An interprofessional education initiative: Introducing a local anesthesia dental course for nurse practitioner and physician assistant students.

Purpose/objective: To assess the impact of local anesthesia (LA) course for physician assistant (PA) and adult gerontology-acute care nurse practitioner (NP) program students on knowledge, attitudes, confidence, and intention to incorporate skills in clinical practice.

Methods: The course was conducted by dental faculty for forty-eight PA and seven NP students and consisted of two lecture hours on anatomy of the oral cavity, anesthesia and pain management, 2 hours of preclinic lab where participants practiced injection technique on mannikins, and a clinical practicum conducted by dental school faculty and residents where students observed dental treatment including administration of LA, and discussed symptom triage by NPs and PAs for patients with dental problems including orofacial pain, initial management including LA, and patient referral to dentists. An online survey was administered to all students before and after the course to assess changes in knowledge, attitudes, confidence, and intention to incorporate LA administration skills into clinical practice and elicit students' perception of program quality.

Pilot test of an emerging leaders program for dental school faculty.

Purpose/objectives: The School of Dentistry at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UTHSA-SoD) implemented an SoD Emerging Leaders Program (SoDELP) in 2020-2021. This case report describes the leadership training needs of junior faculty that stimulated SoDELP development, the inter-institutional collaboration that facilitated program implementation, SoDELP curriculum content, and outcomes of formative assessment for two pilot cohorts of the SoDELP.

Methods: The 32-h curriculum was comprised of readings, reflection exercises, seminars by the Center for Professional Excellence at the University of Texas at San Antonio, case discussion, analysis of leadership dilemmas, and self-assessments.

Case Report of a Program to Enhance Dental Students' Interest in Academic Dentistry.

This case report describes a Teaching Honors Program (THP) at the UT Health San Antonio School of Dentistry and presents findings from an outcomes assessment covering the initial 11 years of the program. The program goals are to enhance dental students' awareness of academic career options, promote student and faculty collaboration on educational development projects, and provide students with training in teacher toolkit skills to increase their readiness for peer teaching during dental school and faculty roles early in their careers. The THP curriculum consists of six core courses and nine electives extending across the four years of dental school.

Online Case-Sharing to Enhance Dental Students' Clinical Education: A Pilot Study.

Dental students' clinical learning is dictated by patients' needs. Thus, not all students have identical educational experiences. Even routine treatment can require different approaches depending on concurrent dental problems, patients' health status, or unexpected complications.