Development of the necessary advanced clinical skills expected of a specialist endodontist

 
Appreciation of the scientific basis for successful clinical practice

 
Development of clinical scientific and research methodology


Develop research skills to underpin clinical competency

 

Clinical Experience:
The clinical component provides experience within the discipline of endodontology in the form of technique work on extracted teeth, clinical practice and interdisciplinary seminars.
 
Coursework:
Through reading, tutorials, seminars and case discussions students will gain knowledge and understanding in the areas of patient examination, assessment and management in endodontics, diagnosis, treatment planning and a range of endodontic techniques.  Students will also participate in a range of interdisciplinary activities with students from other specialist areas. 

The workload model is based on 20 teaching weeks.     

Contact Hours (semester)                                  

Type                          Number of sessions        Duration of each session (hr)          Total hours

Tutorials                                 60                                     1                                                  60

Clinical Sessions                   100                                     3                                                300

Other undergrad teaching      20                                     3                                                 60                                                                                                                                                                                     420

Assessment Tasks* (semester)                          

Type                          Number of sessions    Expected preparation time (hr)         Total hours

Summative tutorials                      60                                 2                                              120

*E.g, practical reports, tutorial papers

                       

Non-contact (semester)                          

Type                                Number of sessions     Anticipated time (hr)     Total hours

Weekly reading & other study
(hours/lecture)                              20                                      2                            40

Preparation for tutorial
(hours/tutorial)                              60                                      2                          120

                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                            160

Total workload (hrs/semester):   700                  

Workload/week (hr):       35.00               

 

Expected workload (hrs/week):                         

3 unit course     12                    

6 unit course     24                    

9 unit course     36                    

12 unit course 48       

Clinical
Component. 
Clinical sessions treating patients.
Supervision/teaching undergraduates in endodontics either in the clinic or in the simulation clinic

 
Discipline seminars
Includes case presentations, problem solving and topic related literature reviews, including the following:
Themes
include:
endodontology, oral and general pathology, oral microbiology, immunology, lecturing and public speaking, oral surgery, restorative dentistry, periodontology,  management of endodontic emergencies and radiology.
 

Assessment Task                           Assessment Type                           Weighting                 Learning Outcome(s) being addressed


Clinical assessment                          Summative                           50%  Competency required                              1,2


Assignment                                       Summative                          20%   Satisfactory required                               1-4


Tutorial performance and presentation  Summative                      30%  Satisfactory required                               1-4


Clinical performance (continual)              Formative                             Competency required                                  1,2

Clinical
Assessment/Case Reports/Log Book

Formative Review

The emphasis of this program is self-motivated learning and evaluation. However, regular formative review is also held with senior teaching and clinical staff.   Postgraduate students are assessed continuously throughout their training.  Assessment reviews clinical case mix, amount of clinical experience and standard of patient care.  Deficient areas are discussed with clinical supervisors and remedied together with the postgraduate student. 

In all years, students are assessed on a continuing basis in the conduct of their clinical activities, patient management, treatment planning, case report presentation, presentations of patients seen in the clinics and the log book. Clinical assessment will include pre-operative, peri-operative and post-operative management in lines with the specialist discipline and established guidelines on the overall management of endodontic dentistry patients.

 

Summative Assessment

Students will receive continuous assessment of their clinical work, clinical case presentations and log book. These form the overall clinical assessment and lead to the clinical barrier written examinations and viva voce examinations at the end of 1st year.

 

Achievement Case Reports

 
Twelve “achievement” case presentations are required at the end of the 3rd year.  These “achievement” cases are cases selected by the student to highlight their achievements during the program and the range of cases managed.  The principle of the “achievement” cases is to ensure a broad range of clinical cases is obtained and treatment is provided and supported by current research and literature.
During each semester, students will be expected to prepare and present their clinical achievement cases. There is an expectation that students present five to six clinical cases each year, the most comprehensive of these will be included in the “twelve achievement cases” submitted for their final assessment in third year. These case reports will be assessed based on the presentation style, pre-operative, peri-operative and post-operative management. In addition, appropriate literature to support their respective management of each case.

 

Portfolio/Logbook Requirements

Students will complete a comprehensive logbook of patients. The patient logbook satisfies the requirements of the Dental Board of
Australia and other registering authorities such as the Australian New Zealand Academy of Endodontists. The logbook will serve as a reference of the relative clinical case mix of patients seen; treatments performed and will aid continual assessment of each postgraduate. The registrar logbooks will be audited at the end of each semester. This process will aid in the clinical experience all
postgraduate students receive and to expose the postgraduate students to a wide variety of cases. The logbook will also form part of the clinical assessment for each semester and will form part of their overall assessment during their
final examination in October of the third year. 

 

 

Assignments / Presentations

In each semester there are a series of traditional didactic teaching seminars, as well as departmental / discipline meetings.
Students will be required to present comprehensive reviews of selected topics as directed on their individual didactic roster and departmental / discipline meetings. The students are required to present two assignments in the 1st year, and one in semester 1 of the 2nd year.  The research undertaken should be written up in a format suitable for publication and this satisfies the requirement of an assignment for semester 2 of the 2nd year. The end of year examination will assess the specific topics from that year. In following years, examinations will include all relevant information covered by the student to
provide a continuous assessment of knowledge related to endodontic dentistry.

 

Examinations

 
Comprehensive internal written and oral examinations are held at the completion of each year.
In the first two years there are two three-hour written examinations, and one hour oral examination including achievement case reports. During the final year in October of the 3rd year, a comprehensive external examination will be conducted. This consists of two three-hour written examinations and a three-hour viva voce examination which includes achievement case reports and the students Log Book. Students must complete the examination satisfactorily before proceeding to the next semester.

 

Summary

In order to fulfil the requirements for this course, the student will need to have satisfactorily completed all components of the program.