29 August 2007
Prestigious visit for top dental school
The University of Sheffield´s School of Clinical Dentistry will be the focus of a prestigious visit from the President of the General Dental Council this week. Hew Mathewson, will experience first hand how the school is leading the way in dental education in the UK on Thursday 30 August 2007.
Recently named the top dental school in the UK, in The Times Good University Guide 2007, the school is renowned for its excellent clinical placement outreach programme, which provides students with several weeks of training in local `high street´ NHS funded dental practices.The programme was also judged to be one of the most exciting and innovative teaching developments in the unviersity this year and the team that developed the scheme received a Senate Award for Teaching Excellence at a degree ceremony in July.
Hew Mathewson will see for himself the pioneering work of the University and local dental practices in training dental students. He will also learn more about the programme by spending time with staff and students at the University.
As part of the visit, Mr Mathewson will get a tour of the Mount Dental Practice in Hemsworth, Pontefract, one of the University´s most recent partnerships. Amita Shahi, owner of the Hemsworth dental practice, has built three new surgeries specifically so she can offer placements to university students.
Professor Trevor Walsh, Dean of the School of Clinical Dentistry at the University, said: "Our clinical placement outreach programme is an award-winning, quality project that brings major benefits to both our student dentists and the local population. We are delighted that the President of the General Dental Council is able to come up to Sheffield to see for himself how modern dental education is improved by this type of outstanding learning experience."
Amita Shahi, owner of the Mount Dental Practice in Hemsworth, said: "We really enjoy hosting students and they make tremendous progress in their six weeks with us. The feedback from patients, students and staff has been extremely positive."
Hew Mathewson added: "As the UK dental regulator, one of the General Dental Council´s most important roles is setting educational standards. We encourage dental course providers to be innovative with their programmes. Outreach is an exciting and demanding development for dental schools and the University of Sheffield has been at the forefront of this. I look forward to visiting the School and seeing the students working in the community."
Notes for Editors: Photo opportunity: Hew Mathewson will be arriving at the University of Sheffield´s School of Clinical Dentistry, Claremont Crescent, Sheffield, S10 2TA, at 11.00am. He will depart for The Mount Dental Practice, 1 Highfield Road, Hemsworth, West Yorkshire, WF9 4DP at 12.40pm and will arrive at 1.30pm. He will stay here for approximately 1½ hours.
The University of Sheffield also has partnerships with the following local dental practices and NHS Primary Care Trust Dental Service establishments, as part of its clinical placement outreach programme: Taptonville House, Broomhill, Sheffield; Thompson and Thomas at Fairlawns, Middlewood; Wheata Place PCTDS, Parson Cross, Sheffield; Dearne Valley Dental Access Centre, Mexborough.
The University´s clinical placement outreach programme provides students with work placements in local general dental practices (high street dentists) and NHS dental clinics, where they provide a full range of treatment to patients under the supervision of local dentists. Placements, currently six weeks full-time, are being increased to six months (experiencing three different services) starting 2007/2008.
The General Dental Council plays a major role in dental education. It is charged with promoting high standards of dental education at all its stages, including undergraduate and postgraduate education. The GDC publishes requirements on the content of courses leading to registration with the GDC as a dentist or dental care professional. All UK courses of instruction for GDC registrants must meet these requirements and have the GDC´s approval. Details of training courses providers and the curriculum for undergraduate dental education are available from the GDC website www.gdc-uk.org.
For further information please contact: Jenny Wilson, Media Relations Officer on 0114 2225339 or email j.c.wilson@sheffield.ac.uk
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