This year, the Faculty of Dentistry celebrates its 100th graduating class. Throughout May, we'll be running a series of articles on the faculty's lasting legacy. For more on the centennial, visit daldentistry100.ca.
Among the Faculty of Dentistry’s 100th graduating class will be nine students in the doctor of dental surgery qualifying program — Canadian citizens or permanent residents who graduated from a non-accredited dentistry program in another country, and returned to school to upgrade their credentials so they can work in North America.
Noorein Hajira is one such student. She’s originally from India and holds a bachelor of dental surgery from the Bangalore Institute of Dental Sciences. She became a permanent resident in 2009.
Ms. Hajira was enrolled in a master’s in community health and epidemiology at Dalhousie’s Faculty of Medicine when she decided to apply for the qualifying program.
“My original plan was to go back to India,” she says. “[But my advisor] said, ‘We need good people here and it’d be really nice if you explored your options in dentistry. Maybe you could have a dual degree.’ I was fortunate enough to be accepted here.”
After graduation, Ms. Hajira will be eligible for license to practice dentistry in Canada, the U.S. or Australia.
Ensuring a standard across Canada
There are 10 dental schools in Canada. Dalhousie’s Faculty of Dentistry is one of six that offers the qualifying program and was one of the first to adopt it. The 24-month program was launched in 1998 and graduated its first class in 2000. Up to nine students are accepted each year.
All qualifying programs in Canada are accredited by the Commission of Dental Accreditation of Canada. The commission ensures graduates meet a minimum standard of skill and knowledge.
“The accreditation system requires that [the program] doesn’t vary a whole lot [from others in Canada]. There’s a significant emphasis on clinical activity here, versus other programs that are…more research inclined,” says Dr. Ronald Bannerman, the faculty’s assistant dean of academic affairs. “We’ve had excellent clinicians here….so our evolution has been along [that] stream…and we’re pretty happy that it did evolve that way.”
Ms. Hajira says the qualifying program allows foreign-trained dentists to experience treating the Canadian population and exposes them to advancements in dentistry.
“People from various countries are very knowledgeable. It’s just that when we come together here, [the faculty] make sure we’re all at the same level when we get out of here – the same level that a Canadian dentist would be in terms of skills [and] in terms of knowledge,” she says.
Maintaining excellence
Graduates of the qualifying program report little or no difficulty finding jobs, Dr. Bannerman says. The faculty hears three recurring comments from grads: they’re grateful for the treatment they received in the program, the knowledge they gained in addition to what they started with and the clinical experience they got from Dalhousie.
“Our qualifying program colleagues and friends bring elements of their own culture to our students. Our students interact with them…and tend to become rather amorphous and, I think, therefore more tolerant of other people, since they’ve literally lived with them through thick and thin for a period of time,” he adds.
Ms. Hajira couldn’t agree more.
“Dal has been my home in Canada ever since I came to Canada,” she says. “I really love the people…and when I applied to dentistry they were very supportive and welcoming. I just fell in love with Dal and I’ve had a great experience.”
In addition to maintaining excellence in the qualifying program, the Faculty of Dentistry has several other goals for the future as it approaches its centennial anniversary.
Dr. Bannerman says the faculty plans to expand clinical outreach in Metro Halifax and in Labrador and increase activity in inter-professional health education. The faculty also plans to launch a residency in general dental practice in about a year.
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