Exploring the challenges which influence General Dental Practitioners’ participation as Educational Supervisors in Dental Foundation Training in the Southwest of England.

Mills, Ian J. and Matabdin, Hesham and Rathbone, Amy and Clarry, Laura and Hanks, Sally (2024) Exploring the challenges which influence General Dental Practitioners’ participation as Educational Supervisors in Dental Foundation Training in the Southwest of England. Other. Research Square.

Abstract

Introduction The NHS dental crisis is well documented and access to dental care continues to be a major issue for many patients. Recruitment and retention of dentists and the wider team have been identified as a key factor, particularly within rural and coastal communities. Availability and geographical location of Dental Foundation Training (DFT) placements is considered to be an important element in recruiting new dental graduates to poorly served areas. However, a recent decline in the number of dentists applying to act as Educational Supervisors (ES) for DFT has been observed, which has raised concerns over the impact this could have on recruitment and NHS dental access. Aims The study aimed to explore specific challenges faced by ESs that may act as influencing factors to participating in DFT in Southwest England. Design Cohort study of existing and previous ESs, using qualitative methodology. Methods ESs in the six schemes of the Southwest of England participated in semi structured one-to-one interviews to explore the challenges which they faced in their role as an ES for DFT. Data underwent inductive thematic analysis. Results Eighteen ESs were interviewed with the main challenges identified as increasing workload, financial, recruitment process, feeling valued and the ES application process. Conclusion An increasing number of challenges are undermining the positive benefits of being an ES. If these are not addressed this is likely to result in continuing difficulties in the recruitment and retention of ESs. Some of these challenges can be addressed at a regional or local level, but the factors related to funding, national recruitment and the increasing educational responsibility of the ES, need to be addressed at a national level.