Rutgers Is Co-Hosting a Colloquium for Future Dental and Healthcare Leaders

Rutgers School of Dental Medicine, together with the National Dental Association and Colgate, will host the Interprofessional Student Leadership Colloquium from Dec. 3 through Dec. 5.

“We are excited to co-host this colloquium for the next generation of healthcare leaders, who will learn to treat patients holistically by drawing in insights from other disciplines,” said Cecile A. Feldman, dean of the school.

Launched with a $2.5 million grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration, the school’s Special Populations Interprofessional Care Experiences program “has become a national model,” Feldman said.

“It brings together students from seven Rutgers schools to collaborate on patient cases,” she added. “Our leadership has also played a key role in the Interprofessional Education Collaborative, helping to set competencies used across the country and around the world.”

The three-day colloquium will be held at Rutgers School of Dental Medicine. It will bring together more than 100 emerging healthcare leaders from dentistry, medicine, nursing, pharmacy and public health to explore the critical connection between oral health and overall health and wellness.

Through faculty-led discussions, collaborative learning, mentorship and leadership development, participants will examine how future healthcare professionals can work across disciplines to advance integrated, patient-centered care and more equitable health outcomes. Sessions will address topics including medical-dental integration, interprofessional collaboration, leadership, mentorship, health equity and the role of oral health in overall wellness.

“The future of healthcare depends on our willingness to move beyond silos and educate the next generation of health professionals to see the patient as a whole,” said Wallace Bellamy, president of the National Dental Association. “By preparing future dentists, physicians, nurses, pharmacists and other health professionals to lead together, we are building a healthcare system that is more integrated, more preventive and better equipped to advance health equity.”