What happened to our prosthodontic advocates? Prosthodontists

摘要

I JUST received the latest issue of the Journal of the American Dental Association, and read the article by Dr. Gordon J. Christensen, who writes an article for each issue of JADA. As you may be aware, Dr. Christensen is a prosthodontist and a member of the AGP. The article in the March 2007 issue (JADA 2007; 138:387-390) dealt specifically with the increasing need for lifelong learning, or as we know it, continuing education (GE).Dr. Christensen begins his article with his personal assessment of the learning needs of a dental practitioner based on his/her years in practice. Dr. Christensen continues with a ranking of the "educational value" of various types of CE programs, with "hands-on patient treatment" ranking as the most important, and "large lecture courses with little interaction with the instructor" ranking as having the least educational value. There were four other types of CE categories ranked between these highest and lowest categories in his scale. I must admit, I was somewhat surprised by his rankings. Dr. Christensen has come to UNC every other year for decades, and has given a one-day CE program for our Department of Operative Dentistry. He fills the largest room we have on campus (it holds 450 participants), and we turn people away due to a lack of space every time he speaks. I have seen him fill auditoriums across the country as well. For Dr. Christensen to admit that what he has been doing for decades ranks at the bottom of his own list in "educational value" was quite a revelation to me. For one of the best known prosthodontists in the world to inadvertently admit to his shortcomings in such a public forum is truly impressive.