The staff of the Zagreb School of Dentistry firmly believes that dental medicine is a differentiated profession which have been crossed over the frames of mere dentistry long time age. The guidelines in education and practice should be based on the need of training a doctor of dental medicine to deal with the prevention, diagnosis, treatment and follow-up of the diseases of stomatognathic system and perioral regions. This statement is beyond any dispute and can be realised in future by enforcement of an independent school of dentistry within the frames of a university, with appropriate corrections of the curriculum and possibilities of introducing new subjects, according to the curricula of European Community countries
and other developed countries of the globe, especially United States of America and United Kingdom.Na Stomatološkom fakultetu u Zagrebu postoji čvrsto uvjerenje svih nastavnika kako je stomatologija samostalna zdravstvena struka, koja je davno prešla okvire zubarstva te se u edukaciji treba rukovoditi pretpostavkama kako stvaramo liječnika - doktora stomatologije koji se bavi preventivom, dijagnostikom, liječenjem i
praćenjem bolesti stomatognatoga sustava, oralne i perioralnih regija.
Takvo stajalište može se u budućnosti osigurati samo jačanjem Stomatološkoga fakulteta kao samostalne sveučilišne ustanove u 
svim dijelovima njegove djelatnosti. Autori prikazuju povijesni razvoj i nastavni program Stomatološkoga fakulteta u Zagrebu, uspoređujući ga s programima fakulteta nekih europskih zemalja. Plan, program i trajanje studija stomatologije na Sveučilištu u Zagrebu vrlo su slični onima u drugim europskim zemljama. Autori vide budućnost Stomatološkoga fakulteta u sadašnjoj koncepciji i okvirima, uz odgovarajuće korekcije nastavnoga plana i programa, koje znače ravnomjerniji raspored nastave, otvaraju pitanje uvođenja nekih novih programskih sadržaja i pitanje trajanja studija, a sve u namjeri približavanja promjenama u okvirima Europske zajednice i drugim razvijenim zemljama svijeta, po sebice Sjedinjenih Američkih Država i Velike Britanije

