• Many concerns were expressed about how patients are assigned, shared
and distributed for the overall good of all students. There has to be a
better, simpler and fairer way to distribute patients to students who need to
meet requirements. "Patient Request Forms" mean nothing.
• There were many comments about the Dean being absent from the SOD.
There were many similar comments made about Dr. McCracken being
away from the school as well. Their absence is especially troublesome,
since they are the leaders of the SOD.
• There were mixed opinions about the fees charged in the clinic. All are
aware of the lack of funding and the need to generate income. The DOC
believes that some fees may need to be re-evaluated and adjusted. For
example, a crown fee at the SOD is only $100 lower than a crown done by
a BCBS PPO dentist for a BCBS patient.
• Tension is present between the clinical faculty and the research faculty.
Since research faculty jobs were not threatened by recent proposed
cutbacks, many feel that the emphasis is on research faculty.
• Dean Thomas is very sociable and has good "people skills:'
• If student's complete assignments in other areas (such as Ortho), it is
virtually impossible to see patients in CCC, due to chair availability and
lack of clinical faculty.
• Other than the class officers, students rarely see Dean Thomas and have
little interaction with him.
• Students stated, '·1 feel I am paying a ton for my dental education, and I
feel I am getting cheated."
• Some suggested that private practice dentists need to be encouraged to
donate their time to help with clinic coverage, realizing that
standardization and calibration requirements would be necessary,
• An environment of trust needs to be encouraged between the faculty and
administration.
• Faculty responsible for scheduling the student lectures, the rotations and
the clinic time need to be held accountable for organizational
malfunctions.
• Juniors are frustrated because they fed they have been the "Guinea pigs"
for many of the changes. Their frustration now is that after three to five
years of working on the new curriculum, they wonder why it is still so
unorganized and why there is such a lack of communication from
administration to faculty, to staff, and to students.
• All students complained about the format in removable prosthetics where
they have to prepare a power point presentation on something they have
not been taught and then teach that to their classmates.
• If a student has demonstrated competence in areas of restorative dentistry
and has completed their requirements in that area, patients assigned to
them SHOULD be reassigned to ANY student who requires a patient with
those restorative needs. A POLICY PROTECTING THE PATIENT
FROM BEING DROPPED AND HAVING THEIR RESTORATIVE
NEEDS COMPLETED BY THE NEW STUDENT SHOULD BE
ADOPTED.
• Cornp Care faculty should report monthly to the second floor clinic
director and to the chairs of all restorative departments where the students
stand on required procedures.
• All Cornp Care faculty should immediately participate in an education
process that trains them in the specifics of the CITA exam. This will
allow a continuous education process between the faculty and each student
throughout the year.
• The Associate Dean, Dr. McCracken is in charge of the curriculum
development. Most faculty and students feel that the current curriculum is
totally disorganized and dysfunctional. The complete lack of organization
has been obvious over the last two years.
• The DOC feels that the mission statement for the SOD needs to be
changed to reflect what most alumni and faculty feel is the primary
purpose of the SOD: to educate, train and graduate excellent dentists to
serve the citizens of Alabama.
In the aforementioned faculty survey, the following comments were
extremely poignant:
There is a complete disconnect between the Offices a/Academic Affairs
and Curriculum Development and the faculty.
There is a lack of organization, lack of communication and lack of the
knowledge of clinical realities.
Dr. McCracken does not take faculty input into account. There is
confusion from that office.
Faculty and students frequently receive different versions of the same
semester class schedule.
Revisions of the curriculum for years three and four have been carelessly
done.
Concerns raised by faculty during meetings and faculty retreats were
disregarded and pushed aside.
Dr. McCracken is totally inexperience in teaching undergraduates.
Therefore, he does not need to be in charge of designing a new curriculum.
There has been a total failure of communication between the Associate
Dean and the faculty with changes in the curriculum and clinical rotations. In
addition, the rotations inside and outside the SOD have been poorly organized
and lack any semblance of continuity or thought. When faculty tries to talk
with Dr. McCracken about this dysfunction, their comments are dismissed,
and they are labeled as uncooperative.
Senior and junior students are rotated outside the SOD to Fairhaven Nursing
Home where there is no dental facility at all. There is an attempt to perform cursory oral
screenings. The students help the residents brush their teeth, and they play games with
them. Bowling and other electronic games have been the main activity of the students at
this Unit. The students also rotate to the Veterans Administration Geriatric Unit. These
students perform oral screenings without any faculty supervision and the information
gained from the exams is not translated to anyone directly treating these veterans.
Students are also rotated to the Jefferson County Health Department. There they discover
that juniors are not allowed to treat patients, and then the students are dismissed. There
are rotations to other clinics where students find out that they have not had any didactic
lectures on the treatment they are supposed to perform. Faculty in these outside clinics is
ADJUNCT faculty, and the students feel that there is no interaction between these
dentists and the full-time faculty who are their regular instructors.
There is a clinic rotation to the Foundry Clinic which has never taken place. It
had been on the student schedule, and a block of a full week was allotted to this clinic
(excluding the students from any other clinic). There are reports that this clinic may
actually be owned, either in whole or in part by a faculty member. The clinic has not
been used by the students due to this conflict. This block of time has still been
maintained as a rotation. Dr. McCracken informed the students of cancellation of this
clinic rotation via email, and specifically told them that they had "no dental school
responsibility" during that week and even told them that they could "go to the beach.'
Inside rotations appear just as worthless and disorganized. Students are rotated in
the Periodontal Clinic and Prosthodontic Clinic where they are told that they are only to
observe and suction. Occasionally, Dr. Reddy has allowed a student to treat a patient in
the Periodontal Clinic or to leave and go to another clinic where their time can be utilized
more effectively. This is the exception rather than the rule. There are a host of other
clinics that the students are rotated through which are labeled by the students as a waste of time.


