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BSPD creates new committee dedicated to research excellence

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  Posted by: Dental Design      28th July 2020

A new committee has been created by the British Society of Paediatric Dentistry (BSPD) to have scrutiny over all aspects of the Society’s work with academic and clinical governance components. The Quality and Improvement Research Committee (QIRC) will encourage all clinicians in the specialty to produce, disseminate and implement the highest quality evidence. It will co-ordinate national audits, prioiritising ideas, reviewing protocols and allocating leads.

Other functions will include:

  • Providing clinical expertise and guidance to BSPD
  • Reviewing external guidelines and signposting to these
  • Coordinating approaches for representation on external guidelines
  • Advocating for academia, to ensure the best projects are funded
  • Encouraging paediatric dentists to be research active and consider an academic career
  • Having oversight of all requests to BSPD for questionnaires to be disseminated for membership feedback, making sure they are of value and scientifically valid
  • Supporting BSPD’s trainee research collaborative CONNECT
  • Responsibility for the annual Clinical Effectiveness Bulletin

The group has been created at the behest of BSPD’s Executive Committee by Professor Paul Ashley, Senior Clinical Lecturer and Honorary Consultant at UCL, who will be the first Chair, supported by Dr Chris Vernazza, Senior Lecturer and Director of Research at the University of Newcastle’s School for Dental Sciences.

Prof Ashley said: “I am delighted to be asked to Chair this new and important committee for BSPD. It’s our aim to drive the evidence base, support research and encourage more dentists to take a more active interest in research too.”

Dr Vernazza commented: “In the past, it might have been BSPD’s role to write guidelines but bodies like NICE or SDCEP are producing national documents which we can signpost to, leaving QIRC to focus on maintaining the most rigorous and consistent standards in the society’s work.”

As the incoming honorary BSPD Editor for the International Journal of Paediatric Dentistry Dr Vernazza has an automatic place on QIRC.

Other roles to be represented on QIRC are:

  • Consultant group
  • Specialists Group
  • Trainee Group
  • Clinical Effectiveness Bulletin Editor
  • Clinical Effectiveness Bulletin Editor Assistant
  • CONNECT Trainees
  • Teachers group

Claire Stevens, spokesperson for BSPD said: “With the creation of QIRC, BSPD anticipates more national audits in the field of paediatric dentistry as well as more support and encouragement for our members who wish to become or remain research active. These are exciting times.”


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