Goran Knežević

Pavel Kobler

English

Hrčak - Portal of scientific journals of Croatia

Adjustment of the Zagreb University School of Dentistry Curriculum to the Corresponding Curricula in the European CountriesDepartment of Oral Surgery, Zagreb University School of DentistryPavel KoblerGoran KneževićUsporedba nastavnog plana na Stomatološkom fakultetu Sveučilišta u Zagrebu s odgovarajućim planovima u europskim zemljamaSummaryThe staff o f the Zagreb School o f Dentistry firmly believes that dental medicine is a differentiated profession which have been cros­sed over the frames o f mere dentistry long time age. The guidelines in education and practice should be based on the need o f training a doctor o f dental medicine to deal with the prevention, diagnosis, treatment and follow-up o f the diseases o f stomatognathic system and perioral regions. This statement is beyond any dispute and can be realised in future by enforcement o f an independent school o f dentistry within the frames o f a university, with appropriate correc­tions o f the curriculum and possibilities o f introducing new su­bjects, according to the curricula o f European Community coun­tries and other developed countries o f the globe, especially United States o f America and United Kingdom.Key words: educational plans, Zagreb, EuropeActa Stomatol. Croat. 1992; 26: 285-288REVIEWReceived: 5 December 1992Members of the Zagreb School of Dentistry firmly believe that dental medicine is a differen­tiated medical profession.We actually used to repeat this opinion of ours in the past, and still do it nowadays, consi­dering it an appropriate frame for future deve­lopments of the Croatian dental medicine, both in education and in practice, that is, in all seg­ments of providing and acquiring knowledge and of providing dental health care. Quite natu­rally, many principles of the educational pro­cess in dental medicine are similar to those in medicine proper. There are, however, many differences and specificities that ensure futureActa Stomatol. Croat., Vol. 26, br. 4, 1992.development of dental medicine as an indepen­dent profession, leaving no doubt about such a concept indeed.Indisputably, the frames of mere dentistry had been crossed over a long time ago. There­fore, guidelines in both education and practice should be based on the need of training a physi­cian -  doctor of dental medicine to deal with prevention, diagnosis, treatment and follow-up of the diseases of the stomatognathic system, and oral and perioral regions, which will re­quire good knowledge of the basic biological sciences and general medicine subjects directed, however, toward the basic profession of dental285A S CP. Kobler i G. Knežević Curriculum of the Zagreb University School of Dentistrymedicine. Accordingly, the need of an indepen­dent school of dental medicine, within the fra­me of a university, appears to be absolutely beyond any dispute, not only because of the specific profession reality, but also to allow education of other health workers included in dental health care and to cover the needs of postgraduate, specialist and continuous educa­tion.Similar considerations were also repeated at the congresses of the Association for Dental Education in Europe held in Madrid (1,2) in 1988, and in Budapest (3) in 1990, partially cor­responding to the »Malmö model« proposing a new type of the school of dental medicine with integrated education of all dental care workers to be introduced.The advent of the sovereign and independent states in the region of the former Yugoslavia has raised the question of adjustment of the curricula of the schools of dentistry and medical schools from these countries with the corre­sponding curricula in the countries of the Euro­pean Community, which Croatia will probably also join as a member country in the future.In 1986, the European Community Commis­sion passed an act on the minimal conditions re­quired for mutual recognition of degrees, certi­ficates and other evidence of formal qualificä- tions by the member countries, based on speci­fic training in general medicine, also referring to the adjustment of educational plans and cur­ricula, general medicine intern and resident plans and programs, etc., all this aimed at free transfer of medical personnel (4). Commissions of the Croatian Ministry of Health designing the new Act on Health Care and other sublegal regulations take the above facts into account. We are inclined to believe that similar adjust­ments should also be done in dental medicine.The history of the School of Dentistry in Za­greb can roughly be delineated by some events that have occurred between 1922 and 1992. Se­venty years ago, to be more precise, on January 20, 1922, the teaching activities in dental medi­cine began to develop shily within the Zagreb School of Medicine. On that day, the first part- -time assistant professor of Dental Medicine and Dentistry was appointed.The need of a specialized physician, then al­ready recognized by other European countries, resulted in the establishment of the Division of Odontology at the Zagreb School of Medicinein 1948, whereas in 1962 the School of Dentistry was founded as an independent institution of the University of Zagreb.The events occurring during the immediate post-war