Using a Delphi Technique in a needs assessment for an innovative approach to advanced general dentistry education

The University of Kentucky College of Dentistry has been awarded a $500,000 grant to develop and test a university-based educational program leading to a graduate certificate in Advanced General Dentistry, by the use of "extended campus" and distance learning methods. As an aid in developing this curriculum, dentists in general practice in non-urban Kentucky were asked about their educational needs. A Delphi Technique approach to this assessment was adopted. Forty dentists in general practice in non-urban areas in eastern and southern Kentucky were sent four mailings in which they rated or re-rated 65 topics for inclusion in the curriculum. A total of 59 topics were voted to be essential or desirable for the curriculum, 40 of them by a 2/3 majority. The Delphi Technique was workable for involving students in curriculum design. The curriculum produced by this method has also proven to be attractive to the dentists and their colleagues.