First past the post (grad)

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With the UAE's first dental postgraduate courses set to start at the Boston University Institute for Dental Research and Education in Dubai this month, MED talks to its chief academic officer, Dr Thomas Kilgore about mission statements and mentorships.

Why did Boston University choose to partner with Dubai?

We have a bent towards international collaboration. With institutes in Kuwait, India and several other countries, Boston University has probably trained the most international dentists in postgraduate education of any dental school in the US. This is something that we are doing because we wanted to. We are not making money on this deal at all.

The bottom line is that the quality of dentistry, even in very rich parts of the world like this, can be improved. Most of the dental specialists in this community, in the whole gulf region, trained somewhere else. There is a drain of talent. We are going to be seeding the region with good handfuls of specialists in the various disciplines.

With your first courses starting in July, what are the various requirements are you looking for in a successful applicant?

The requirement is primarily education, but we like to have people with some experience. They kind of have a better sense of where they want to go. But what we are really looking at is a high class rank, good English score and really good recommendations.

For students hoping to work in the US, will the Institute's final certificates carry the same gravitas as those earned at Boston's parent campus?

Not exactly. While the curriculum is the same, the way that the accreditation system works in the US is different. To be licensed to work there, you have to have graduated from a dental school in the US. The situation in the US is somewhat exclusive.

There isn't any vision to recognise well-trained dentists from other countries. However, our prime mission is not to train students that will go the US and practice. Our goal is students that will benefit this region.

Will that affect the number of regional dentists choosing your facility over an overseas postgraduate course? Would they rather have the kudos of a US certificate?

I don't think so. There is a factor of the post 9/11 syndrome. I have spoken to parents who, at one time, were thrilled to send their kids abroad, but now they are thrilled there is possibility that they can keep them in the region.

Ultimately, our students are certainly going to be extremely marketable when they get out, because they will have a very highly respected specialty degree and they should not have any problems getting a job.

While you are training, you are creating contacts and looking at where you might practice. To train somewhere else and return here to start a practice, you have to re-establish yourself all over again.

Are you under pressure to give a percentage of places to UAE nationals?

Certainly the majority [of candidates] are probably from the emirates, but we have not set a quota that we have to have a certain number of Emiratis. With our applicant pool, we have no restrictions. If you are a citizen of the US and you want to come and train with us - no problem.

But, the mission of [Dubai] is to improve the quality of health in the region. If we train somebody from the states that is going to go back to Cleveland to practice, have we really fulfilled our mission?

What will be the initial output of the institute?

It is very much a case of quality not quantity. Regular dental school programmes might take 50 or 60 students in a class and that is economically important to pay the bills.

In our situation, because it a speciality education, your class size is based more on the amount of experience and the exposure that the students can get.

Starting July, there will be two students in endodontics, three in orthodontics, four in prosthetics and paediatric dentistry and two in periodontology.

That figure will grow in around three years, and we expect to have around 45 to 50 students by then as we add on maxillofacial surgery to our curriculum.

How difficult has it been recruit quality faculty staff for the institute?

Dubai kind of sells itself. It has a draw now. But we tended towards Boston graduates and faculty because they know our curriculum. All but two of our faculty trained in Boston University, but we are recruiting more from the Universities of Maryland, Harvard and California now.

Has the Institute put in place any mentoring programmes with the local dental schools?

The acceptance from local educational establishments has been fantastic. We have already discussed a programme with Sharjah University Dental College, whereby they are going to send their students to us on a rotation basis, to get an idea of what the specialties are like.

It is a win-win situation as our students get to do some teaching, which is a part of the development of a specialist dentist. That will be the next step here, to develop the next generation of homegrown dental educators. At the moment, so many of us are imports.

Are you offering any educational programmes to community dentists?

We've taken a concept from back in Boston, which is that of a study club. We have a periodic evening where we discuss some cases or bring in a speaker, and have an open discussion.

To date, we have invited all of the dentists within DHCC to our meeting room to do this. We want our students not only to get our ideas, but also to get those of other practitioners in the community.

In the process, we are sharing ideas with them. If we can develop this association of dental educators, there is more chance for mentorship; not only for dentists but also for future dental educators. We want to grow a generation of educators to serve their community.

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