Selecting 21st Century Dentists for Practice in the Global Village

Objectives:

Today's dentists must practice in changing times where the concept and value of the professional are changing. Whilst Evetts argues the ideology of professionalism remains appealing in modern society and thus potential student numbers remain high. Freidson acknowledges the decline of autonomy which is in part due to the rise of a more managerlistic and organisational culture. Today's students must be responsive to changing times and be able to work within a culture where transparency has become a watchword. This research aims to articulate the selection literature as applied to dentistry in a global setting.

Methods:

There is a dichotomy of approaches within the global community in selecting potential dentists from assessing on academic merit alone to greater involvement with the non cognitive side of learning. Inherently globalisation means there is greater cross boundary movement within the dental profession. Dentists are thus performing similar functions around the world but selected on the basis of vastly different admissions criteria. Is thus the dentist from Sweden more or less suitable to professional life than one from the USA? Can we measure reliably, potential professional attributes?

Results:

Increasingly, several authors have shown that students that have been selected on wider grounds than academic merit alone have been shown to appear more professionally competent. They have shown greater motivation so needed for the lifelong learning journey required for today's dental professionals. Selection must thus now focus on ensuring that students are equipped to function in a world where the dominant cultures are accountability, manageralism and organisational rather than the concept of professionalism in the Gidden's era.

Conclusions:

Global dentistry needs to be led by committed professionals in the Gidden's and Freidson sense of the word selected not just academically but using wider criteria ensuring they are equipped to practice in today's modern society.