(PO-093) Dental Hygiene Department’s Curriculum Format Revisions in Meeting COVID Restrictions
Sunday, March 20, 2022
1:00pm – 3:00pm EST
Location: Hall C
Author: Yerim Cho, Cho, RDH – NYU College of Dentistry Author: Eva M. Lupovici, RDH, MS. – NYU College of Dentistry Submitter: Yerim Cho, Cho, RDH – NYU College of Dentistry
Objectives: To compare curriculum format changes of a dental hygiene department pre and post Covid restrictions of in-person teaching.
Method: The curriculum format of a dental hygiene (DH) program was revised to meet the government imposed Covid restrictions for in person teaching in March 2020, while maintaining CODA Accreditation standards.The Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) evaluative tool was used in the courses. The DH Department is part of a dental school located in an urban setting. Starting mid- semester of spring 2020, the faculty implemented the revised curriculum format. At the conclusion of the 3rd consecutive semester of the revised curriculum, a questionnaire was administered to the faculty. The questionnaire compared curriculum format changes to the 29 lectures, clinic and laboratory courses they taught.
Results: Prior to restrictions, spring 2020 academic semester, of the 16 courses taught, 87.7% were in-person lectures, laboratory and clinical courses, and 12.5% were on-line. One year after inception of curriculum revisions, Covid restrictions continued, and 75% of lectures were on-line, 12.5% in-person, and 12.5% of clinic courses were hybrid. In the 2nd semester of curriculum format revisions, fall 2020, of the 13 courses taught, 60.23% were on-line, 30.77% laboratory and clinic courses were hybrid.
Conclusion: The curriculum of this DH Department was revised to meet Covid restrictions on presenting in-person courses. Prior to imposed restrictions, 87.7% of courses were in-person, as compared to 12.5% after curriculum format revisions were implemented. The OSCE evaluation format was utilized to enhanced the on-line and hybrid clinical and laboratory courses. The curriculum will continue to be reviewed and revised while maintaining excellence in the curriculum and teaching.
