In healthcare, we are always educating, and always learning. Whether it be within a formal educational setting, discussing with colleagues, or educating patients, we are always learning and sharing this learning with others. Much of my experience with education stems from being a learner, which in turn helps to shape who I am as an educator. Over the past year, I have been a clinical instructor within the Faculty of Dentistry at Dalhousie University. Within this role I oversee dental hygiene students in the final year of their program while they provide direct patient care, as well as second year dental students during their introduction to periodontal instrumentation.
Many of the core values I hold as an educator correlates with that of a progressive perspective. This perspective emphasizes problem solving, and critical thinking to equipping learners to be able to apply practical knowledge to solve problems (Melrose et al., 2015). I strive to lead students to be critical, independent and have the ability to self-assess by equipping them with the tools they need to work through differing patient scenarios. I reinforce the why in what we are learning, and encourage the importance of curiosity, and lifelong learning. As a learner, I often struggled to acknowledge what I did correctly, so it is important to me to ensure students are receiving both positive and constructive feedback. There are times that I may not know a specific answer. I stress to students that it is okay to ask for help and assistance, whether it be your instructor, other students, or other faculty in the clinic. We are a team and everyone has an important addition to the team.
After graduation majority of dental hygienists will work in private practice. They will not have an instructor 'checking' their work and holding them accountable as they do while they are in school. I believe it is extremely important for students to learn and value the ability to critically think and self-assess. Before I check students technical scaling skills, I ensure that they have self-checked on their own and revisited any area they had concerns with. When I check and determine an area they have missed, I ensure they can feel & see what I notice. I stress to students that when they get into private practice, they need to be doing these ‘checks’ on their own to ensure they are completing adequate patient care. Even in non-technique sensitive patient skills, I promote students to become critical thinkers. When students ask a question or are struggling with something I often do not tell them the answer. I instead lead them in the correct critically thinking process. This critical thinking from the students does not always provide them with the correct answer and I may have to interject, but it begins to lead them down the path of critical thinking & independence. From experience as a learner, it is much more rewarding and more memorable for students when they can problem solve and resolve a situation or question on their own with minimal assistance.
I strive to instill curiosity and love for the dental field in students. Why we are learning this, why this is important to clinical practice, and why oral health in general is so important. If students understand and value the importance of what they are doing, accept that this isn’t just a task to learn or a test to complete, they will hopefully see the benefit of learning for the sake of being a better clinician. This motivation and eagerness for learning instills the value of learning throughout their entire career. Much of a hygienist's daily routine can be repetitive, but there are constantly different patient concerns to consider, as well as ever evolving best care practices. I emphasize to students that no matter how skilled of a clinician you become there is always more to learn, and room for improvement. We should all strive to be lifelong learners.
As a learner, I often found it frustrating and unrewarding when instructors gave feedback on only things that need to improve, and not things that were done well. When instructing students, I always attempt to phrase things constructively, with some form of compliment. No matter how incorrectly a student has performed, I discuss with them something they did well with. Even if it is as simple as how well they communicated well with their patient, it can change a student’s outlook on the way they accept criticism and their overall outlook on their learning experience.
While I strongly encourage students to be critical independent thinkers, I also stress to them that it is okay to ask for help and assistance. When I encounter a scenario that I am not confident on the correct treatment or correct answer. I demonstrate to the students my critical thinking thought process. If when we work through things together and do not find the correct answer within their or my toolkit of information, I reinforce that it is okay to ask for help. In the dental field, we are a team, it is okay to get second opinions, and okay to admit you’re not comfortable with something. While I do push students to be critical thinkers, I reinforce that there will always be things that are out of their control, and out of their comfort level, and it is okay to admit.
Teaching in healthcare is both rewarding and challenging. We are shaping the new professionals entering our field. We are responsible for teaching them the basic skill of best practice, correct clinical skills, and knowledge. We also need to we need to shape who they are as a clinician. This includes having compassion for patients, always being curiously learning and the immense value of lifelong improvement.
References
Melrose, S., Park, C. & Perry, B. (2015). Chapter two: Where do I fit in? Articulating a personal philosophy. In Creative clinical teaching in the health professions. https://clinicalteaching.pressbooks.com/chapter/chapter-two-where-do-i-fit-in-articulating-a-personal-philosophy/
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