FACULTY

Associate Dean for Patient Services Clinical Professor of Dentistry

He supervises one of the School's largest departments with more than 80 employees working in 11 different areas. So there's plenty to keep Dr. Stephen Stefanac busy on any given day.

However, away from the School of Dentistry, there's another side not many see.

His hobbies...as a potter and restorer of old pinball machines...are activities that help him "to get away from it all" when he's not at the School of Dentistry.

Stefanac returned to the U-M School of Dentistry in the summer of 2004 as associate dean for patient services, a position similar to the one he held for six years at the College of Dentistry at the University of Iowa.

He earned a bachelor's degree in biological sciences from U-M in 1976 and a master's degree in oral diagnosis and radiology 11 years later.

The Influence of a U-M Dentist

"Family and friends are here, and some of my fondest memories are of my days here as a student, as well as when I was living here in Ann Arbor and running my own practice in South Lyon and practicing part time in Detroit. So it was natural to want to return," he said.

What Stefanac seems to especially cherish, now that he's back in Ann Arbor and at the School of Dentistry in a leadership role, are the opportunities to meet and talk to Dr. William Gregory (DDS 1953, MS 1983), an adjunct clinical professor.

Stefanac said it was Gregory, and others in his office, who sparked his interest in dentistry.

"It seemed whenever I went to his office for my annual checkup when I was in grade school, he and everyone who worked for him enjoyed what they were doing and helping others," Stefanac said. "After seeing this several times, I decided when I was in sixth or seventh grade that I wanted to become a dentist."

Gregory said Stefanac was about eight or nine years old when he first came to his office for oral health care and probably began to consider the profession as a possible career not long afterwards. "There were also a couple of conversations with his parents about Steve's interest," he said.

In high school, Stefanac told his guidance counselor about his career plans.

But the counselor told him to try something else before pursuing his plans.

"She told me to do something that I thought was pretty unusual at the time - taking a pottery and ceramics class. She said since dentists work with their hands, this would be a way for me determine if I would feel the same way," Stefanac said. "I enjoyed it then and still do today."

A member of the Ann Arbor Potters Guild, Stefanac is often at the organization's booth demonstrating pottery making during the annual Ann Arbor Art Fairs each July.

Stefanac's teaching career, as a part-time clinical instructor, began at U-M in 1984, at the time he was starting to pursue his master's degree. For the next two years, he was also a research associate in biomaterials and an adjunct lecturer in the Department of Oral Diagnosis and Radiology.

What he remembers most about his teaching experiences was the opportunity to work alongside Gregory.

"I had a lot of fun teaching with Bill during my first year as a grad student in the preclinic," Stefanac said. "Even though I never shadowed him when I was in high school or college, like many others do, he taught me something very important that has remained with me throughout my career, 'Put the patient first.' Along with that was another important lesson, 'Be good to your patients and they'll be good to you'," he said.

"If I conveyed these ideas to Steve, I am more than gratified," Gregory said. "But I would bet, though, that the foundation for his personal philosophy began at home and that I and others merely supported it."

From 1987 to 1998, Stefanac taught at the University of Detroit Mercy dental school, was acting director of clinics, and also served as director and acting associate dean for patient care.

His academic and administrative credentials and private practice experience led to his appointment at Iowa, first, as assistant dean for patient care in 1998, and, three years later, as associate dean.

What's Involved... Office of Patient Services

Dr. Stephen Stefanac supervises one of the School's largest departments with about 80 employees who work in 11 different areas.

• Four Comprehensive Care Clinics
• Patient Admitting and Emergency Services (PAES) Clinic
• Patient/Student Monitors
• Patient Business Office
• Sterilization and Dispensing
• Dental Stores
• Records Room
• Information Desks
• Phone Room
• Dental Faculty Associates
• Community Dental Center

Michigan Differences

Insights gained and lessons learned have been applied at Michigan where Stefanac has supervised the production of videos shown to dental students, staff, and clinical faculty on topics ranging from infection control, to preparing a cubicle for a patient visit, to communicating with patients.

Two videos are described in the story about the Patient Admitting and Emergency Services Clinic (pages 24 and 25).

Stefanac's six years at Iowa prepared him for his current role at the U-M School of Dentistry.

But there are some major differences.

"Here, at Michigan, we have about thirty percent more dental students and a staff of about eighty compared to a staff of about fifty at Iowa," he said.

