 Belenky Delivers Inspiring Message
Dr. Michael Belenky, director of Global Maryland/International Programs, was recruited to lead a team of faculty charged with selecting equipment for the new dental clinic scheduled to open in September 2008. During the February 11 Faculty Assembly meeting, Dr. Belenky delivered the following visionary statement on what promises to be an innovative system of delivering quality patient care. A New Horizon for Dental Education: Outreach to the Future The dental clinic now under construction at Union Hospital’s Principio Health Center in Perryville, Md., is not just a satellite facility of a dental school determined to meet the unmet oral health needs of the underserved. It will be much more. It will be an example of the Dental School’s commitment to a future in both education and practice unlike that of the past. It will be a product of those who know that change is a global constant, those who seek the infinity of opportunity, those who think “outside the box,” those who are not constrained by an inflexible bias for the past, and those who wish to change the course of dental education and practice through ever-changing scientific and technologic advances that are verified in patient care that reflects all that might be, all that could be, and all that should be. What will transpire in the next 8 months will be the evolution of clinic that may be an extension of this Dental School in source, but will be dramatically unlike the Dental School in fact. It will not be “business as usual.” It will be a model of private dental practice that genuinely invites and welcomes patients to an environment absent traditional institutional attributes, that matches or exceeds contemporary practice standards, that features the most advanced equipment and materials, and delivers the highest quality of comprehensive dental care to its clientele. Its operatories will be platforms of investigation and progress for the continuous transformation of the art and science of dentistry, while faculty, residents, and students provide optimal care to the many in the community whose oral health needs remain unmet, particularly pediatric and geriatric patients. What we learn along this path to the future can benefit both academia and the practice community. For students and faculty of the Dental School, as well as volunteer practitioners from the community, the Cecil County clinic will offer a work setting and a care delivery process that is driven by a curriculum that prepares them in advance for transition from the “modus operandi” of the Dental School to this real-world alternative in patient-centered care. It begins with: The quality of patient reception in an inviting and relaxing waiting area to allay pre-treatment anxiety and apprehension Followed by preliminary staff preparation, operatory organization, and the support of dedicated chairside dental assistants who will permit practitioners to begin and complete treatment efficiently, effectively, with the least expenditure of time and effort.
Consideration of human-centered ergonomics in the design of the work setting and its features will promote and maintain occupational health among all members of the oral health team. For the patients of the clinic, they will be accorded the dignity, respect, and understanding expected and received by patients who come to a private clinic, irrespective of social and economic status. They will come to a clinic like those that set the standard in the private-practice sector, they will know and appreciate quality comprehensive care, and they will depart the clinic knowing that we care about their oral health and are committed to their well-being. Most of all, each patient will never feel like just another number in a production line of dentistry. In the coming days and weeks, many will be consulted by a committee of the faculty for ideas as to develop the standards for this new clinic, if it is to have the “right stuff” for a new generation of treatment settings for dental education and moreover, serve as a model for the private practice of the 21st Century. Those consulted will be asked to move beyond their experiences of the past, and to ask what might be, what could be, and what should be if we are to take this opportunity to set a new course for the future and make a difference in the lives of the patients we serve, the students we prepare for a future in dentistry, and our colleagues of the professional community. |
