Abstract
Purpose: Peer-reviewed professional publications were examined for pertinent information associated with faculty shortages in the dental professions. The review found 6 suggested causes, including inadequate compensation, lack of diversity amongst faculty, inadequate mentoring for new faculty, lack of modeling to prospective dental hygiene educators, little awareness of faculty shortages and lack of institutional support for dental hygiene faculty. The causes and solutions for faculty shortages and recruitment tactics employed by parallel professions were evaluated to determine their applicability to the dental hygiene faculty shortage. There remains a scarcity of information regarding dental hygiene faculty shortages and how dental hygiene programs and institutions should address such shortages.
Footnotes
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Laura Z. Baus, RDH, BS, is currently working in private practice and pursuing an MDH from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center. Elizabeth O. Carr, RDH, BS, is an instructor of Dental Hygiene at The University of Mississippi Medical Center School of Health Related Professions. Rachel S. Ennis, RDH, BA, is currently working in private practice, and pursuing a Master of Dental Hygiene degree at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center.
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This study supports the NDHRA priority area, Professional Education and Development: Evaluate the extent to which current dental hygiene curricula prepare dental hygienists to meet the increasingly complex oral health needs of the public.
- Copyright © 2010 The American Dental Hygienists’ Association
