Not everyone will be eligible for this third pathway. If their skills aren’t close enough to Canadian standards, theywill need toapply to a dental school. in a shorter time frame, 8 months or fewer,” says Dr. Lai. “We are still at the beginning stage of designing this third pathway, what we are calling ‘gap training,’ but it will be a much quicker pathway for these dentists to gain their licenses and provide care to patients at a level that meets Canada’s standards.” At present, a steering committee is being assembled to guide the project that includes stakeholders from throughout the Canadian dental profession, including Dr. Aaron Burry, CDA’s CEO. Steering Committee for Gap Assessment andTraining Dr. Paul Major, chair and project lead Ex officio members: Dr. Petros Papagerakis, dean, pilot site Laval University Dr. Ben Davis, dean, pilot site Dalhousie University Dr. JamesTaylor, Chief Dental Officer of Canada Appointed members: Dr. Paul Allison, executive director,ACFD Dr.Marie Dagenais, executive director, NDEB Dr. Jack Gerrow, executive director CDRAF DawnWilson, CDAC representative Dr.Aaron Burry, CDA representative Dr.Walter Siqueira and Dr. Carlos Quiñonez, ACFD dean representatives Dan Falkner, CEO, RCDSO Dr. Dan Haas, faculty representative, University of Toronto Dr.Majd Alkhassi, internationally trained dentist representative Dr. Hollis Lai,ACFD project representative Karan Nikhanj, gap training program manager The first step is to create an assessment tool to identify the specific strengths and weaknesses of an individual’s knowledge and skill areas. The ACFD committee will then look at creating a revised admission process. “Not everyone will be eligible for this third pathway. If their skills aren’t close enough to Canadian standards, they will need to apply to a dental school,” says Dr. Lai. “But for those who have a knowledge foundation that is strong, and are only lacking in a few areas, they would be eligible for this gap training.” The group will work with dental educators and other stakeholders to create training modules to address knowledge gaps. The dental schools at the University of Alberta, Dalhousie University and Laval University will pilot this gap training. “We are hoping the pilot will start the admission process in about 18 months from now,” says Dr. Lai. “The first cohort will be small; I imagine around 15 candidates.” Running the pilot program will test the validity of the assessment tool and the training modules, and then Dr. Lai hopes the program can be rolled out nationwide. 27 Issue 4 | 2024 | News and Events
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