The Endangered Clinical Teacher Scholar: Will this Eliminate Discovery from the Dental School Environment?

Each year, dental schools struggle to do more with less—a reality that is confounded by dental faculty shortages and retention issues reported over the past 15 years. In today’s academic environment, faculty shortages suggest that the resulting smaller faculty population will be tasked with more responsibilities than those who had the benefit of working with a full complement of colleagues. Fewer clinical faculty will likely participate in scholarly activity—in some instances, negatively affecting their chances for promotion and tenure, and ultimately lessening their own job security and feeling of accomplishment and self-worth in the academic environment. New faculty are in need of a formal program endorsed by their administration—one which places them with colleagues experienced in scholarly activity. This program, to include a definitive reward structure for mentors, would likely foster the retention and promotion of faculty and encourage the development of future leaders of dental education. Without a definitive plan, the clinical scholar will become an endangered species, and the research innovations and discovery of our profession will fall short in addressing the needs of the public’s oral and systemic health.