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Evidence Based Practice: Assessing The Educational Outcome, Michelle Brady Dr., Des Gallagher

Pacific Journal of Health

Healthcare providers and patients strive for optimal outcomes with a growing trend to embed the principles of evidence-based practice (EBP) into mainstream care delivery by practicing dentists. The foundations of future best practice are built at dental school. How do we evaluate the outcome of an EBP syllabus?

This study describes the use of the KACE assessment tool to assess the learning outcomes of final year DDS students who had completed an EBP program. The use of a validated instrument to measure four dimensions, knowledge, attitudes about it, familiarity with sources for accessing evidence and confidence in critical appraisal skills …

Polymer Chemistry Of Dental Adhesives, Alia J. Rubaie, Karen A. Schulze

Pacific Journal of Health

Dental adhesives are water soluble, non-toxic materials that bind composite resins to dentin and enamel. Adhesive systems are dependent on a polymerization process at the interface and require different moieties to prepare the substrate to effectively interact with the tooth surface. Due to their critical role in restorative procedures, many chemists are interested in strengthening the adhesive bond strength at the interface. This review paper covers the evolution of dental adhesive systems over time and provides an extensive overview of what components make up a dental adhesive system. Additionally, this article explores the common issues found in adhesive systems, and …

Creating A Case-Based Exam To Assess Student Progress In A Health Professional Program, Terry Hoover, Parvati Iyer, Meixun Zheng

Pacific Journal of Health

Student-centered education requires timely identification of professional students not progressing appropriately in their chosen discipline. However, many institutions in the United States have been slow to develop “progress” exams designed to assess to test individual student progress towards graduation. Literature review found scant evidence of schools reporting design and implementation of such assessments. This paper shares the process piloted at one U.S. dental school to develop a case-based written exam, map test items to concepts/knowledge expected of students and evaluate the validity and effectiveness of the exam as a useful measure of learning progress. It also analyzes the correlation between …