SPEA: Celebrating a Decade of Growth

Student Professionalism and Ethics Association

Celebrating a Decade of Growth

By: Aileen Jong, Immediate Past Executive Chair of National SPEA

The last year has been a period of great growth and resource development for the Student Professionalism and Ethics Association in Dentistry (SPEA). As a national student-driven association, SPEA’s mission is to promote and support students’ lifelong commitment to ethical behavior in order to benefi t the patients they serve and to further the dental profession. By fostering a safe, open environment for discussions about ethical challenges, SPEA helps prepare dental students to face these important decisions both in school and the real world. In partnership with the American College of Dentists, SPEA has further advanced these values in over thirty-fi ve established chapters in the United States and Canada. The national executive board has worked diligently over the past year to create quality content and provide more resources for local chapters. These resources include a new chapter start-up kit, Meetingsin-a-Box documents, example cases and discussion questions, and videos focused on fundraising and membership and Chapter development. All of these are hosted on the national SPEA website at www. speadental.org, which was revamped at the start of 2020. Through the new website, members are able to gain a better understanding of how to start a new Chapter, bolster their membership and engagement, as well as brainstorm creative event ideas for their local community. In a time where everything is heavily virtual, SPEA’s strengthened online presence has proved integral in continuing the momentum of chapter growth nationally. Most importantly, SPEA celebrated its 10th anniversary this October and conducted its fi rst ever virtual Annual Session. Despite the unique challenges a virtual conference posed, our team of dedicated offi cers was able to create a successful and enriching online experience. The conference was held throughout October and content was available for the duration of the month so students could view videos and gain CE credit at their own pace. This format allowed SPEA to reach an even wider audience. Virtual Annual Session featured incredible guest speakers Dr. Jessica Metcalfe, Dr. Jason Watts, and SPEA Directors Dr. Erik Klintmalm and Dr. Mike Meru. Dr. Metcalfe hosted a recorded webinar called “The Impostor Phenomenon,” sharing with attendees how to recognize its causes and effects, as well as ways to navigate and overcome feelings of inadequacy. In a candid interview, Dr. Watts discussed graduating and practicing in the era of COVID-19 and delved into the defi nitions of leadership and success. In the presentation “Connection Before

SPEA National Director Mike Meru signs affi liation agreement between SPEA and ACD.

Cavities,” Dr. Klintmalm focused on the foundation of healthcare and thoroughly examined the doctorpatient relationship. Dr. Meru’s video “Finding Your Why In Dentistry” discussed important topics such as recognizing motivations, goal setting, strengthening mental health, ethics in the real world, and much more. In addition to these guest speakers, a compilation video was created called “SPEA Pearls: Transitioning from Dental School.” This hour-long video featured short clips from young dentists and residents who are the “crème of the crop” - top academic performers, national leaders, and clinicians. SPEA sincerely appreciates everyone’s contributions to making Virtual Annual Session a success! Beyond the creation of these valuable videos, each Regent hosted a live breakout session with local chapter leaders to encourage dialogue and communication during Annual Session. These breakouts were great opportunities for members to connect and have a direct conversation about anything they might need help with locally. We also debuted our podcast, SPEA Speaks, where dental students bring a voice to ethics in dentistry. The fi rst episode was a thoughtful discussion between national student leaders on the challenges COVID-19 has posed to dental schools across the

SPEA national board members make progress on their annual session plans through Zoom.

2020-2021 National SPEA Board 2020-2021 National SPEA Board

Immediate Past Executive Chair: Aileen Jong, UAB 2021Immediate Past Executive Chair: Aileen Jong, UAB 2021 Executive Chair: Becca Long, USC 2022Executive Chair: Becca Long, USC 2022 Vice Chair: Bree Buchman, Roseman 2022Vice Chair: Bree Buchman, Roseman 2022 Vice Chair: Chelsea Kang, Dental College of Georgia 2022Vice Chair: Chelsea Kang, Dental College of Georgia 2022 Chief Information Offi cer: Jessica Bishop, Roseman 2022Chief Information Offi cer: Jessica Bishop, Roseman 2022 Assistant CIO: Sarina Taylor, USC 2023Assistant CIO: Sarina Taylor, USC 2023 Regent 1: Annce Kadri, Boston 2022Regent 1: Annce Kadri, Boston 2022 Regent 2: Caitlin Loo, Western 2022Regent 2: Caitlin Loo, Western 2022 Regent 3: Sarah Vossers, ECU 2022 Regent 3: Sarah Vossers, ECU 2022 Regent 4: Tim Nye, Indiana 2022 Regent 4: Tim Nye, Indiana 2022 Regent 5: Kjeld Nelson, Colorado 2024 Regent 5: Kjeld Nelson, Colorado 2024 Regent 6: Keriann Jimenez, UAB 2022 Regent 6: Keriann Jimenez, UAB 2022 Regent 7: Alyssa Coulter, UCSF 2022 Regent 7: Alyssa Coulter, UCSF 2022

country. Each year, SPEA also takes the opportunity to celebrate our Chapters’ successes and achievements through Chapter Awards. Congratulations to all SPEA Chapters for their incredible work over the past year! At the conclusion of this year’s Annual Session, new leaders were elected for the upcoming year. The motivated group has already held their fi rst offi cer Zoom meeting and we look forward to a fantastic year ahead. SPEA continues to grow and is an increasingly positive infl uence for the future of dentistry. Our experiences would not be possible without the continued support of the ACD for which we are immensely grateful. From mentoring students to attending SPEA meetings, ACD members have invested their time to help SPEA develop into a strong national student leadership organization. We look forward to sustaining our momentum and to what the future holds for the SPEA and ACD collaboration.