In conclusion, the DOC realizes that this report is extremely sobering, disturbing and likely hurtful to some but this committee went to great lengths to be accurate
truthful, and honest with all of the information that was gathered, The DOC does not
want to see anyone terminated, although some job responsibilities may need to be
changed among faculty and administration. The DOC wants each graduate to be an
exceptionally well-trained dentist who will provide care for the citizens of Alabama. In
the eyes of the DOC, this is the minimum standard for our beloved alma mater. The
DOC is hopeful that the present administration will make the necessary changes and
promptly address what the DOC feels are major problems. In closing, this report stresses
five major problems summarized as follows:

1. The SOD administration has a significant morale problem within its
faculty. This is critical. In order for all parties to work together
successfully this issue must be addressed quickly to allow positive
progress with other logistical changes.
2. Organization of the Master Schedule for juniors and seniors must be
improved or there will be continual chaos. Much can be improved with
hard work, attention to detail and good communication between the
administration and the faculty, staff, outside rotations and students.

3. The inside and outside rotations for juniors and seniors must be relevant
and productive and must provide "hands-on" clinical experience.
Graduates' abilities to serve the citizens of Alabama will be directly
affected by the amount of relevant clinical exposure they receive in dental
school.
4. Students desperately need more time in the CCC. Reduced time in the
CCC has influenced their performance on the last thee ClTA exams.
Eliminating non-productive clinical rotations would provide more student
time in the CCC.
5. Students do not feel that the administration is listening to their concerns.
They see no changes and no action plans. Student trust is becoming an
issue.
The DOC humbly and respectfully asks Dean Thomas and the current SOD
administrator' to address these enumerated concerns as quickly as possible. If
action is taken promptly our committee believes significant improvements can be
made for the second semester of the current school year. The DOC will support
the Dean s efforts in any way we possibly can. Also the DOC respectfully asks
Dean Thomas to meet with our committee around January 20, 2011, to update us
on the progress being made.
Leigh Anne Nevins D.M.D., Chair
Tony W. Dollar, D.M.D., Co-Chair
Lewis Mitchell D.M.D. Member
E.D. (Bud) Rogers D.M.D., Member
Michael Koslin, D.M.D., Member

 

[GTFOOMICT]

Even after reading that document it's hard to say anything beyond 'seems like every other school'.

As long as this document was produced to improve the dental school (and not some alternate motive) you should be proud to have an alumni association that cares. Running a dental school is hard.

I believe most dental schools have documents like this. Just not sure how easily available they always are.

 

[7mag]

I'll say this...Depending on the students you decided to interview at my school, you could get a world of difference in that feedback. Certain people love to get worked up and be miserable about school, others take it like it comes and get what they need out of it. That's kind of scary, students should have a lot of input but I don't think a report like this should hinge so much on a select few students that may not represent the feelings of the student body. I swear I'm convinced some people go to dental just so they bitch every day and be miserable people that "are in dental school" because they think it is cool. I'm not kidding either...