The General Dental Council (GDC) is calling for views on its proposal for a new exam to assess the competence of dentists from outside the European Economic Area (EEA) who wish to practise in the UK.

The GDC’s role is to protect the public and it has to ensure that dentists coming to the UK have the skills and knowledge to practise safely here. At present, for dentists from outside the EEA, this means sitting an exam called the International Qualifying Examination (IQE). Dentists who pass the IQE can apply for registration to practise unsupervised on patients in the UK.

After five years of the IQE, the GDC is carrying out a comprehensive review of how it assesses the competence of an overseas dentist for UK practice. The aim of the review is to ensure the GDC’s processes are in step with developments in assessment techniques and, most importantly, are fulfilling their public protection purpose.

The GDC set up a review group, chaired by Denis Toppin, a dentist member of the GDC. The group has considered a variety of assessment methods including alternatives to an exam, such as individual assessment of a dentist’s qualifications and experience.

The group is proposing that the current IQE is replaced with a new exam to assess the clinical skills and knowledge of overseas dentists. This streamlined exam would differ significantly from the IQE and would make use of modern assessment methods to ensure a robust and fair test for dentists.

The exam will also be better able to cope with fluctuations in demand than the current IQE. The IQE has come under strain recently due to the large influx of dentists from overseas (in 2005, the GDC received over 1000 new IQE applications) and the limit on places dental schools (which host the exam) have been able to provide. The proposed new exam will be more practicable for the exam centres to hold. This will allow for increased capacity and will keep waiting times for candidates to a minimum.

Three of the proposed key differences from the current exam are:

• A two-part rather than a three-part exam

Under the current system, it can take as long as two years to successfully complete all three parts of the IQE. A more streamlined, two-part testing system will mean competent candidates can complete the exam process in a much shorter time.

• The introduction of an Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE)

In the OSCE, candidates are examined at a number of different stations and carry out a different task at each station. All candidates perform the same task at each station and are marked according to the same criteria. This method of assessment is used successfully by UK dental and medical schools. It will mean candidates are tested and marked in a consistent way, and that an appropriate skills-set is covered by the exam. A candidate’s ability to communicate effectively will be put to the test by actors. This will allow examiners to see how well candidates explain treatment plans and obtain information from patients. These skills are essential as complaints about dental professionals often boil down to problems of communication.

• Testing of candidates’ technical skills in updated dental manikin exercises, not on real patients.

Candidates’ technical skills (for example, their ability to cut cavities) will be assessed in an updated practical test on a dental manikin with artificial teeth, and not on a real patient. The condition of the artificial teeth, and the dental treatment they need, will be standardised. This will allow candidates’ technical skills to be tested in a more systematic and consistent way than is possible with real teeth. Examiners can ensure that procedures required of candidates are relevant to the purpose of the exam (being neither too easy, nor too difficult).

Denis Toppin, GDC member and Chair of the review group said:

“Making sure the dental professionals joining our registers are properly trained for safe UK dental practice is essential for the patients we are here to protect. We are proposing a significant change to the way in which we test the skills and knowledge of dentists from outside the EEA. The new-style exam will uphold patient protection through robust testing of a candidate’s competence. It will also mean a better experience for candidates. We are keen to hear what people think of our proposal. Please visit our website for details of the consultation and share your views, and any concerns, with us.”

The consultation document is available on this website.
The closing date for responses is Friday 6 October 2006.

Ends

For media enquiries, please contact Katherine Vale on 020 7009 2781.

Notes to editors:

1. The consultation document on ’Proposed developments to the system of assessing overseas (non-EEA) dentists wishing to join the UK Dentists Register’ can be downloaded from this website.
For a hard copy of the consultation document, or more information on the review, please email IQEreview@gdc-uk.org or telephone +44 (0)20 7887 3812 or +44 (0)20 7887 3839.

2. The GDC’s current exam for dentists from overseas (non-EEA) is called the International Qualifying Examination. Information about the IQE is available from this website.  In April 2006, admission of new candidates to the IQE was suspended temporarily. This measure has been necessary to prevent unacceptable waiting times for candidates already committed to the exam.