Leading the improvement of health by advancing oral health.
These core values characterize the School of Dentistry and define its distinctive identity:
The mission of the school's clinics is to provide patient-centered, quality oral healthcare in a humanistic educational environment.
The goal of the clinic mission statement is to focus faculty, staff, and students on the delivery of excellent patient care. In all clinical interactions we will strive to provide excellent care of our patients and excellent educational experiences for our students. At those times when we must make a choice between patient care and teaching effectiveness, patient care will take precedence.
There are three parts to the mission statement. Patient-centered care means being prompt, efficient, responsible, engaged, focused, and adaptable, among other things. The private practice model is the patient care model to which we aspire. Quality oral healthcare involves providing treatment to our patients that meets community standards of care in all disciplines. It means providing that care to patients of varying needs and expectations. Humanistic education is based on honest communication of clear expectations along with positive support for diligent effort.
Faculty and staff must be models of the profession's highest standards. Students are expected to set equally high standards for their behavior. The educational environment will be intellectually stimulating, progressive in scope, outcomes-focused, and competency-based.
July 2011
