Entrustment in Dental Education
摘要
The fast-changing (oral) healthcare landscape highlights the need for (future) professionals to adapt to constant change and increasing complexity. It emphasizes the importance of flexible, critical thinking skills and integrated competencies. In dental education, these rapid developments and the need for collaboration have led to a shift towards competency-based medical education (CBME) and the use of Entrustable Professional Activities (EPAs) to shape and implement CBME in practice. This chapter focuses on Entrustable Professional Activities (EPAs) as a means to guide students in becoming professionals who are trusted to navigate the evolving oral healthcare context. It begins with an overview of CBME and the CanMEDS framework, followed by an explanation of the relationship between competencies and EPAs. Then, it delves into workplace-based learning and assessment, emphasizing the integration of EPAs in these processes. Key sections of the chapter cover the fundamentals of working with EPAs, including decision-making, supervision levels, competence growth, and factors influencing entrustment decisions. The chapter also examines the implementation of EPAs in dental education worldwide, highlighting known developments and future directions. A considerable section is dedicated to the use of EPAs in the Dutch dental curriculum at Nijmegen, detailing the Dental and Dental Hygienist curricula, the Student-Run Dental Clinic, and the practical use of EPAs, including digital portfolios and entrustment. The chapter concludes with insights into the collaboration within the Dutch dental education community on working with EPAs.