eGDCWe are now consulting on our proposed corporate strategy.
You will find below a summary of our plans to support for the future dental team, including maintaining high standards in education and training and improving registration processes for international applicants.
Consultation on our next corporate strategy
Preparing for a career in dentistry
We want to make sure that the future dental team are well prepared as they start their career in dentistry. Almost 12,000 dental professionals joined the register last year and we want to make sure we understand their needs and that they have access to an efficient and effective registration service.
We plan to support those preparing for a career in dentistry by:
- strengthening our engagement with dental students, trainees and those join the register with an international qualification
- using research and engagement to capture the voice of students and early career registrants and understand their experiences of education and training
- developing information for those joining the registers from overseas to help them understand the expectations for the delivery of safe and effective care.
We also want to ensure that those starting out have access to an efficient registration service that meets their needs. Our registration services need to be modernised, and we will need to invest to update our systems and processes.
We plan to make improvements to the registration process by:
- enabling digital and online interfaces, where possible
- addressing inefficiencies, and
- making sure they are fully accessible
Joining the register with international qualifications
The Overseas Registration Exam (ORE) is an assessment of skills and knowledge for dentists who first qualify outside the UK or EU. We have seen a significant increase in demand for places on the ORE over recent years, and although capacity as increased, demand continues to outstrip supply.
We recognise that the current capacity of some of our international registration routes is insufficient, and that this has an impact on the available workforce as the people who want work in dentistry in the UK.
The future demand for ORE places can also be difficult to predict:
- we do not know how many people want a place until they apply
- we need to plan for the possibility of policy changes to the current near automatic recognition of EU qualifications, and
- we may need to accommodate decisions on the recognition of professional qualifications negotiated as part of any international trade agreement.
We plan to develop a comprehensive and effective framework for registration for internationally qualified dental professionals, which maintains patient safety, is accessible, efficient and scalable to meet future demand.
We will work with our partners to develop and implement:
- new routes to registration for internationally qualified professionals
- legislative reform permitting, a robust system for provisional registration which meets the needs of the system and the profession.
Maintaining high standards in education and training
Our role includes making sure dental education and training is of a high standard. Our work ensures that graduates and those who have completed their training are well prepared for a career in dentistry.
We have worked with providers and other stakeholders over recent years to develop a modern and improved framework of learning outcomes for education for all dental professionals. The new Safe Practitioner Framework establishes the learning outcomes, requirements and expectations for dental education.
Our plans include continuing our work with providers to:
- produce safe professionals and who are meeting patient needs by evolving and adapting our approach to quality assuring education and training
- ensure we are responding effectively to new applications
- successfully adopt the Safe Practitioner Framework, including making sure formal approaches to monitoring student behaviours and addressing behavioural issues are in place.
Respond to the consultation on our next corporate strategy
Find out more about our plans to support the provision of safe and effective care for patients