Mentorship availability and needs for junior faculty members at the United States and Australian dental schools

Experiences of junior dental faculty transitioning from clinician to educator

PURPOSE

Dental faculty enter academia, after a career in practice or directly from school, without any formal education training. Faculty development programs have been designed based on survey needs assessments, but not on in-depth descriptions of junior faculty transition experiences. The purpose of this research project is to describe the transition experiences of dental faculty from clinician to educator within the last 5 years.

METHODS

A qualitative multiple case study approach from an emic perspective was used. An emic approach is an analysis from the perspective of one who participates in the group being studied. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 12 junior dental faculty. Thematic analysis identified common themes in the data through the lens of the social cognitive career theory.

RESULTS

Three salient themes were extracted from the data: guidance, job satisfaction, and motivating factors. Guidance was the main theme with participants revealing their need for more formal preparation regarding teaching, formal mentorship, and career progression goals. Participants find academia highly rewarding, and a unique finding was that physical injury was a major factor to entering academia.

CONCLUSION

This study reveals that junior dental faculty members feel unprepared for their teaching role and highlights the benefits of mentorship in helping them develop their vocational goals and advance their careers. This study illuminates why clinicians choose to leave clinical practice, the preparation they receive, the areas in which they feel unprepared, and how they develop their teaching skills. These insights can help academic institutions better support their faculty and improve student learning outcomes.

Career Development of Academic Staff in Faculties of Dentistry by Means of Mentorship Programs: Protocol for a Scoping Review

BACKGROUND

Globally, the demands on dental educators continue to diversify and expand. Due to their importance and value, mentoring programs have been acknowledged as a means of recruiting, developing, and retaining academics in dental education.

OBJECTIVE

This protocol is for a scoping review that aims to identify the goals of mentoring programs for academic staff in dental faculties and determine how these programs were structured, delivered, and evaluated.

METHODS

The review will be performed in accordance with the Joanna Briggs Institute's methodology for scoping reviews, which covers both qualitative and quantitative scientific literature as well as grey literature written in English and published between 2000 and 2020. The databases will include PubMed, Ovid, the Educational Resources Information Center database, Science Direct, Scopus, Google Scholar, Trove, Web of Science, Openthesis.org, and the website of the American Dental Education Association. A manual search will also be conducted by using the reference lists of included studies to identify additional articles. Working independently, the authors will participate iteratively in literature screening, paper selection, and data extraction. Disagreements between the reviewers will be resolved by discussion until a consensus is reached or after consultation with the research team. Key information that is relevant to the review questions will be extracted from the selected articles and imported into a Microsoft Excel file. The PRISMA-ScR (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Extension for Scoping Reviews) will be used to guide the reporting of this protocol.

RESULTS

The search for appropriate literature has commenced, and we aim to present the results before the end of the 2021 academic year.

CONCLUSIONS

The development of formal mentorship programs for academics in dental education will enhance the retention of academic staff.

INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID)

PRR1-10.2196/27239.