period in Croatia resulted in unani­mous recognition of the Republic of Croatia as an independent and sovereign country by the European and many other countries from the whole world on January 15, 1992.With the adoption of the Republic of Croatia in the United Nations on May 22, 1992, all con­ditions for undisturbed democratic and civiliza- tional development expected to bring advances in our dental medicine and approach it to the European professional endeavors, have thus been met. The extent to which the Zagreb Uni­versity School of Dentistry has approached the European curricula for the study of dental me­dicine can be assessed from the following data.Comparison of data for Croatia and some other European countries has revealed the number of schools of dental medicine and num­ber of students per population to be approxima­tely identical in all the countries observed. In Croatia, per approximately 5 million inhabi­tants, there is one independent School of Den­tistry in Zagreb and one Department of Den­tistry at the School of Medicine in Rijeka, ad­mitting a considerably lower number of stu­dents.Data for some European countries are appro­ximately similar. As to our knowledge, in these countries, the number of students is on a de­crease, with the number of schools unchanged, increasing the quality of education, and suppor­ting the hypotheses on changes in population pathology and personnel saturation, also sugge­sting the need of changes in educational plans and curricula (5).During the last 10 years, 1116 students havegraduated from the Zagreb School of Dentistry. This number also refers to students from pre­vious generationsl Data on the so-called pure generation show a difference between the num­ber of those enrolled and the number of gradu­ated students during a 5-year period of time, revealing about 50% of admitted students to graduate in term bn an average.Data on the number of students enrolled in several academic years show that the number of those enrolled did not decrease, as it was recor­ded at schools from the comparative countries (Table 1). On the contrary, this year the num­ber of those enrolled in the first year of study286 A S C Acta Stomatol. Croat., Vol. 26, br. 4, 1992.P. Kobler i G. Knežević Curriculum of the Zagreb University School of DentistryTable 1. School o f dentistry Zagreb -  admitted students per yearTablica 1. Stomatološki fakultet u Zagrebu -  godišnji upis studenataYear Domestic Foreign Total1981/82 121 23 1441985/86 99 40 1301990/91 99 + 40 2 1411991/92 137 + 35 0 172increased (172), which resulted from the war si­tuation in Croatia and in Bosnia and Hercegovi­na, and from the overall political situation in the former Yugoslavia. As the Albanians have recently been deprived of the study of dentistry in the Province of Kosovo, and many Croats have fled Bosnia and Hercegovina, in addition to the war situation in Croatia, this academic year the entrance exam procedure had to be organized on four occasions, so that the number of those enrolled in the first year is beyond all School capacities indeed. All this, together with the increased interest in the study of dental me­dicine, the possibilities of private practice in dentistry, and the fact that over the past 10 years only the Zagreb School of Dentistry redu­ced the number of those enrolled as compared to the previous decade, whereas in other parts of the former Yugoslavia this number was on an increase, has led to the present state which is, we believe, only temporary indeed. For the sa­me reasons, enrollment of a certain number of students paying for the study was allowed (in 1990/91 -  40 students, and in 1991/92 -  35 stu­dents). At the same time, the interest of foreign nationals for the study of dentistry in Croatia has completely vanished, which is also quite understandable.At our School of Dental Medicine, the study takes 5 years or 10 semesters. It is completed with a graduation thesis. Duration of the study corresponds to the duration of the studies in comparative countries. Upon the completion of the study, a diploma with the title »doctor of dental medicine« is obtained. (Table 2).Table 2. Duration o f study in some european countries Tablica 2. Trajanje studija u nekim europskim zemljamaGermany 5 years France 5 years + thesisBelgium 5 years Slovenia 6 yearsDenmark 5 years Austria 5 + 3 yearsHungary 5 years Croatia 5 years + thesisActa Stomatol. Croat., Vol. 26, br. 4, 1992.Enrollment conditions are generally similar to those required in other European countries. The number of those enrolled is limited (nume- rus clausus). The entrance procedure consisting of the evaluation of the high school marks in biology, chemistry and physics, high school final exam mark, exams in the above listed subjects (bringing the greatest number of points) and a test of psychomotor capacities, under the supervision of the staff from the De­partment of Industrial Psychology, Zagreb Uni­versity School of Arts, at least in part prevents untalented persons to enroll in the School of Dentistry (Table 3).The teaching activities consist of three parts: 33.3% of them refer to basic sciences, perfor­med at various institutes of the School of Medi-Table 3. Conditions o f admission Tablica 3. Uvjeti upisaSecondary school Graduation