Changes and challenges in Canadian dental faculties

Canadian dental faculty were surveyed to determine changing career interests, sources of satisfaction, and professional development needs. The respondents indicated a desire to change the proportion of time allocated to their major responsibilities in ways that could create serious problems for dental faculties, i.e. more time on research, with less time on teaching and administration. While most reported teaching as a source of satisfaction and happiness, relatively few reported it as recognized and rewarded. The different status accorded to teachers, clinicians, and researchers, as reflected in the division of workload and rewards have created dissatisfaction among faculty, perhaps contributing to the fact that over 50 percent of respondents reported considering leaving academia. Faculties of Dentistry must determine what is required to reestablish a productive and enjoyable balance among their roles as teacher, researcher, and clinician and to determine what type of environment will best support the development of today's dental academics and tomorrow's dentists.