Sir, the GDC Specialist Dental Education Board (SDEB) met for the first time in early July and I thought that this would be a good time to provide an update on our role and main areas of activity over the next year. The members of the group are Kevin O'Brien (Chair), Paul Cook, Peter Catchpole, Paul Wright, Liz Jones, and Brian Grieveson. The Chair and then the members were selected following an open recruitment process by the GDC. They were selected for their expertise and experience in specialist dental education; and importantly, they do not 'represent' any speciality, role or interest group in dentistry.

The SDEB was set up as part of the recommendations of the GDC Specialist List Review Group. The report and recommendation of the Group was produced by the GDC after extensive consultation with the profession. This report recommended that the SDEB should have the following remit:

  • To develop a generic curricula framework, to be used by the educational bodies in developing curricula for individual specialties

  • Approve individual curricula developed by the educational bodies of the Royal Colleges and the Universities

  • Develop guidelines for approval of training programmes to be used by the Postgraduate Dental Deans

  • Establish guidelines for the recognition of previous training, experience and qualifications towards the specialist training programme

  • Develop a framework for the assessment of applications for equivalence of non-UK specialist training; to be used by the educational bodies in undertaking these assessments

  • Approving equivalence assessment of non-standard applications for specialist listing

  • Consider all other matters relating to specialist training and listing with the GDC.

While these are fairly confined aims, it could be easy for us to lose focus on the main objective that underpins our role. This is very simple – the role of the GDC, and hence the SDEB, is to protect the public. In other words we need to be certain that if a person is included on the GDC specialist lists the public can rest assured that the person has been adequately trained and has the competencies that a specialist requires. The guidelines for approval of the training programmes should include approval of the assessment of those competencies. I would like to emphasise that our role is not to re-open the discussion on the number or nature of specialist lists, nor, the training or conditions of service after the award of a Certificate of Completion of Specialist Training. The SDEB does not 'represent' dentists who are in training nor will we be a provider or assessor of specialist training.

Our main initial tasks are, therefore, to ask the educational providers to develop entry criteria for specialist training, along with curricula which will follow the generic curriculum documents that we will produce as well as the exit criteria necessary for completion of training. We also need to develop a workable system of quality assurance for the programmes that are provided. Other initial challenges are to develop systems that increase access to specialist training and to rationalise the many assessments that are currently being held at the end of training. The SDEB will act as an advisory body to the Education Committee of the GDC.

Finally, there has been some initial confusion on our role. I am sure that this has resulted from delays in appointing the Board and uncertainty of our role on behalf of leaders in specialist training. We shall address this issue by ensuring that our section of the GDC's website is regularly updated, making regular contributions to GDC publications (such as the Gazette) and the dental press, in addition to presentations and personal contact with the relevant groups involved in specialist training.

I am very confident that our team will be up to this task and we will make great progress in the next six months, to enable us to set up a system that will protect the public and ensure that specialists are adequately trained and recognised. Further information can be found at http://www.gdc-uk.org/About+us/How+we+work/Specialist+Dental+Education+Board/.