Breaking Down Professional Silos: Librarian Contributions to the Development of a School of Dentistry Grand Rounds Curriculum

Background: In May of 2019 the Dean of the School of Dentistry charged curriculum members to develop D1 through D4 courses that integrate basic sciences, clinical sciences, and behavioral sciences principles and enhance clinical reasoning and critical thinking skills. The program was implemented January 2021. Research indicates that interprofessional team-based experiences enhance dental education. Faculty model and provide students with crucial knowledge, skills, and values to work across professional silos throughout training and professional life. Vertical Education Teams, comprised of first-, second-, third-, and fourth-year dental student members, collaborate to present challenging clinical case presentations in a Grand Rounds setting.

Description: Course creators and mentors were interprofessional faculty team members including a basic scientist, behavioral scientist, librarian, and clinical dentists. Faculty guided vertical teams in applying critical thinking, evidence-based dentistry, and patient-centered care. The faculty advisory role of the librarian focused on assisting in the development of the evidence-based curriculum rubric, educating students about the creation of an answerable question (PICO), providing information-seeking assistance, and offering guidance in literature assessment in regards to the Hierarchy of Evidence Pyramid. The student presentation involves a treatment controversy, ethical conundrum, or situation derived from a case in the third- or fourth-year patient pool. To assess the effectiveness of the program, teams are evaluated on five areas of performance. Students may volunteer to anonymously answer ten to fifteen Likert scale, IRB approved questions that correspond to the learning objectives.

Conclusion: The measurable outcomes for the Grand Rounds curriculum are built around a rubric of five criteria of performance: Presentation quality, critical thinking, behavioral sciences, basic sciences, and evidence-based dentistry. Each criteria has clearly defined expectations that can be evaluated as: 3-Exceptional, 2-Acceptable, or 0-Needs Improvement. As team leaders, D-4 students must complete an independent high stakes written exam at the end of the semester that includes the explicit discussion of the meaning, importance, and application of critical thinking as it relates to Grand Rounds. An IRB approved survey allows students to voluntarily evaluate the program. The resulting data will be used to assess the Grand Rounds program and make improvements as needed,