Many years ago, I got in some trouble and difficulty with a small group of dentists because I wrote a blog called the MSc Myth.
At that stage, I was calling out the value and necessity of some MSc’s in implant dentistry and the way that they were sold to potential delegates.
I have watched science education for a long while through various different lenses and my daughter is in her final year of biochemistry at the University of Birmingham so, looking at what an MSc is didn't really compute when I saw what an MSc was being said that it was in dental terms and in particular, in implant dentistry.
At its very heart, an MSc (even a clinical MSc) is a research qualification that demonstrates a commitment and understanding of clinical research.
It’s an absolutely fabulous and top-drawer qualification and something which underpins and reinforces someone's commitment to deeper knowledge in the subject in which they're interested in and committed to.
In general terms, though, it does not make people into a competent, straightforward or advanced implant dentist and does not eject them at the other side of three years and thousands and thousands of pounds with the ability to start taking referrals and building a big referral implant practice, which is what many people thought or hoped it would do.
And so, it's interesting to see how that landscape has developed over time and how it seems the perceived value of the MSc amongst the dental community has now reduced as we head towards the death of the specialist and the rise of the new multi-talented generalist, which surely has to be the future of implant dentistry and in fact, dentistry in general.
With that in mind, though, I've been in contact over the last couple of years with Shammi Rouf, a young guy who is doing an excellent MSc and studying the value of MSc qualifications.
He's put together a questionnaire as part of his project which would give more objective information on what people think about masters and how they benefit people or otherwise.
So, if you're interested in this topic at all, and you'd like to help out someone who's trying to do a really good thing, then the link for the questionnaire is here, and Shammi would be really, really grateful if you would fill it in.
It then gives us all the opportunity to look at things not through the eyes of someone who's prejudiced (perhaps that's me) but with a little bit more objectivity about how we might advise and design education for the future for the patients who receive what we have to offer which, in the end, should really be where we're focused.
Blog Post Number - 3344
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