The General Dental Council (GDC) has published updated speciality curricula.
This sets out the specialist knowledge, skills and capabilities that trainees need in order to attain the award of the Certificate of Completion of Specialty Training, be admitted onto the GDC Specialist Lists and be eligible to use the title ‘specialist’.
This means that patients can have continued confidence that the specialists who treat them are qualified, trained and competent.
The updated curricula are more relevant to trainees and will enable training programmes to better support them to succeed and achieve the highest standards. They also provide guidance to trainees to help them demonstrate appropriate personal and professional values and behaviours.
Each of the curricula provides an outline of the scope, delivery and assessment of the training required to enable a dentist to be recognised by the GDC as a Specialist in one of the 13 curricula in the UK. They have been developed using a new template which remains consistent and compatible with the GDC’s existing standards.
The new curriculum will be in use by all new specialty trainees between September 2023 and September 2024, depending on the curricula implementation date.
This updated guidance is intended to be used by Royal Colleges, Postgraduate Deaneries and education providers as a guide for assessing individual applications for entry onto the GDC’s Specialist Lists.
The current curricula were last reviewed more than ten years ago and no longer reflect clinical developments in each of the specialities. The reviewed curricula also reflect the GDC's own revised Standards for Specialty Education, which was published in 2019.
Amy Mullins-Downes, quality assurance manager, said, “After exceptional effort, commitment and partnership working, we are now in a position to publish 12 of the 13 curricula for training in specialist dentistry. The improvements made will ensure that the curricula remained achievable, effective, up-to-date and enable a level of consistency in quality, despite the differing facilities and programme structures across the four nations.
“The GDC would like to thank all stakeholders involved, including the Specialty Advisory Committees (SACs), the four UK statutory Education Bodies and the associated Royal Colleges and Universities.”