New interprofessional course for dental students
Posted: March 23, 2015
A.T. Still University’s Missouri School of Dentistry & Oral Health (ATSU-MOSDOH) launched a new student elective course that focuses on primary care and diagnostics for dentists. The interprofessional course was designed to provide basic preventative primary care education to dental students to improve detection and management of chronic disease, as well as expand their physical examination skills and diagnostic capabilities.
The course also includes 10 weekly modules to be completed online and three labs to be held during evenings. The course will culminate with a standardized patient encounter that will allow ATSU-MOSDOH students to apply the diagnostic, evaluative, and treatment skills they learned.
“As our dental students move forward into their practice, they will be able to understand the breadth of the evaluation process from the perspective of a dentist and a physician,” said course director Dale DeWan, DMD, MS.
Dr. DeWan will be joined by medical education fellows from ATSU’s Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine in teaching the course.
There are currently 20 students registered in the elective course. Kimberly Nguyen, D2, enrolled because of her interest in overall health and how it pertains to oral health.
“I wanted to have a better understanding in terms of taking vitals and really seeing the medical side of things,” states Nguyen. “This course is a prime example of how our school encourages interprofessional education. That’s something that drew me to ATSU to begin with, and courses like this really set us apart.”