Adrian, the clinical director for Community Dental Services CIC (CDS), visited the Faculty of Dentistry at ‘Universiti Malaya’ on behalf of the Royal College of Surgeons of England, and as part of his role as deputy chair of the examination.
Through his work on the MFDS examinations and training, Adrian was granted a visiting professorship at the University of Kuala Lumpur.
Adrian delivered two days of intensive lectures. He taught new examiners how to improve their examination skills and offered guidance to candidates who wanted to take the exam. His lecture styles included didactic teaching, interactive workshops and role-playing examination questions.
With a keen interest in learning and encouraging professional development for the whole dental team, Adrian compared the UK and Malaysian undergraduate and speciality training pathways. He demonstrated that training in the UK is very similar in both paediatric and special care dentistry.
Adrian noted that the role of dental care professionals in Malayasia has not yet advanced to the degree of that in the UK. But he understood that work has been undertaken on a plan to develop and promote these in the future. It is clear, that in the UK, the benefits of using DCP’s develops prudent and patient-centred healthcare.
Adrian said, “Working as clinical director for CDS aligns with my own priorities and values with a clear commitment to learning and professional development. I’ve spent much of my career improving dental education for all members of the team regardless of role and at any stage in their career so they can achieve their highest level within any organisation.
“I continue this ethos within CDS, where we proudly invest in new ways of working so our patient cohort receive gold standard care. The only real difference between working in Malaysia and the UK is the heat and humidity."
According to the CDS, qualifying with the MFDS examination shows increased applied clinical knowledge and enables successful candidates to apply for speciality training.