Fostering Dental Faculty Collaboration with an Evidence–Based Decision Making Model Designed for Curricular Change

Abstract

This article introduces an innovative decision making model for adapting evidence-based practice to the specific needs of a department in a dental school. The design encourages suggestions for curricular change directly from the faculty members, while providing a mechanism that allows them to actively participate in the process through the use of evidence-based principles and practice. The nucleus of this model is an Advisory Council comprised of nine full-time departmental faculty members who, when charged, act as independent task force leaders who recruit other faculty members and lead small teams that investigate suggestions for curricular change. Following an accelerated investigative process, recommendations to the Advisory Council are made; if approved, these changes are integrated into the curriculum. The incorporation of an interdisciplinary Advisory Council of key departmental faculty members structured to investigate questions or concerns posed by students, administrators, or other faculty members through the use of evidence-based methodologies has proved to be a successful management tool. Well received by the participants, this model has the potential to further develop and calibrate the school's faculty, increase the timeliness of the decision making process, and lessen the time required to incorporate a proposed change into the curriculum.