Innovative aspects of the 5th year BDS curriculum in Hong Kong

In 1990, partially in response to the UK's proposal of a one-year vocational training, the BDS course in Hong Kong was extended from four years and one term in duration to a full five-years. The 5th year curriculum was intended to be as close to vocational training in nature as possible. The Board of Multidisciplinary Studies in the BDS 5-Year Curriculum was set up one year prior to the implementation of the course. The course was enthusiastically received by both students and teaching staff. The most successful and innovative aspects of the course included the new Family Practice Clinic, the elective programme where all students visited overseas dental institutions and the documentation of cases using log books in the final comprehensive examination. A post examination questionnaire validated the success of the programme.