GSDM students receive national ethics award in 2020 and 2021
Boston University Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine (GSDM) students have received the Ozar-Hasegawa Ethics Award two years running, with Victoria Chang DMD 23 winning the award in 2020 and Luljeta Isedisha DMD AS 21 winning in 2021.
“Over the years, I have encouraged students to make a submission for this contest,” Catherine Sarkis, acting assistant dean of Admissions and clinical associate professor of Health Policy & Health Services Research, said. “It’s been a pleasure to see our talented GSDM students [Chang and Isedisha] winning the award in two consecutive years. I am very proud of their interest in ethics and professionalism, as well as their hard work.”
The Ozar-Hasegawa Ethics Award is an annual award presented by the American Society for Dental Ethics to a dental or dental hygiene student for an essay or comparable product of careful ethical reflection. The Award is named for two individuals who have contributed to the scholarship, discussion, and application of dental ethics, Professor David Ozar of Loyola University and Dr. Thomas Hasegawa Jr. of Baylor University.
For her submission, Isedisha created a powerpoint presentation, in which she discussed a hypothetical case where a dentist prepares the wrong tooth—instead of replacing an amalgam restoration on #12, he removes the restoration on #13, which also happened to be amalgam.
“It may seem like a small dilemma but it’s one that can happen often if we are not careful and vigilant during treatment,” Isedisha said. “The ethical issue is very clear in this case, but it is the way it will be addressed that will set the cornerstone of the professional you will be.”
Chang, the 2020 recipient of the Ozar-Hasegawa Ethics Award, entered as a first-year dental student. She wrote an essay titled “Past to Present: The Impact of a Pre-dental Incident on Myself as an Ethical Oral Healthcare Provider,” where she recounted an incident she witnessed while shadowing as a pre-dental student.
“It [the event] made me more appreciative of the importance of ethics, and the American Dental Associations Five Principles of Ethics, such as justice and being fair to your patients,” Chang said. “I committed to myself—even as a pre-dental student—that when I become a dentist someday, I promise I will be fair and do what’s right…to every single patient regardless of any other factor.”
According to Sarkis, who teaches a series of courses in dental ethics and professionalism, dental jurisprudence and healthcare law and presents on behavioral sciences, practice management and risk management courses to predoctoral and postdoctoral students, ethics in dentistry is important for both the public and the profession.
“Ethical practitioners have professional integrity and focus on the best interest of their patients,” Sarkis said. “They build doctor patient relationships that are built on the foundation of trust and respect which maintains and enriches the dental profession.”
Chang said that she didn’t enter the contest expecting to win, but she was happy that her story resonated with the judges.
“I wasn’t motivated with the possibility of winning, I was motivated by wanting to share this personal event that shaped me as a pre-dental student to become an ethical healthcare provider,” Chang said. “When I won, I was pleasantly surprised and excited to share the news with Ms. Sarkis, who served as my advisor for the competition.”
Isedisha said that the contest served as a rewarding experience that reinforced the value of ethics.
“It helped stress once more the importance of ethical training during school and the crucial role ethics has in the practice of dentistry,” Isedisha said.