Sir, many GDPs look at some point in their career to the possibility of studying for a postgraduate qualification. This journal is full of adverts trying to catch the eye of the dentist looking to enhance their skills, develop their practice or reinvigorate their career. This was a path I took when I committed to a part time MSc at the University of Edinburgh. I looked to this opportunity to learn new skills and provide a stimulating challenge. Unfortunately the course failed to live up to my understandably high expectations. I left after two years, comfortably passing the diploma, but deciding against taking the qualification further due to my dissatisfaction. The course floundered under a weight of poor planning and organisation, with fundamentals, such as the need to provide feedback, being ignored.
I write this letter not to discourage my colleagues from this path, but to encourage them to enter into postgraduate education with their eyes open. The University of Edinburgh is a very highly regarded institution with an international reputation; however, the nature of the rewarding body is clearly no guarantee of course quality. I would advise my fellow dentists to do a substantial amount of research before committing to a course, questioning levels of support that they should expect and analysing the timetabling of any coursework they will be required to complete. In my experience it is easy to describe a course as, 'PT and modular, being ideally suited to the busy GDP', while failing to recognise even the most obvious commitment, such as being sympathetic to a parent's need to take holidays at fixed times.
I would like to think that my problems were very much the minority; however, I hope my words will allow anybody interested in this career opportunity to make a more advised choice. Further details can be found in my course review on the Hotcourses.com website.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Steven, S. An advised choice. Br Dent J 211, 505 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.bdj.2011.1012
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.bdj.2011.1012