The prevalence of 4 of 16 personality styles found in two dental school first-year classes is compared with personality styles found among practicing dentists, and the implications for dental program organization and curriculum are discussed. (MSE)

Responding to a report on the Clinical Research Training Program of the National Institutes of Health, the author finds that the low applicant rate among dental students is due less to lack of interest in the program or its emphasis on research but more to a program structure modeled on a medical school rather than a dental school curriculum. (MSE)

Columbia University (New York) dental-school study examined educational/patient care effects of changing from a numerical requirements-driven clinical curriculum to a comprehensive-care model driven by patient needs and led by faculty group leaders. Results suggest a significant increase in number of treatment plans completed by students, with no…

Reviews the history of postdoctoral programs in dentistry and medicine, focusing on postdoctoral general dentistry education, and describes the changing health-care environment in which future dental professionals will practice, relating the dental postdoctoral experience to that in medicine. A strategy is presented to prepare dental practitioners…

A study compared the performance on a national licensing examination of University of Southern California dental students in problem-based learning (PBL) versus those in conventional educational tracks. PBL track students scored significantly higher in all four discipline-based portions of the exam and also in the aggregate, and scored well in…

Describes design and use of the PBL Evaluator, a computer-based method of evaluating dental students' clinical problem-solving skills. Analysis of Indiana University students' self-, peer, and tutor ratings for one iteration of a course in critical thinking and professional behavior shows differences in these ratings. The method is found useful…