Program Design Considerations for Leadership Training for Dental and Dental Hygiene Students

Abstract

Since leadership is an essential part of the oral health professions, oral health educators can play an essential role in establishing a culture of leadership and in mentoring students to prepare them for future leadership roles within the profession. However, leadership training for oral health professionals is a relatively new concept and is frequently not found within dental and dental hygiene curricula. The purpose of this article is to propose several models for leadership training that are speciic to the oral health professions. The authors hope that providing an overview of leadership programs in academic dental institutions will encourage all U.S. and Canadian dental schools to begin developing a culture that promotes leadership development.

Self-perception of leadership style of dentists: heads of dental departments in community hospitals, Southern Thailand

“…Effective communication skills, especially talking about vision, belief, faith or good values, are essential for motivating and inspiring colleagues to strive for higher levels of potential. This leads to productivity, profitability, personnel retention, organisation engagement, and networking.…”

Leadership Skills in Dental Curriculum- A Review

“…In clinical practice, research or community service, aspects such as motivating stakeholders, networking, negotiations, conveying point of view and disseminating information, competence in communication skill (both verbal and non-verbal) may be the differentiating factor between success and failure. (12) Indeed, student's perception reflects that they desired 'more' on communication skills in spite of having been administered a module on communication. (21) Communication exercises designed to mimic difficult real life situations and a framework to deal with them can help students enhance their communication skills.…”

“…(8) One of the important measures to enhance the capability of dental health care professionals to address current and future changes is to educate them to be future leaders. (12) An effective dental leader ensures employee satisfaction, provides opportunities to be role models and agents of change within their local communities. (12) Leadership development at earlier career stages, is the optimal way for "early identification and purposeful development of leadership talent, interest and abilities."…”

“…(12) An effective dental leader ensures employee satisfaction, provides opportunities to be role models and agents of change within their local communities. (12) Leadership development at earlier career stages, is the optimal way for "early identification and purposeful development of leadership talent, interest and abilities." (13) Studies demonstrate that both faculty/ administrators and students appreciate the value of and need for student leadership development.…”

“…(18) How to go about Developing Leadership Skills The role of a dental school and the traditional curriculum in the context of leadership, mostly refers to the development of technical and scientific skills. However, formal leadership training programs that focus on helping students learn how to successfully build a team, communicate effectively and enhance decision making skills (12) must be considered as a critical mandatory learning opportunity. Moreover, the program must entail universal student participation rather than a select few, since a potentially diverse range of situations may see the emergence of leaders from least expected sources.…”