(PO-085) Creating Vertical Education Teams to Lift Understanding Beyond Academic Silos

Author: Pauletta G. Baughman, D.M.D. – Clinical Professor, University of Louisville School of Dentistry
Author: Martha Munoz-Drummond, D.D.S. – Lecturer, University of Louisville School of Dentistry
Author: Gill Diamond, Ph.D. – Professor Department of Oral Immunology and Infectious Diseases, University of Louisville School of Dentistry
Author: Abbie Beacham, Ph.D. – Director of Behavioral Science, University of Louisville School of Dentistry
Author: Vida Vaughn, Ph.D. – Director Kornhauser Health Science Library, University of Louisville School of Dentistry
Submitter: Pauletta G. Baughman, D.M.D. – Clinical Professor, University of Louisville School of Dentistry

Objectives:
1) Examine student perceptions of integration of basic sciences, behavioral sciences, and clinical sciences in peer collaboration with teams including a D1, D2, D3, and D4. Team presentations will be based on a clinical topic of shared interest involving a patient treatment controversy, ethical conundrum, or constellation of patient factors.
2) Assess the discovery of the connection of pre-clinical, behavioral, and basic sciences courses to the clinical years and after graduation.
3) Evaluate a sense of belonging in a dental school setting.

Methods: Students that are part of the class will volunteer to be a part of the project. Students may withdraw from this volunteer project for any or no reason. Before and after the project, the students will be asked to complete an evaluation consisting of Likert scale questions through an anonymous survey using Survey Monkey.

Results; Data collected from our pre and post survey (IRB#20.0529) showed in the pre-survey the average scores for each question was appreciable higher for D1s and then went down with each year – with D4s the lowest. The post-survey showed there were differences in ratings on several items overall by year – but among those who answered the D2 and D3 were lowest ratings and D1 and D4 were highest.

Conclusion: The class demonstrates the importance of integration of the basic, behavioral, and clinical sciences and importance of vertical education teams to nourish a sense of belonging. Further analysis on the application, measurement and assessment will be needed but our long-term plan is to continue this project to prepare students for sound clinical decision-making based on strong scientific evidence. In closing, this will continue to be an ongoing process that requires more research and data to adequately assess and to determine the validity and predictability of this exercise.