Competencies in dental education

Competency is ability to do something successfully or efficiently. To evaluate competency of dental professional in Indian scenario, without discussing much about the merits and demerits about the traditional curriculum, we can look a step ahead, i.e., towards competency based dental education, which emphasizes more on the competency (quality) rather than the minimum clinical requirement (quantity). Mastering a discipline happens in five stages, viz., novice, beginner, competent, proficiency and expertise or mastery. Competency is the third stage in which the student is independently able to perform the expected procedures to a predetermined standard and is ready for graduation. Core competencies can be decided by the governing body, i.e., the Dental Council or can be decided by the University or can be borrowed from the literature. To address, multinational student issues, competencies need to be based on the basic or guiding principles rather than discussing the culture and values ofhost institution. Cross-cultural variations occur, if we adapt competencies from other countries and it is best to decide on the list of competencies where it is concerned with ethics.