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Accuracy in Dental Medicine, A New Way to Measure Trueness and Precision
Published on: April 29, 2014
Advancing Paediatric Dentistry Faculty Calibration for Predoctoral Education Using Entrustable Professional
Jessica Y Lee1,2, William F Vann1, Miguel A Simancas-Pallares1
1Department of Pediatric Dentistry and Dental Public Health, Adams School of Dentistry, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA.
Summary
Faculty calibration in predoctoral pediatric dentistry improved agreement on entrustable professional activities (EPAs). This calibration program enhanced instructor consensus on procedural skills and independence, crucial for the EPA framework.
Area of Science:
- Dental Education
- Clinical Assessment
- Faculty Development
Background:
- Faculty calibration is vital for consistent predoctoral dental education.
- The entrustable professional activity (EPA) framework is increasingly adopted in dental curricula.
- No prior studies have evaluated faculty calibration within an EPA framework in pediatric dentistry.
Purpose of the Study:
- To describe the findings of a faculty calibration program for a predoctoral pediatric dentistry program utilizing the EPA framework.
- To assess the impact of calibration on inter-rater reliability for procedural skills and independence.
Main Methods:
- A calibration program was conducted with 10 faculty and 6 graduate teaching assistants in pediatric dentistry.
- Participants underwent a diagnostic survey and four calibration sessions focusing on key EPAs.
- Assessments used an entrustment system evaluating procedural skills (PS) and independence (IND).
- Agreement frequency, threshold effects, and pooled weighted Kappa scores were analyzed.
Main Results:
- Initial calibration revealed highest disagreement on procedural skills (PS) between adjacent entrustment levels.
- Calibration sessions significantly improved observed agreement (23%-100%) and resolved threshold effects (55%-100%) for PS.
- Kappa scores showed substantial improvement (0.8-1.0), indicating enhanced reliability.
- Independence assessments consistently demonstrated high agreement and reliability throughout the program.
Conclusions:
- The calibration program demonstrated effectiveness in resolving instructor disagreement within the EPA framework in pediatric dentistry.
- Findings suggest the EPA framework can be successfully implemented with appropriate faculty calibration.
- Further research should explore instructor perspectives and validate these findings across other dental disciplines.
