THE WISCONSIN APPROACH TO FACULTY-DEVELOPMENT IN GERIATRIC DENTISTRY

Demographic and dental trends in late 20th century America have result ed in a great demand for expertise in geriatric dentistry. In schools of dentistry, this expertise has translated into increased focus on ti le needs and management of the older dental patient. The goal of the d ental component of the Medical College of Wisconsin Faculty Training P roject in Geriatrics for Physicians and Dentists was to recruit dentis ts committed to the health issues of the elderly and help them to acqu ire the clinical, research, education, and administrative skills and k nowledge necessary for careers in academic dentistry. Each trainee rec eived advanced training in dentistry; was under the mentorship of a fe llowship-trained dentist and geriatrics-boarded physician; and shared numerous training experiences with a physician geriatric fellow, to th e enrichment of trainees of both disciplines. Clinical experiences inv olved lecture- and seminar-based didactics and treatment of a variety of populations in several care settings. Research experiences centered around a mentored investigation and were supplemented by course work. Education and administration learning experiences included didactics in both subjects, opportunities to plan and provide lectures to differ ent audiences, and an administration project. Program evaluation focus ed on progress, process, and product assessment; the results of a comp etency self-assessment instrument developed by the project's evaluator s demonstrated program efficacy in all areas.