Our Faculty of Dental Trainers Chair, Professor James Field and Dean Elect of RCSEd, Professor Richard Cure, have co-authored a timely article on Quality in Dental Education. The authors, which also comprise colleagues from the Irish Dental Council, the Association for Dental Education in America, the Association for Dental Education in Europe, and the Federation of European Dental Competent Authorities and Regulator (FEDCAR), were keen to explain that the terms quality assurance, quality improvement, and accreditation are widely used in dental education and training, yet these concepts are often used interchangeably.
This article seeks to clarify their distinctions by examining how they are operationalised within three contrasting frameworks: the Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA) in the United States, quality assurance systems within the European Higher Education Area (EHEA), and the Association for Dental Education in Europe (ADEE) LEADER Programme. Considered together, these approaches highlight differing, yet complementary, interpretations of quality in dental education. It is expected that clarifying these distinctions will support more precise use of terminology and more productive international and multi-stakeholder dialogue. The paper provides a common ‘Quality Framework’ which will support a unified approach to quality across organisations, whilst respecting the various processes employed across the sector.
As an affiliate member of ADEE, FDT members can access the article for free after creating an account on the ADEE website and it takes less than two minutes.