Perspectives: Convocation 2020 with James Posluns, Director of Clinical Affairs
The Class of 2T0 graduates in unprecedented times – here’s how they did it, and what comes next
Dr. James Posluns 9T1, Dip. Ortho 9T8, Assistant Professor and Director of Clinical Affairs at the Faculty of Dentistry, University of Toronto
Dr. James Posluns is a two-time graduate of the Faculty of Dentistry. After earning his DDS degree in 1991, Posluns went to work for Toronto Dental Public Health. He went on to obtain a diploma in Orthodontics in 1998, and immediately became the Faculty’s undergraduate Orthodontics program coordinator. Going on to earn a Master’s degree in Education in 2004, in 2012, Posluns was tapped to lead the Faculty’s clinical operations.
How were decisions made as the school closed due to COVID-19?
No decisions were made in a vacuum. We had, and continue to have, multiple meetings with the Dean and the Faculty’s senior leadership team. And those decisions really evolved over time. In March, when we first closed and were in shock and awe, our decisions were really all about the safety of our stakeholders: patients, students and staff.
After that we planned for academic continuity. We concentrated on making sure that the fourth years had everything they needed clinically and academically, to not impede their ability to graduate on time, and that the lower year students were able to finish their years as best as possible.
Now the question is: how do we start the machine rolling again, safely, efficiently and within regulations? We’re wrestling with these really, really hard questions.
If somebody wanted a little help, we would be here
What has been most important to the Faculty in terms of its priorities?
Number one has been the safety of the Faculty’s stakeholders: patients, students, faculty and staff. Our second priority has been academic continuity and making sure the fourth years had the ability to complete their degree. Our third priority is making sure we can reopen under the current guidelines.
We’re now dealing with that third priority. There are serious challenges on the horizon to get this large operation up and running again, but we’ll get through it. Teaching is a problem, supplies are a problem. We’re facing challenges with our infrastructure and scheduling under the new conditions. Think about it: our building was started in 1959 and opened in 1960. That’s 60 years ago. Think about how many advances there have been in those 60 years with respect to such things as airflow and HVAC.
Our Master Clinic Renewal Plan — a priority of the Strategic Plan: 2014-19, which was completed in the fall of 2019 — is actually really helpful to us during this time. There was a lot we learned through developing this master plan, and there are elements we can borrow to help us with our project planning. For instance, space allocation studies for the clinics and classrooms were already completed, so in that sense we are way ahead of the game.
Still, there is a growing concern for our patients and continuity of care. We had so many patients in progress at the time of the closures — there were something like 300 dentures in progress, and 100 crowns. That’s a lot of dental work not yet done.
What kind of supports were offered to students during the closure to help them finish the year and, for fourth year students, graduate?
There were a lot of good supports for the students, both in terms of communications and just being there for them. Director of Student Life, Dr. Rayman 7T0 provided a lot of support, as did our Registrar, Samantha Freeman-Attwood.
Because we closed the clinics before the end of the school year, the remainder of the exams were conducted online — that went fairly smoothly, as we had already adopted an electronic exam software.
For our graduating class, we conducted a thorough review of each student’s academic progress and assessed their clinical competencies. Fortunately, our decision a couple of years ago to extend third year clinic by one month paid off, as the students were much closer to completion than in the past at the time of the clinic closure.
With the students’ permission, several members of the clinic staff and I cleaned out the students’ lockers — a massive, two-week task — in a safe and organized manner. When the students came to get materials and personal belongings, they were able to do so through a contactless, curbside pickup, using full PPEs. Tracy Tang, the fourth-year class president, helped us organize that. She was awesome.
But the Faculty also really wanted to give the students a sense of recognition — that despite the closure, what they accomplished was noteworthy and a big deal. So we set up a virtual event on their convocation day (June 5th) to mark their efforts in getting their degrees. We are also planning for something in the fall, so the students can celebrate in person with their classmates. Hopefully, that will come to fruition. If it’s not safe in the fall, it will be pushed back to a time when it can be held.
What are some of the challenges — or opportunities — facing the graduating class?
What’s most concerning to me is the time lag. The new grads haven’t been in clinics since mid-March. Unless they are going into internships or residency programs, some might not get into private practice until the fall. When are they going to work on their skills?
Here at the Faculty we’ve been talking about the need to give students in this year a chance to come back and practice, and we are working on a plan with our Director of Continuing Dental Education, Dr. Chris Swayze. If any student came back to us and said, ‘I’d really like an opportunity to practice this basic treatment skill or procedure,’ I’d like to think that any one of us would give them that support. I think that’s always the case, but it may be a little more important now. If somebody wanted a little help, we would be here. It’s important that we do that.
What guidance would you give the Class of 2020?
Be confident — but not overconfident. Your foundational knowledge is there, and your skills will build back up, so don’t feel pressured to do anything beyond your skill set. Slowly build up the levels of complexity for patient care. You must put your patients’ needs before your own. The learning curve you’re on might be steep, but you’ll get there.
Be good to yourselves. Don’t stress yourselves out. And give yourselves time — that’s really what it’s all about.
Photo: Dr. James Posluns (Jeff Comber)