Year
2016
Institution
Plymouth University Peninsula School of Dentistry
The relationship between Plymouth University Peninsula School of Dentistry and our community partners is truly symbiotic. We help to address oral health inequalities in areas of need, while our partners provide unique learning environments which take our students out of traditional learning environments and into unfamiliar situations.
In order for this symbiosis to work we need a truly collaborative approach. To achieve this, we have developed our Inter-Professional Engagement (IPE) module which has already made a favourable impression within the dental profession: may have seen the future, or least a glimpse of a future... a series of the most impressive examples of team working, initiative, innovation, engagement outside the usual comfort zone of the dental school. (Stephen Hancocks, Editor, BDJ)
With students as equal partners and active team collaborators throughout, our team comprises of:
Dental Therapy and Hygiene students
Gabrielle Adams
Victoria Beer
Catherine Finch-Evans
Kelvin Onyinah
Dicxi Muquescumar
Academics
Dr Catherine Coelho: Associate Professor/Senior Lecturer in Clinical Dental Education
Dr Robert Witton: Director of Social Engagement and Community-based Dentistry
The Community Engagement Team members
Wendy Smith: Strategic Lead for Community Engagement
Nicola Brown: Community Engagement Team member
Impact of work
The result of our effective team working is the creation of future dental health professionals whose clinical excellence is matched by empathy for their patients and an understanding of the wider community. Such transferable team working skills augment our students' employability. IPEs also help our students to reflect on their professionalism and their role in the community, and in the words of one student, My scepticism on community work has surprisingly vanished; this experience changed my view on the importance of tackling public health issues.
Plans for the future
In the project described here, our team developed a unique communication-aid for stroke survivors with aphasia, for use in dental settings. The aid received coverage on ITV West Country News, the British Association of Dental Therapists website and made the front page of USA Dentistry Today. What made this project so successful was that our dental therapy and hygiene students were superbly engaged, aided greatly by the support of our Community Engagement Team.
In order for this symbiosis to work we need a truly collaborative approach. To achieve this, we have developed our Inter-Professional Engagement (IPE) module which has already made a favourable impression within the dental profession: may have seen the future, or least a glimpse of a future... a series of the most impressive examples of team working, initiative, innovation, engagement outside the usual comfort zone of the dental school. (Stephen Hancocks, Editor, BDJ)
With students as equal partners and active team collaborators throughout, our team comprises of:
Dental Therapy and Hygiene students
Gabrielle Adams
Victoria Beer
Catherine Finch-Evans
Kelvin Onyinah
Dicxi Muquescumar
Academics
Dr Catherine Coelho: Associate Professor/Senior Lecturer in Clinical Dental Education
Dr Robert Witton: Director of Social Engagement and Community-based Dentistry
The Community Engagement Team members
Wendy Smith: Strategic Lead for Community Engagement
Nicola Brown: Community Engagement Team member
Impact of work
The result of our effective team working is the creation of future dental health professionals whose clinical excellence is matched by empathy for their patients and an understanding of the wider community. Such transferable team working skills augment our students' employability. IPEs also help our students to reflect on their professionalism and their role in the community, and in the words of one student, My scepticism on community work has surprisingly vanished; this experience changed my view on the importance of tackling public health issues.
Plans for the future
In the project described here, our team developed a unique communication-aid for stroke survivors with aphasia, for use in dental settings. The aid received coverage on ITV West Country News, the British Association of Dental Therapists website and made the front page of USA Dentistry Today. What made this project so successful was that our dental therapy and hygiene students were superbly engaged, aided greatly by the support of our Community Engagement Team.