Trial State Boards as a teaching technique

Trial State Boards call upon the dental hygiene student to pull together all the skills and knowledge accumulated during the course of studies before facing the actual Board of Dental Examiners. It has been the experience of many in the field of dental hygiene education that the anxiety created in a testing situation is largely a result of unknowns. At the Ohio State University, the Trial State Board is viewed as an effective means of eliminating some of the anxiety (by eliminating some of the unknowns) and thereby of helping the student to be more relaxed and to emerge with a more accurate evaluation of his or her abilities in terms of taking the licensing examination. Although this process is time consuming, the results seem well worth the time. For the clinical faculty the review by dentists, who do not normally see the students in the clinic, is of great value. Once the testing is over and the dentists have completed their evaluations and comments, these are reviewed by the members of the clinical faculty. A specialized program can be worked out for each student needing additional help to correct any deficiency before graduation. For some the idea of holding a Trial State Board will be a new concept in the traiing of dental hygiene students. For others it may already be part of the training program. For all involved in the education of members of the health professions it is worth considering as both a teaching tool and a learning experience.