• Cover Story
• Expressions Winter 2022

Olden Days

History of BDS Admissions and Programme Development

Students’ clinical training

BDS Admissions in the Past

IQ, eye, and stereopsis tests – are some of the admissions assessments during the early stage of the Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS) programme. To recruit outstanding students, the Faculty required applicants to have good exam results and pass the admissions test during the early days.

Dentists Require All-Rounded Development

Faculty Admissions Committee set several entry requirements for the BDS programme in 1982. The Faculty believes that selecting candidates is challenging, as becoming a successful dentist is not solely about academic merits but all-rounded development. It includes clinical skills, psychological well-being and interpersonal skills.

Dentistry is an intense and demanding subject. The Faculty makes careful decisions on student recruitment and hopes candidates could get to know the BDS programme and basic concepts of dental learning through the admissions test.

In the early days, applicants had to take the admissions test a year before taking the public exams.

Hurdles to Overcome

“In the early days, applicants had to take the admissions test a year before taking the public exams,” Professor Gary Cheung said. Professor Cheung is one of the first BDS graduates in the Faculty. He shared that he participated in three rounds of assessments, including an aptitude test, handcraft skills and IQ test, and a personal interview. Questions and puzzles in the admissions test were related to dental learning and allowed candidates to identify whether they have the potential to become a dentist.

A public exam shall not seal a student’s fate. The Faculty set up the admissions test to create a list of preferred candidates a year before the exams. The exam result, therefore, was not the sole criterion in student admissions. This attempt could give relatively fair consideration to the students who performed below par under the circumstances. Additionally, recruiting local talent, fostering Cantonese-speaking dentists and achieving gender balance (female recruitment) were other criteria for admissions to the Faculty.

In Response to Changes

The admissions requirements have been changing and evolving according the reform of the education system over the years. What always remains constant is the Faculty’s pursuit of a holistic admissions process, as a good dentist needs to be versatile to look after varied patients and provide the best treatments. The Faculty also considers the talent of the students, such as sport or music, and other outstanding performances besides academic merit.

It is worth noting that there were only around 50 places for the BDS programme in the 1990s. Meeting the social development and medical need, the Faculty raised the number of places to 73 and 80 in recent years. The Faculty recruits 90 students in response to the growing need for dental services in Hong Kong.

The Evolution of the BDS Programme

The foundation of HKU Faculty of Dentistry pioneered dental education in Hong Kong. Being the first-ever dental programme in Hong Kong and an extremely demanding academic discipline, HKU took careful consideration in curriculum planning.

Plan Ahead

In 1980, 2 years before the establishment of the Faculty, HKU held Curriculum Conference to map out the dental curricula in detail. The first BDS programme last for 4 years and 1 term, and each year contained three nominal 10-week terms of rostered teaching.

In the curriculum, preventive dentistry was one of the main themes. Thus, first-year students had to take the individual and an environment course, which allowed them to learn comprehensive knowledge about preventive dentistry at the beginning of the programme. It was taught jointly by teachers from the medical department, such as Community Medicine or Paediatric Medicine.

For clinical teaching, HKU decided to run as groups to ensure every student could learn clinical skills. Each clinical group consisted of eight students with an academic staff being the teacher-in-charge. Besides, an additional teacher/tutor was assigned to each clinical group to meet students’ diverse learning needs. Tutors worked with the teacher-in-charge and assisted in students’ assessment and overall evaluation.

BDS Learning Over The Years

Following the development over the years, students needed to learn advanced knowledge about dentistry, dental treatments, and newly developed dental technologies. Consequently, the BDS curriculum changed to a full 5-year programme and raised the number of clinical sessions for students to accumulate more experience in patient care. Later in 2012, the curriculum turned into a 6-year programme to support the New Senior Secondary Academic Structure.

Besides, the Faculty has been adopting problem-based learning pedagogy since 1998. It is a student-centred approach that allows students to plan their studies, develop problem-solving and communication skills, and combine their knowledge across different subjects.

In the beginning, dental students spent most of their time learning at the Prince Philip Dental Hospital. With the advancement of the curriculum, students now have more opportunities for clinical enrichment at the HKU Department of Medicine, Oral Maxillofacial Surgery & Dental Unit of Queen Mary Hospital, and in dental clinics in Hong Kong and overseas.

40 Years of Dedication

Mrs Annie Kwan embarked on a memorable journey with the Faculty of Dentistry

Journey with Faculty of Dentistry

In August 1981, Mrs Annie Kwan embarked on a memorable journey with the Faculty of Dentistry. She joined the Faculty as a secretary for the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (OMFS) Division. In a blink of an eye, she had served the Faculty for 40 years and retired in June 2022. “I grew up with the Faculty. My workplace and I were inseparable,” Annie said.

“When I was a greenhorn, I set up my mode of operation from scratch,” she shared. “Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery division is a vibrant and busy workplace where clinicians often have to deal with critical emergencies. With time, I have been trained to respond swiftly to urgent matters,” she added. When the digital age began, Mrs Kwan was compelled to pick up every little thing about computer, for instance, burning data disks, scanning documents and saving photos. “Though learning new skills was challenging for me, the key to success was to continue practising,” she said. The harmonious and delightful working environment was Annie’s motivation to tackle every work obstacle.

You win some, you lose some. Don’t be hindered by any obstacles. As long as you devote time and attention to your job, you can accomplish anything.

Changes For Better

Mrs Kwan has learned more than just the routine administrative tasks from her 40 years working with the Faculty. She has also acquired the knowledge of oral care and orthognathic surgery in the workplace. She knew a number of dental jargons and understood the concepts of several common surgeries and treatments. Over time, she gained confidence in what she learnt here.

Years of experiences has brought Mrs Kwan transformation and wisdom. Within 40 years, she believed that the Faculty had also undergone significant transformation, achieving leadership position and attracting more international students.

“It’s so touching to see everybody work diligently and passionately,” she expressed. She had bittersweet memories of her work life. “You win some, you lose some. Don’t be hindered by any obstacles. As long as you devote time and attention to your job, you can accomplish anything,” she spoke. She wishes the Faculty every success on future endeavors and continue to shine in the dentistry world!