FOCUS | ISSUE 6 | 2010
A.T. Still University Q&A continued from page 33
Total Applicants Interview Rate: 15% Acceptance rate: 3.5% Matriculations Rate: 2.3%
Hometown Applicants Interview Rate: 80% Acceptance rate: 31% Matriculations Rate: 25%
The high quality of ASDOH’s graduates is in part revealed by their excellent board scores. First-time pass rates for ASDOH classes on the Western Re- gional Examining Board are remarkable: The classes of 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010 had a first-time pass rate of 94 percent, 96 percent, 83 percent and 96 percent, respectively. In the classes of 2008 and 2010, 100 percent passed the clinical portion of the exam on the first try. Moreover, 100 percent of the classes of 2007, 2008 and 2010 passed the WREB within one year.
The high quality of students who attend ASDOH is further exemplified by board examination results: 100 percent of all graduates passed the NBDE (National Board Dental Examination) Part II Exam within one year of graduation in 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010. This is an exceptional outcome which underscores the value of the ASDOH program and its students. We expect the same stellar results from our Missouri students.
7) Will there be a lack of broad clinical experi- ence? How will a student be taught procedures that might require services not rendered at a FQHC/clinic?
The American Dental Association’s Commission on Dental Accreditation requires that students learn and demonstrate skills to clinical competence. The ATSU dental school in Missouri will seek partner- ships and collaborations with a wide variety of entities, including partnering with private practice, in order to ensure varied clinical experiences and demonstrable clinical competence.
8) There is concern that this type of education model will create a direct pipeline for access of more dentists to practice in clinics, creating unfair competition for existing private practices. What would you tell practitioners to allay those fears?
The large majority of FQHC patients are those who have no other viable choices for low-cost, high-quality dental care. Because private practices generally do not offer sliding fee scales based on patient income, low-income patients cannot access services through private practices. The patients who will receive care from our dental students are patients who would never have accessed that care through any other venue. Therefore, patients will not be taken away from private practices. Instead, patients who don’t have the resources to pay private fees will have access to dental care.
9) With the focus on public health, will the students and the graduates be treating the underserved?
The school’s clinical curriculum will be based on the proven model of the Arizona School of Dentistry & Oral Health. Students will spend most of their third
and fourth years of dental school training in FQHCs, thus increasing the number of providers available to treat the underserved, including those covered by MO HealthNet (Medicaid).
The focus on public health is the primary reason that students will train in FQHCs, seeing MO HealthNet and low income patients. While 30 to 50 dental students training in FQHCs will not be able to treat the entire underserved population, we believe that the services our dental students will provide can make a positive impact.
10) Because students receive a large amount of their clinical experience in a FQHC/Clinic, what is the estimate of how many graduates will work in clinics?
The mission of the Arizona School of Dentistry & Oral Health is to educate caring, technologically- adept dentists who become community and educational leaders, serving those in need. To this end, the unique focus of this dental school is to encourage graduates to provide high-quality, em- pathetic care to the underserved. The mission for the Missouri campus will be the same. Twenty-two graduates of the 2010 ASDOH class chose to enter specialty or residency training. Of the remaining 33 graduates, 36 percent chose employment in FQHCs, 55 percent chose to work for the Indian Health Service, the military and other non-profits, and in private practice (9 percent were unsure). The average of all ASDOH classes combined equates to 49.75 percent of graduates entering a Community/ Public Health/Military career. We anticipate roughly the same outcomes from our Missouri students.
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