What competencies does an orthodontic postgraduate need?

Competency frameworks are used to guide professional education and assessment. An orthodontic graduate needs various competencies. This study aimed to determine competencies and create a basic competency framework for orthodontic graduates.

This descriptive cross-sectional study used the Delphi method. A comprehensive literature review was conducted in the ISI, Scopus, PubMed, Eric, and Google Scholar; the orthodontic curriculum in Iran; and the available orthodontic curricula. The sub-competencies and learning objectives necessary for an orthodontic graduate were extracted. The list of competencies was designed as an electronic questionnaire as the first round of Delphi. Fifty-two orthodontic specialists (university staff) were asked to determine the degree of necessity of competencies for an orthodontic graduate using a five-point Likert scale. In the second round, nine competencies were transferred from the first round of Delphi, and four competencies were extracted from the experts' opinions and were included in the questionnaire.

A total of 85 articles and 4 curricula were reviewed and 77 competencies were identified in 11 domains. In the first round of the Delphi, 68 competencies were accepted, for a quota of 70%, and nine were transferred to the second round of the Delphi. At this round, most of the competencies in the field of “data collection and recording”, “treatment procedures”, “patient-centered treatment”, “dental knowledge, “clinical reasoning and moral judgment”, “communication skills”, “Health Promotion”, “Attitude, legal responsibilities and ethical issues (professionalism)”, “information management”, and “Self-development” through participation were accepted. Finally, the domain of competence “the dentist's role in the health system” was removed, and ten domains (73 competencies) were accepted.

The competencies identified in this study can be used in designing competency-based curricula, education, and assessment in post-graduate orthodontic programs.