RCSI

The Faculty of Dentistry of the Royal College of Surgeons of Ireland has launched a new, exciting and modern website, which went live on 14 September.

The redesigned site aims both to inform and support the dental profession, nationally and internationally, particularly with regard to postgraduate education and training.

It is based upon a modular design concept that can be expanded and developed easily by the Faculty’s secretariat.

Fiona Allen, the Faculty’s senior secretary, worked in association with web designer Mark Boyd to produce the user-friendly interface

The website, which can be accessed at http://dentistry.rcsi.ie, is designed for online learning as part of the Faculty’s drive towards supporting dentists who wish to pursue a career pathway in either primary dental care or specialist training.

The Faculty of Dentistry was established in 1963 and, since then, it has had a major influence on postgraduate dental education, training and examinations in Ireland and overseas.

Today, the Faculty has over 1,200 fellows and members throughout the world, and it has established significant postgraduate training programmes in Ireland, the Middle East (in Kuwait, Jordan, UAE, Qatar and Bahrain), Malaysia and, more recently, the USA. Each of these centres offers trainees the opportunity to complete one or more of the following qualifications – MGDS, FGDS, MFD and FFD – after appropriate, approved training.

The Faculty structures include a board, CEO, international postgraduate advisor, secretariat and a number of related standing and statutory committees.

Of particular note, the Irish Committee for Specialist Training in Dentistry (ICSTD) and the Irish Committee for Primary Dental Care (ICPDC) are standing sommittees of the Faculty with wide representation across the dental spectrum. These two committees were established to allow the various interested parties in dentistry in Ireland to have a say in providing the highest standards of training.

Since 2000, the ICSTD has been approved by the Dental Council as the body responsible for overseeing specialist training programmes in dentistry in Ireland and to confirm completion of training to the Council. It is hoped that a similar role will emerge shortly for the ICPDC as new arrangements and qualifications are put in place to provide a more structured training pathway for those in primary care.

This year’s Faculty of Dentistry annual scientific meeting is titled ‘In Practice’ and will take place at the Royal College of Surgeons, St Stephen’s Green, Dublin, on 28 and 29 October 2010. The Faculty will present a review of the current status of dentistry today in practice. Anyone interested in attending can register at www.fodasmrcsi.ie.