The greater number of students, patients, and staff at Michigan "means things are faster paced and that my role often changes from day to day, if not hour to hour," he continued.

"Sometimes I'm a clinical administrator, but minutes later I can be wearing a different hat that finds me dealing with complaints or issues of quality control or a host of other factors. But that's to be expected because this department is so large."

As a result, Stefanac said his approach is straightforward.

"When faced with an issue or challenge, I want to address it immediately, look at all the angles, and see what we could have done better or what we need to improve instead of letting an issue fester and become more of a problem later," he said.

Another major difference in patient care and education at Michigan, Stefanac said, is the School's Vertically Integrated Clinics (VICs) program.

Launched in the summer of 1997, VICs combine classroom and "real world" experience by offering students - in all four dental classes and all three hygiene classes Ð an opportunity to work together, with faculty supervision, to achieve high levels of clinical competence.

With VICs, first-year dental and dental hygiene students are in clinics almost from the moment they arrive on campus. They obtain basic clinical training that prepares them for more advanced clinical experiences during their final two years at Michigan. Because they work as a team, dental and dental hygiene students get an idea of what to expect in a clinical setting long before they graduate.

In addition, VICs are patient-centered, a departure from an earlier approach to dental care and education which was procedure oriented.

This approach, Stefanac said, sets the University of Michigan School of Dentistry apart from other dental schools around the country.

"One of the reasons we are a top-tier dental school is because of the VICs," he said. "When problems or concerns arise, I spend time with my staff to review an issue and see what we can do to improve the experiences of our students and our patients."

One can hear Gregory's advice being voiced as Stefanac discusses clinical education and patient care.

"I care a lot about our patients and how they are treated by our students when they are in our clinics," Stefanac said. "So I'm willing to take the time and make the effort to see that things are done right as well as trying to make their experiences here even better the next time."

Gregory added that Stefanac's openness to ideas from others, and willingness "to consider ideas from the clinic floor," enhances his effectiveness.

Outreach and Access to Care

As supervisor of one of the School's largest departments, Dr. Stephen Stefanac meets regularly with those responsible for ensuring the smooth operation of various units within the Office of Patient Services. Here, he leads a biweekly meeting of his department's administrative staff.

In his role as associate dean for patient services, Stefanac said the job requires him "to look at the big picture. That's why I get involved with other U-M units on campus, state governmental agencies, and our outreach partners."

One of Stefanac's early roles involved the School's community outreach program until those responsibilities were assumed by Dr. Bill Piskorowski last summer. [DentalUM, Spring & Summer 2006, page 33.]

"Bill's contributions to the outreach program and the School have been significant in the short time he's been here," Stefanac said. "Outreach is an important mission for us, and it will continue to be an important part of our curriculum because of the access to care issue that many across our state are facing given today's economy."

There is another reason for his interest in the access to care issue.

"I'm afraid that if we, as dentists, don't make a concerted and long-term effort to improve access to oral health care to the least fortunate in our communities, that we could wind up losing a significant amount of our autonomy," he said. "No one wants that to happen."

Despite his schedule, Stefanac still makes it a point to see patients. For one-half day each week, he's practicing in the Dentistry Faculty Associates clinic at the School.

In retrospect, it's understandable why Stefanac enjoys taking clay and shaping it...and taking an old pinball machine apart and seeing how it can be restored. There seems to be symmetry between his hobbies and interests and what he does at the dental school.

Perhaps Gregory put it best when he said, "Steve has demonstrated his considerable skill in many facets of dentistry. We here at Michigan are fortunate to have him."

Stefanac Authors Book

Dr. Stephen Stefanac recently authored the second edition of Treatment Planning in Dentistry, a 490-page publication that offers general practitioners useful information about creating treatment plans for adolescent and adult patients.

Stefanac and coauthor Dr. Samuel Nesbit offer practitioners suggestions for devising treatment plans that blend the "ideal" and the "practical."

But they're emphatic about one point. "We continue to emphasize the central role of the patient, whose needs and informed choices should drive the treatment planning process," they write.

A CD-ROM that accompanies the book gives readers opportunities to practice applying what they read. The exercises become more complex as you progress. At the end, users learn whether the authors agree or disagree and why.

The book, priced at $69.95 and which can be ordered online, is being used by over two-thirds of the dental schools in the U.S.