NMDA Journal Fall 2020

nmdental.org 21 The debate over live patient versus simulated exams has raged for quite some time now. I would like to discuss this debate in our current state of the COVID-19 world. I amnot here to present an argument for either side of this debate. I amhere, however, to stress that any decisions made need to be based on sound rationale as opposed to rushing intowide sweeping changes due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We, as a body, need to be very active to guide and direct the future of our profession in away that will best serve everyone for years to come and not just focus on a temporary fix. We have seen how fast things can change due to the pan- demic and howpeople in every setting and industry have been forced to make fast changes in order to stay operational. Froman exponential increase in virtual meetings, appointments, and collaborations to “con- tactless” everything else, the world is conducting its previous routine busi- ness in an almost unrecognizable and certainly unforeseen fashion. Like wartime, this time of a pandemic has been an accelerant to force rapid change and adaptation. Sometimes these changes are good and help humanity “stumble upon” something that may have taken several more generations to try or possibly never would have been discovered. On the other hand, some changes may be temporarily necessary but might not really be “better” than the oldway in the long run. Our process of licensing our dental students always needs towalk a tightrope of not unnecessarily placing barriers in place of passingwhile not being simply a formality that unqualified individuals should be able to pass. And like everything else in the world, dental schools, students, and board examinations are not going to be able to remain unchanged in the short termdue to COVID-19. I urge everyone in leadership positions, however, to not let any temporary changes made during the pandemic to not remain indefinitely in a “post-COVID” world simply because of some newworld order. If change is warranted and proves truly superior to prior models then let them stay, but if shortcomings are there, let’s be able to be honest and correct them. Namely here, in the case of board examinations, if they change to largely simulated versus live patient exams during the pandemic, I hope that there aremore reasons than the hurdles of COVID in deciding the best format of testing. In short, life as we once knew it is more than likely to resume again after some, hopefully, short amount of time. There are going to be some adaptations that the worldmade due to COVID that will be great adopted advancements. My charge is for our process of licensure and board examinations to not make drastic changes based out of fear or rash logic, but instead properly weigh all factors involved into any per- manent changes that may bemade. Board Examination Changes Need Sound Reason By Joe Gherardi, DDS