What the ADEA CCI Series of Articles Means to Me: Reflections of a Mid‐Career Dental Faculty Member

Abstract

In this reflection article, Dr. Karen Novak, a mid-career faculty member at a U.S. dental school, identifies important messages and insights she gained from a series of twenty-one articles about the future of dental education published in the Journal of Dental Education from October 2005 to February 2009. This article addresses four questions: 1) What influence have these articles had on an academic dentist's perspectives about her role and priorities as a dental school faculty member and her own career plans and future directions? 2) What are the key messages in these articles for other dental educators who are at similar places in their careers? 3) What additional topics concerning the future of academic dentistry should be covered in future articles? and 4) What issues and priorities should receive the most attention from academic dentistry in the next decade? The American Dental Education Association's Commission on Change and Innovation in Dental Education (ADEA CCI) was established to provide a mechanism for stakeholders in academic dentistry to meet and consider future directions in the education of the nation's dental workforce. Along with ADEA, these stakeholders included dental schools, the American Dental Association (ADA) Board of Trustees, the Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA), the ADA Council on Dental Education and Licensure (CDEL), the Joint Commission on National Dental Examinations (JCNDE), the dental licensure community, the ADA Foundation, and advanced dental education programs. The ADEA CCI was created to build consensus within the dental community for innovative changes in the education of general dentists. One outcome of this process was a series of articles intended to raise awareness and stimulate dialogue about issues and forces shaping the future of dental education. Collectively, this series of articles is known as the Perspectives and Reflections in Dental Education (PRIDE) series to acknowledge the commitment of the academic dental community to reflect on current practices and future directions and also to represent the pride of dental school faculty members in their educational responsibilities and accomplishments.