- Royal Dental College Iron Hills, Chalissery Palakkad - 679536
Forum for Advanced Studies and Continuing Education Program (FASCEP)
Objective:
- To a platform for advanced learning
- To conduct professional enrichment programs not included in current dental curriculum
- To provide hands on workshop on novel dental techniques
- To provide CDE program for interns and graduates who have completed the BDS course
- To Provide a platform for presenting scientific paper and posters
- To provide guidance for academic competitions’
- To enhance learning process through field visits
Context:
FASCEP is an exclusive forum to conduct all academic programs under the same roof. Royal Dental College has a unique way of hosting and conducting many professional enrichment programs, advanced curriculum programs and non-academic curriculum programs and courses. It has been regularly conducting fresher’s orientation program, preclinical to clinical orientation program and also an internship orientation program which spans for about 30hrs/ course. FASCEP provides a comprehensive knowledge about latest updates and newer treatment modalities, equipment and technologies. Feed back was collected from the students of the programs they attended.
Practice:
Royal Dental College has been organizing regular Continuous Dental Education programs. The college academic council conceptualized that all CDE programs should be conducted under a one platform. Thus a unique forum called Forum for advanced studies and continuing education program (FASCEP) was founded on 12th January 2011. Since then FASCEP has been undertaking several 15hrs programs as prescribed by WHO for professional students.
FASCEP has been conducting diverse programs like CDE programs, evidence based thinking training program, personality development training programs, examination stress management programs, Art of memory, freshers orientation course, field visits, oral cancer awareness, legal and ethical guidance for practice, basic life support program, talent hunt program, dental microscopes, management of medially compromised patients in practice, creative and critical thinking, advanced impression techniques, veneers, perio plastic surgery workshops, digital marketing, biomedical research, minimally invasive conservative dentistry, workshop for extra flap, CBCT hands on training, rhinoplasty, loupes in dental practice, medical emergencies in dental practice. Royal sastra puraskaram, Diabetes awareness campaign, Hands on workshops on lasers, implants, placement of composite restoration etc. The process of learning is accelerated in students by organizing field visits to dental labs, general pathology laboratory, animal houses etc. Students are awarded certificates for attending these programs.
Evidence of success:
FACSEP program initially started with a selected crowd of students but now there is 100% participation of all students. Best outgoing students of each batch was selected based on the number of CDE, workshops, hands on training program, certificates of courses attended by the students along with their other academic achievements. Most of these students have also been pursuing their higher studies and claimed that FASCEP program was their inspiration according to the feedback forms. We have found that the best outgoing students for the past 5 years have been students who have attended all FASCEP programs.
