DENTAL
WINNER CROWNED
Hannah Crane from the University of Sheffield triumphs in RCSEd’s first undergraduate UK-wide Dental Clinical Skills Competition
A
first-of-its-kind Dental Clinical Skills Competition organised by the College’s Faculty of Dental Surgery saw the top 14 final-year dental students, from all corners of Britain, gather at the Edinburgh College in March to compete in the final. The ultimate prize for which the participants were competing was an expenses-paid trip to the Chicago Dental Society’s Midwinter Meeting. Sponsored by DENTSPLY, the Dental Clinical Skills Competition featured a series of regional heats in autumn/winter 2013, in which final-year dental students from 14 of the UK’s dental schools undertook a series of dental challenges to test their abilities. Out of 300 students who registered to take part in the competition, 258 participated, with the top student from each dental school shortlisted for the grand final. The grand final tested a variety of complex skills and techniques, including suturing, restoring a fractured tooth, working on root canals, and communication skills with patients. This was followed by a dinner at the College’s Surgeons’ Hall Museum, at which presentations were made to the winner and two runners-up. Hannah Crane from the University of Sheffield was crowned the overall winner of the competition. Second place was awarded to Lloyd Bovensiepen from Newcastle University and third place to Manas Hamal from Cardiff University. All participants in the competition received a certificate of participation and 12
Left to right: Manas Hamal, Hannah Crane and Lloyd Bovensiepen
months’ affiliation with The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, and prizes were awarded to the runners-up. Commenting on her victory, Hannah Crane said: “I’m really excited to have won the competition – it’s a fantastic privilege and it’s been a wonderful experience. It’s been great to affiliate with The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh as it’s given me the opportunity to learn about postgraduate examinations early on. I definitely want to do a postgraduate examination when I finish my course, and I’m starting to think about that now, so it’s been very beneficial to speak with Fellows from the RCSEd Dental Faculty.
Professor Richard Ibbetson, Dean of the Faculty of Dental Surgery, commented: “We are dedicated to providing comprehensive educational and assessment opportunities to support all men and women who have chosen the rewarding and competitive career of dentistry. We were delighted to have held this exciting UK-wide competition offering the next generation of dentists a chance to showcase their knowledge and skills. Hannah demonstrated extraordinary talent, as did all our finalists. Their emerging talent will be a credit to the profession.” www.rcsed.ac.uk/dental-skills-comp
The finalists
The top 14 UK finalists from the UK Dental Clinical Skills Competition 2014 with Faculty of Dental Surgery Dean Professor Ibbetson. Front row, left to right: Manas Hamal (Cardiff); Imrana Ishaque (Manchester); Shona Hamlet (Dundee); Hannah Geller (Aberdeen); Imogen Bexfield (Leeds); Hannah Crane (Sheffield); Jaya Pindoria (Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry); Amelia Voss (Bristol) Back row, left to right: Luke Puente De La Vega (Glasgow); Elizabeth Barry (King’s College London School of Dentistry); Lucy Wright (Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry); RCSEd Dental Dean Professor Richard Ibbetson; Miesha Virdi (Birmingham); Lloyd Bovensiepen (Newcastle); Gareth Elgan Rees (Liverpool)
36 | Surgeons’ News Global | June 2014