Entrance exam Psychomotoric exam80 points 180 points Total 296 points36 pointscine, specially directed toward dental medicine as profession and science. Then, 22.3% refer to clinical education in subjects related to general medicine, performed by our faculty members at the Clinical Hospital of the School of Dentistry, also allowing specific focusing on dentistry as profession. Dental medicine subjects are repre­sented with 44.3%, 77% of it referring to exer­cises in dental medicine and the rest to lectures and pre-clinical dental medicine exercises. The total time-table is 4500 and is somewhat lower than the timetable of the respective schools in some European countries.From this academic year, exercises in dental medicine clinical subjects are performed in groups of 6 students, which results in the school working hours from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. every day, even on Saturdays when lectures are held in the morning.In conclusion, we believe that the future of the Zagreb University School of Dentistry lies in the present concept and frames, with appro­priate corrections when and where needed.Our intention is to reduce the number of students in the first year to 90, and at the same time to ask from the government to pay us287A S CP. Kobler i G. Knežević Curriculum of the Zagreb University School of Dentistryaccording to the curriculum and not according to the number of students, as has been to date.Educational plans during the first five seme­sters should be changed in order to distribute the burden more evenly to all years of the stu­dy, thus adjusting them to the current curricu­lum, especially in the fields of biochemistry as well as in the relationship and course of training in biology, chemistry, physics, biochemistry and physiology.When changing curriculum, care should be taken about the possibilities of introducing new subjects, such as immunology, gnathology, ma­terials in dental medicine, implantology, per­haps also orofacial genetics or gerontology indental medicine. This can partially be achieved by redistribution of the existing time-table and possible prolongation of the study by an addi­tional semester consisting exclusively of practi­cal work in dental medicine clinical courses of lectures. This additional semester could be in­cluded in the internship preceding the state fi­nals required for the licence for work in either state institutions of private practice.In search for a new model, however, we should not stay confined within the European model boundaries, but make use of all positive sides of the study curricula of other countries from other parts of the globe, especially from the United States of America an United Kingdom.SažetakNa Stomatološkom fakultetu u Zagrebu postoji čvrsto uvjere­nje svih nastavnika kako je stomatologija samostalna zdravstvena struka, koja je davno prešla okvire zubarstva te se u edukaciji treba rukovoditi pretpostavkama kako stvaramo liječnika -  doktora sto­matologije koji se bavi preventivom, dijagnostikom, liječenjem i praćenjem bolesti stomatognatoga sustava, oralne i perioralnih re­gija. Takvo stajalište može se u budućnosti osigurati samo jačanjem Stomatološkoga fakulteta kao samosttalne sveučilišne ustanove u svim dijelovima njegove djelatnosti. Autori prikazuju povijesni razvoj i nastavni program Stomatološkoga fakulteta u Zagrebu, uspoređujući ga s programima fakulteta nekih europskih zemalja. Plan, program i trajanje studija stomatologije na Sveučilištu u Za­grebu vrlo su slični onima u drugim europskim zemljama.Autori vide budućnost Stomatološkoga fakulteta u sadašnjoj koncepciji i okvirima, uz odgovarajuće korekcije nastavnoga pla­na i programa, koje znače ravnomjerniji raspored nastave, otvara­ju pitanje uvođenja nekih novih programskih sadržaja i pitanje tra­janja studija, a sve u namjeri približavanja promjenama u okviri­ma Europske zajednice i drugim razvijenim zemljama svijeta, po­sebice Sjedinjenih Američkih Država i Velike Britanije.Ključne riječi: nastavni planovi, Zagreb, EuropaAddress for correspondence: Adresa za korespondenciju:Dr. Goran Knežević Department of Oral Surgery School of Dentistry Salata 641000 Zagreb, CroatiaReferences1. ALLEN D. A Perspective of Dental Education in Twenty-First Century. Proceedings of the Fourteenth Meeting of he Association for Dental Education in Eu­rope, Madrid, 1988; 93-97.2. ALLRED H. A Wider Perspective of Dental Practice and Education in 21st Century. Proceedings of the Fourteenth Meeting of the Association for Dental Education in Europe, Madrid, 1988; 73-78.2883. CHRISTIANSEN R. L. Changes in Dental Education in the USA. Abstracts of 16th Meeting of the Associ­ation for Dental Education in Europe, Budapest, 1990 (Abstract 9).4. WHITEHOUSE N. Freedom of movement in the Eu­ropean Community, Internat. Dent. J. 1991; 40:237- -241.5. BÄNÖCZY J. The evolution of dental education -  a European perspective, Personal communication, 1992.Acta Stomatol. Croat., Vol. 26, br. 4, 1992.A S C

Usporedba nastavnog plana na Stomatološkom fakultetu Sveučilišta u Zagrebu s odgovarajućim planovima u europskim zemljama

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

Hrčak - Portal of scientific journals of Croatia

HRČAK - Portal of Croatian Scientific and Professional Journals