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Grant McIntyre: Dean, Faculty of Dental Surgery

First, I would like to pay tribute to John Gould, Dean of the Faculty of Dental Surgery (FDS) from 1989 to 1992, who passed away in February. John qualified in medicine (1948) and later in dentistry (1959), with FRCS and FDS to his name. Throughout his career he was a strong supporter of the College, and was Secretary to the Dental Faculty before becoming Dean.

Uniquely he also served on College Council for a separate term. He engaged at all levels and his legacy lives on in many of the activities and relationships he developed, but overall his fellowship and friendship is remembered.

As Dean of the FDS it is my intention to promote education, examination and engagement for the Faculty and across the College. This year marks the platinum anniversary of Dental Council and a significant amount of Faculty and RCSEd activities and resources is devoted to education and examinations, but what of engagement?

At the heart of our enduring success as an ever-evolving beacon of educational excellence across the last 519 years is a culture of unwavering engagement.

So what actually is engagement? Dictionaries provide many definitions in relation to engagement involving love, war and positive interactions. Perhaps the most sensible and logical explanation is provided by a number of internet dictionaries: “The action of engaging or being engaged.”

There is, however, no single synonym for engagement, which at first seems perplexing and frustrating. On the other hand, the absence of a simple definition, or indeed a metaphor for engagement, explains the nuances of this important aspect of College life.

"The reach and depth of the Faculty in shaping learning across dentistry is substantial"

Engagement is important for the College membership and staff, and involves a number of complex concepts. Inevitably, engagement takes place across a variety of contexts involving all aspects of our work. In the psychological sense, engagement is the state of being actively involved, committed and emotionally invested in an activity, relationship or interaction. It encompasses a range of behaviours, attitudes and emotional responses that reflect a level of interest, participation and connection. Engagement is also a dynamic interplay of passion, collaboration and dedication that fosters excellence and delivers continual progress. Engagement in College activities is not transactional and not a commodity that can be quantified.

Without stating the obvious, in College circles engagement needs to be a two-way street, involving the multi-lane highways of courses and exams, but also the ‘A’ roads of events such as our President’s Forums in the UK and internationally, as well as College publications.

More often, the country lanes of one-to-one conversations allow direct engagement at the personal level. I see it as my duty to be engaged with you as our Members. Meeting College Members is a privilege and one of my aims in my time as Dean is to meet as many as possible, around the globe. I want to connect and hear from you about what you want from our Faculty, so please get in touch.

Crisis response

As a professional organisation our College represents and advocates in equal measure. In my last column I noted the work we are doing as a Faculty on behalf of the wider population in engagement and advocacy for the dental-access crisis in the UK.

I am pleased to note this is fast becoming a topic of public debate among UK politicians. Our College will continue to engage with all key stakeholders to address the essential system changes that are needed, in addition to the knee-jerk grandstanding and short-term stimuli offered by politicians as they seek office. I want to hear directly from all Members of the dental team in this regard. What can we do to engage as effectively as possible in this debate on your behalf?

Educationally, the RCSEd has centuries of experience in engagement in relation to teaching, training, learning, course accreditation and academic standards. Provision of courses is an obvious sign of educational engagement, but the reach and depth of the Faculty in shaping learning across dentistry is substantial. We have representatives on the UK Specialty Advisory Committees, the Joint Committee for Postgraduate Training in Dentistry, various education bodies and a variety of other stakeholder organisations in the UK and globally.

The work our Faculty representatives undertake in these roles often goes unnoticed, but in this article I would like to publicly thank those who share their experience and wisdom in helping the training architecture respond to developments.

Digital future

We live in an increasingly digital age and the College is adopting a digital-first approach as we adapt to the ever-changing world around us. Digital engagement is important and the public face of the College around the globe reflects that, particularly via our website, webinars, app and digital communication methods. You will be glad to discover the website is undergoing an overhaul, but the webinars, app and digital communications are all triumphs.

Engagement is fundamental to what we all do for our College, involving unwavering commitment to empowering and supporting the membership at every stage of our professional journeys, and supporting the improvement of global health outcomes through social and societal partnerships based on collaboration and inclusivity. With engagement being a conversation, please do get in touch to tell the Faculty and wider College what works well and what areas of our digital engagement can be improved.

Having mused about engagement, I have rediscovered that it is a slightly nebulous and multifaceted concept encompassing emotional, cognitive and behavioural themes. To me, engagement is all about connecting and connections, and I am continually surprised by the energy and enthusiasm our Members and Fellows have for all College activity, and how everyone across the College works to participate in our activities, developing relationships that are meaningful and fulfilling.

I feel our membership base is fully engaged and it is my desire to continue to be fully engaged with every Faculty member as well as every activity we do as a College.

To revisit the dictionary definition, the actions of engaging or being engaged gives me a warm sense of contentment and this affirms why I have remained engaged with our globally renowned College throughout my career.

Engagement is more than just belonging – it is woven into all aspects of the fabric of our College’s identity, shaping the College ethos and driving our mission forward. I hope you feel the same sense of collegiality through your personal engagement with the College, wherever you are in the world.