Teaching dentistry in this day and age
Written by: Dr Rahaf Omran
Dental education is, in essence, adult education. The latter is ruled by vastly different characteristics from those that govern school education. In other words, unless the learner actually understands the importance of knowledge, they are simply not interested in gaining it. Moreover, they need to understand the implications of not possessing this knowledge, and how this can reflect on their daily practice. Most importantly, education needs to be FUN.
This is particularly correct when it comes to going the extra mile in learning. If the process is not interesting, students and clinicians will just study if they actually HAVE TO. This is not ideal for healthcare professionals, who re supposed to be lifelong learners.
With that in mind, it is fair to affirm that only by combining creativity, gamification, and evidence-based education in dental education can initiatives be real change-makers in the field. Therefore, my article today is a shout-out to the Immersify team, for being able to brilliantly hack the recipe of sustainable lifelong learning with their platform, Immersify. Whether it is the application or the website, the platform is engaging, ever-changing, and most importantly scientifically reliable. A team of professionals in medical education is behind the content, making it a reliable source of information, which is a huge asset in the armamentarium of any dental educator.
The experience features, which simulate clinical scenarios, are an excellent example of this approach. Within Immersify, learners are prompted to engage in stimulating clinical scenarios, where they need to promptly make clinical decisions. This is a trigger for them to further explore the rationale behind clinical options and it’s a brilliant method to open their eyes to possible areas of improvement in a safe environment. It also allows them to re-try these scenarios as many times as they need to, without needing to be in the clinic.
Using the platform as a complimentary educational tool in dental school is a recommendation that I personally make to all my students and fellow educators because this simply creates a more intentional education experience. This facilitates an environment in which the learner is more aware of what they know and what they don’t and provides a space to practice when needed. For instance, learners can explore anatomy in augmented reality without the stress of a patient sitting in the dental chair, or they can practice administering local anaesthetic without fearing that they have skipped a step or two.
All there’s left to say is: dear lecturers, academics, clinicians and learners: try Immersify; you can thank me later!
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