Ann Arbor, MI — December 22, 2009 — “I experienced professional growth as a result of my experiences in the e-learning program. …I see myself in a whole new light and how I can serve as a dental hygienist as a result of those experiences,” said Jennifer Stanley, one of the first graduates in the School of Dentistry’s Degree Completion E-Learning Program. Stanley and six other women from Michigan and Illinois received a baccalaureate degree this month after successfully completing the distance learning program.

The two-year program, launched in January 2008, offers dental hygienists an opportunity to continue their education and earn a Bachelor of Science degree. The online program also prepares them for leadership roles in their profession and community and expanded career opportunities.

Stanley, from Clarkston, Michigan, said, “I was very excited about the curriculum because it focuses totally on the dental hygiene profession.”

Community Leadership Projects

In addition to focusing on current issues in dental hygiene, the program also enhances critical thinking skills related to oral diseases and relationships between oral and systemic health. The 36 credit hour curriculum also requires each dental hygiene student to work with an organization in his or her community to develop and implement an oral health education project.

Another graduate, Kathy Yee, from Troy, Michigan, developed and taught oral health education lessons to preschoolers in Pontiac, Michigan schools. “We did hands on, interactive activities with children,” she said. “But I also taught parents and preschool teachers so they could carry on this program in the future.” In addition to emphasizing why good oral health is important, Yee said she also tried to allay the fears of many of the preschoolers by explaining and illustrating what they would see and experience during their first visit to a dentist. In another project, Yee said she also trained a group of medical professionals on how to apply fluoride varnish and conduct oral screenings of children under the age of three.

For her community leadership initiative, Jenny Dennings, from Swartz Creek, Michigan, designed a program for nurses’ aides and patients at a local convalescent home. Dennings said she explained how systemic diseases and lack of proper oral health care can affect the elderly. “It opened their eyes to different conditions the elderly could have from wearing dentures or having sores in their mouth, and even how medications can affect one’s oral condition,” she said.

The Importance of Mentoring

Prior to completing their online education courses, each student worked with a School of Dentistry faculty member to develop a capstone project that would help students apply what they learned in the online program.

“The project showed the importance of mentoring, having the opportunity to work with experienced clinical researchers to gain practical, hands-on experience,” Stanley said. She developed a study that assessed the skills and education necessary for a dental hygienist to gain employment in clinical research. Stanley said the results of her study revealed the importance of not just learning more about research, but also “mentoring opportunities with experienced clinical researchers.”

Stanley assisted her mentor, Janet Kinney, a clinical assistant professor, during an experimental gingivitis study at the Michigan Center for Oral Health Research. Stanley said she gained valuable insights in areas that included informed consent, collecting and processing saliva samples, and clinical data gathering.

Dennings said she collaborated with her mentor, Christine Klausner, a clinical assistant professor, on a “reflect and reply” assignment for first-year dental hygiene students. She also taught in the preclinical course, helping new dental hygiene students develop their instrumentation skills and understanding how to apply them during patient care. “The mentorship I experienced in this program has meant a lot to me,” Dennings said.

Distance No Obstacle

All three said they were pleasantly surprised with the rapport they were able to build and maintain with each other and their instructors online despite geographic distances.

A two-day orientation session at the School of Dentistry about a month before the online program began “helped as an ice breaker,” Yee said. “The personal connection was the biggest surprise. I never felt isolated, even though I was taking courses at home.”

Dennings, who has three children, agreed and added that having the flexibility to take courses at times that were convenient for her was important. She said she did her online coursework “when my children were in school and later at night when they were in bed. Time management was essential.”

Asked about their future plans now that they have received their bachelor’s degree, Yee said she felt as though she had “already been using it,” by applying what she learned in the online program both as a clinical instructor at a community college and as a clinician in private practice.

Dennings said she hopes to become a clinical instructor in a dental hygiene program. In addition to helping at the School of Dentistry, she said she may also want to investigate other possible opportunities in education.

Stanley said as a result of her participation in the online program, she obtained a part-time teaching position during the first six months of her coursework. While serving as an E-Learning Program ambassador, presenting information about degree completion to students at a local community college, Stanley said she was approached by faculty about a job. “I plan to use my bachelor’s degree to combine my passion for teaching and my research interests,” she added. All three said they would not hesitate to recommend the program to colleagues.

For more information about the School of Dentistry’s Degree Completion E-Learning Program, visit http://www.dent.umich.edu/dentalhygiene/education/dc/online