SHOULD DENTISTRY ADOPT A SINGLE, NATIONAL EXAMINATION FOR DENTAL PRACTICE LICENSURE?
In response to October’s Question of the Month, 88 percent of readers said they believe that dentistry should adopt a single, national examination for dental practice licensure. Eleven percent did not agree, and 1 percent responded that they did not know.
When JADA asked the same question in 1996, the percentages were almost the same: 90 percent answered yes, and 10 percent answered no.
Readers opposed to a single, national examination this time around were concerned mainly about federal government involvement. "I would like to practice in Florida someday, but the risk of being enslaved to a national health service is too great with a national examination and national license," said one.
While others were opposed, they did favor a uniform national program. "If a standardized curriculum with measured competence levels was in place, national licensure would work," said one. "Meanwhile, the teaching and measurement of manual skills greatly vary."
A few respondents said they think there should be no examination at all. "All dental schools must be accredited," said a reader. "If a dental school sees fit to graduate a student and deems him or her competent, then that student should be accredited. There need be no other exam."
Several among those who support a national examination echoed this view.
"If a person graduates from an accredited dental school and passes the national board examination as I did, that person should be able to practice anywhere he or she wants to," said one reader.
Others said they believe that being licensed in one state should mean they can get a license in other states. "I passed three boards after graduation: Southern, NERB and Georgia," said one reader. "Shouldn’t that have been proof enough I was competent for other states too?"
Mobility itself was a hot topic. "Our society is highly transitory, and we should all, as dentists, have the freedom of mobility," said a respondent.
"As a mother and wife, mobility would aid in my husband’s job selection," said another.
Dental boards in 34 states and the District of Columbia grant licenses—without further theoretical or clinical examination—to dentists currently licensed and practicing for a period in another jurisdiction. This system often is referred to as licensure by credentials or endorsement. Oregon grants license by reciprocity to licensed dentists who have passed the Western Regional Examining Board or Central Regional Dental Testing Services and have a minimum of 5,000 hours of active clinical practice in the past seven years. Boards in the District of Columbia, Iowa, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and West Virginia recognize licenses only from states that will return the favor.
Regional testing agencies also offer dentists some mobility. Currently, 41 states participate in regional testing agencies. States and territories that administer their own clinical dental examinations are Alabama, California, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Indiana, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nevada, North Carolina, Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands.
The ADA is working with the American Student Dental Association, the American Association of Dental Examiners and the clinical testing agencies to facilitate improvements in the clinical licensure process and to standardize content, administration and scoring of the examinations.
These agencies met in March 1997 to discuss different licensure topics, including a common content examination. This meeting resulted in "An Agenda for Change in the Clinical Licensure Examination Process."
An objective of the Agenda for Change is to promote the interaction of all testing agencies and boards of examiners to explore the concept of more uniform content and methodology in licensure examinations.
For more information, go to "www.ada.org/prof/prac/licensure/index.html" and click on any of the links listed. You also can call the toll-free number on the back of your membership card and ask for the Department of State Government Affairs at Ext. 2525 or the Council on Dental Education and Licensure at Ext. 2694, or you can call 1-312-440-2500 and ask for Ext. 2525 or 2694.
