Browsing by Author "Fitzgerald, Mark"

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    Entrustable professional activities framework for assessment in predoctoral dental education, developed using a modified Delphi process
    (Wiley, 2021) Ramaswamy, Vidya; Fitzgerald, Mark; Danciu, Theodora; Nalliah, Romesh; de Peralta, Tracy; Munz, Stephanie M.; Murdoch-Kinch, Carol Anne; Oral Pathology, Medicine and Radiology, School of Dentistry
    Purpose/objectives: The purpose of this study was to define and develop a set of Entrustable Professional Activities (EPAs) for dental education using a modified Delphi consensus approach. EPAs define the core tasks that a graduating dentist needs to perform independently in practice. The EPA framework facilitates assessment of competencies as they manifest in the tasks and independence needed to be ready for practice. Methods: Feedback was obtained from participants about a list of EPAs, with modifications made after each of the 3 rounds, using a modified Delphi approach. Phase 1 included attendees at the ADEA Fall 2017 meeting (n = 35) who participated in an EPA workshop primarily composed of academic deans. The Phase 2 "reactor panel" consisted of 10 dental schools' academic deans and other individuals with expertise and interest in dental curriculum and assessment (n = 31). Phase 3 participants were attendees at the ADEA CCI 2019 meeting (n = 91) who also participated in a 2-day EPA workshop. Results: In phase 1, overall ratings for acceptability of the EPAs were satisfactory. In phase 2, the next iteration of EPAs was judged as satisfactory for inclusion in curriculum, match well with clinical practice and clarity. In phase 3, the EPAs were judged as satisfactory for being an "entrustable, essential, and important task of the profession." Qualitative feedback suggested wording, measurability, and specific focus of EPA statements is important. Conclusions: A preliminary set of EPAs was designed for predoctoral dental education through a systematic, careful consensus building approach involving a diverse set of participants.
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    Initial Efforts to Manage IPE during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Reports from the Big Ten Academic Alliance
    (NSUWorks, 2022) Smith, Laura J.; Romito, Laura; Congdon, Heather B.; Ascione, Frank J.; Fitzgerald, Mark; Karpa, Kelly; Pfiefle, Andrea; Sick, Brian; Khalili, Hossein; Biomedical Sciences and Comprehensive Care, School of Dentistry
    Purpose: The COVID-19 pandemic required higher education institutions to quickly transition to a virtual platform. This was challenging for those involved in interprofessional education (IPE), given the goal that students from two or more professions learn about, from, and with one another. The Big Ten IPE Alliance is a subgroup of the larger Big Ten Academic Alliance. The purpose of this paper is to share the collective experiences of multiple large, research intensive universities in addressing the challenge of implementing IPE programs under the conditions established by the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: To better understand how the Big Ten schools dealt with the transition to virtual learning for didactic and clinical IPE given the COVID-19 pandemic, a subset of representatives from the Big Ten IPE Alliance met to discuss best practices for virtual learning in the IPE realm. Each participating university completed an electronic 14 question survey related to their IPE curriculum during the COVID-19 pandemic from March 2020 thru August 2020 and the responses were analyzed. Results: Four categories were identified as needing to be addressed to develop and implement successful interprofessional didactic and clinical experiences. The categories identified included content/assessment, virtual technologies, faculty and facilitators, and learners. Conclusions/Recommendations: Consider including authentic and innovative mechanisms to deliver IPE experiences that meet the learning needs and accreditation requirements. Interinstitutional collaborations such as within the Big Ten IPE Alliance can be beneficial in assessing current and future best practices in IPE.