Assoc. Editor
C D A J O U R N A L , V O L 4 9 , Nº 6
Start at the Beginning Brian Shue, DDS, CDE
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tudents face many ethical dilemmas while in dental school. In a national survey, the ethics educators at each school were asked to list these concerns. Out of the 49 responses received, the most common ethical matter was cheating on written tests (mentioned 25 times), followed by pressure for clinical productivity/ requirements (14), a wide range of differing treatment plans from clinical faculty (eight) and a lack of civility and/or professionalism (eight). Other responses included one-time licensure exams, respect for patients, quality of students, substance abuse and educational debt.1 Today’s promising dental students must have strong ethical values to ensure the success of our profession in the future. It’s clear they know their professional duty. In 2020, the American Dental Education Association (ADEA) asked dental school seniors for their opinion on this statement: “I understand the ethical and professional values that are expected of the profession.” An overwhelming 98% either strongly agreed or agreed (total of 2,427) and only 42 strongly disagreed or disagreed.2 Although that is reassuring, understanding expectations can be quite different than doing the right thing. Dental schools are required to teach ethics. An ADEA survey of dental students in 2017 found “seniors’ perceptions of time devoted to ethics education” were seen as: appropriate 85.8%, excessive 11.1% and inadequate 2.7% (4,809 responses). The statistics were about the same for 2016 and 2015. So not all students look at
It is necessary to strengthen ethics right from the beginning. And ethics need to be present in the first place. There are students who want to do the right thing. the subject of ethics the same way. Providing a mandatory course to an ethically challenged individual doesn’t necessarily change that person’s actions or even moral character. It is necessary to strengthen ethics right from the beginning. And ethics need to be present in the first place. There are students who want to do the right thing. Those are the students who need to be encouraged to continue to make the right decisions, beyond didactic courses, in their future decision-making. In 2007, several dental students and a dental hygiene student from the Herman Ostrow School of Dentistry at USC had that exact thought. They independently went to their ethics professor, Alvin Rosenblum, DDS, to express their concerns. As a result, the students created a studentcentered organization to develop professionalism, with Dr. Rosenblum acting as an advisor. It did not replace the judicial functions of the school’s existing ethics committee. More than 100 students, faculty and staff attended the club’s first event. They also created a startup kit for other dental students across the country to establish similar clubs. This developed into the nationwide Professionalism and Ethics Association
in Dentistry (SPEA). Its mission is to “promote and support students’ lifelong commitment to ethical behavior in order to benefit the patients they serve and to further the dental profession.” SPEA’s objective is to “act as a support system for students in strengthening their personal and professional ethics values.” It aims to meet its mission by providing resources. It allows for ethics communication and promotes awareness of ethics. It also aims to collaborate with dental leadership. All dental students are invited to join; no membership dues are required. The organization now has 35 active chapters and 568 members across the United States and Canada. SPEA will hold its eleventh annual session this fall. It’s a “weekend of personal development, distinguished guest speakers, professionalism and ethics workshops as well as collaborating and connecting with fellow passionate SPEA members across the country,” according to its website at speadental. org. National SPEA Executive Chair Becca Long (USC class of 2022) said SPEA’s biggest accomplishment this year was a collaboration with the American College of Dentists to create a master list of SPEA chapters, student representatives and ACD mentor contacts for its website. JUNE 2 0 2 1
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