Technical Standards: Personal Attributes and Capabilities Essential for Admission, Promotion, and Graduation for School of Dentistry Students.

(Approved by Department Chairs Committee, 10 October 2001 and reviewed by University Counsel, 30 December 2001)

The faculty of the University of North Carolina School of Dentistry believes that a dentist must possess specific knowledge, skills and attitudes. Therefore, to earn a Doctor of Dental Surgery (D.D.S.) degree, a dental student must be competent in the prescribed basic sciences, must understand and apply the principles of the basic fields of clinical dentistry, and must relate appropriately to patients and to other health care professionals. The following standards describe the non-academic qualifications required in addition to academic and clinical achievements, which the faculty of the school considers essential for successful completion of the educational objectives of its curriculum.

Because the dental profession is governed by high ethical values and principles and by state and federal laws, a dental student must have the capacity to learn, understand these values and laws and to perform within their guidelines. The student should be able to relate to colleagues, staff and patients with honesty, integrity, non-discrimination, self-sacrifice and dedication.

The student should be able to understand and use the power, special privileges, and trust inherent in the dentist-patient relationship for the patient's benefit, and to know and avoid behaviors that constitute misuse of this power. The student should demonstrate the capacity to examine and deliberate effectively about the social and ethical questions that define dentistry and the dentists' roles and to reason critically about these questions. The student must be able to identify personal reactions and responses, recognize multiple points of view, and integrate these appropriately into clinical decision-making.

A dental student must be of sufficient emotional health to utilize fully his/her intellectual ability, to exercise good judgment, to complete patient care responsibilities promptly and professionally, and to relate to patients, families, and colleagues with courtesy, compassion, maturity, and respect for their dignity. The ability to participate collaboratively and flexibly as a professional team member is essential. The dental student must be able to function effectively and perform high quality dental procedures on a patient in spite of stressful work, changing environments, and clinical uncertainties. The dental student must be able to modify behavior in response to constructive criticism.

The dental student must be open to examining personal attitudes, perceptions and stereotypes (which may negatively affect patient care and professional relationships). An individual with a diagnosed psychiatric disorder may function as a dental student as long as the condition is under sufficient control to allow accomplishment of the above goals with or without reasonable accommodation. The dental student must exhibit behavior and intellectual functioning, which does not differ from acceptable professional standards. In the event of deteriorating emotional function, it is essential that a dental student be willing to acknowledge the condition and/or accept professional help before it poses danger to self, patients, and colleagues.

The study and ongoing practice of dentistry often involves taxing workload and stressful situations. A dental student must have the physical and emotional stamina to maintain a high level of functioning in the face of these likely working conditions.

A dental student must possess a range of intellectual skills that allows him/her to master the broad and complex body of knowledge that comprises a dental education. The student's learning style must be effective and efficient. The ultimate goal will be to solve difficult problems and to make diagnostic and therapeutic decisions. A dental student must be able to memorize, perform scientific measurement and calculation, and to understand and cognitively manipulate three-dimensional models. Reasoning abilities must be sophisticated enough to analyze and synthesize information from a wide variety of sources.

It is expected that a dental student be able to learn effectively through a variety of modalities, including but not limited to: classroom instruction, small group discussion, individual study of materials, preparation and presentation of written and oral reports, and use of computer-based technology.

A dental student must be able to ask questions, to receive answers perceptively, to record information about patients accurately and to educate patients. The student must be able to communicate effectively and efficiently with patients, their families and with other members of the health care team. This must include spoken communication and non-verbal communications such as interpretation of facial expressions, affects, and body language.

Mastery of both written and spoken English is required although applications from students with hearing or speech disabilities will be given full consideration. In such cases, use of a trained intermediary or other communications aide may be appropriate if this intermediary functions only as an information conduit and does not serve integrative or interpretive functions.

A dental student must possess sufficient visual, auditory, tactile and psychomotor abilities to allow him/her to gather data from written material, from oral presentations, by observing demonstration and experiments, by studying various types of illustrations, by observing a patient and their environment, by observing clinical procedures performed by others, by reading digital and analog representations of physiologic phenomena, by performing clinical examination of a patient, and by performing high quality clinical dental procedures on a patient.

I have read, understand and agree to the Technical Standards of the University of North Carolina School of Dentistry.

Last modified: 05/01/2002 at 10:11:26