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Tuesday National Organization Roundtable Topics (By Invitation Only)
Rebecca Stolberg, RDH, MSDH
Senior Director of Allied Dental Education and Faculty Development
American Dental Education Association (ADEA)
The American Dental Education Association (ADEA) is the Voice of Dental Education, being the sole national organization representing academic dentistry. ADEA members include all 76 U.S. and Canadian dental schools, more than 1,000 allied and advanced dental education programs (including general dentists, specialists, dental hygienists, dental assistants, dental laboratory technicians and dental therapists), 59 corporate partners and 18,000 individuals. Our activities encompass a wide range of research, advocacy, faculty development, meetings and communications, including the esteemed Journal of Dental Education®, as well as the dental school and dental hygiene program application services. ADEA members come together to advocate effectively for public policy issues essential to dental educators and researchers, especially access to dental care, a necessary element to improved oral health. The best health care is delivered by coordinated teams of health care professionals. Scant research exists on the benefits of team-based education applied to the dental team members in an intraprofessional environment. To better understand the current state of intraprofessional education, ADEA disseminated the 2016 ADEA Survey of Intraprofessional Dental Education in 2016 to 66 U.S. dental schools and 329 dental hygiene programs in dental school and non-dental school settings. The results revealed that 67% of the responding institutions were currently providing intraprofessional experiences for their students. The preponderance of these experiences was acquired in clinical settings within the institution or extramural sites. Major barriers cited were: scheduling; financial resources; timing of courses; faculty, facility, and workforce limitations; and lack of allied programs near dental schools.