Oxford Declaration of Support for Dual Degree OMFS in the UK

“In the interests of our patients’ care, BAOMS is fully committed to dual degree training of OMFS Consultants in the UK. OMFS is a unique surgical specialty. BAOMS asks all stakeholders to help it develop the unique solutions needed to improve and shorten OMFS training.”

Download the Oxford Declaration

Background

Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery is a medical specialty that requires dual qualification in both medicine and dentistry. External reviews of our specialty in 2008 (PMETB)1 and 2013 (GMC)2, which included input from our patients, recognised that the scope of care provided by a consultant on the UK GMC OMFS specialist list requires degree level training in both dentistry and medicine. This recognition was unequivocal. There have been numerous attempts to streamline training, often focused on the potential for a single dental or medical degree to be sufficient or more efficient3. This has been discussed extensively within BAOMS. From a 2003 debate, via road shows of 2008, through debates at our annual scientific meetings to our most recent strategy day, BAOMS members 4,5, fellows5,6 and their representatives on BAOMS Council7,8 have repeatedly and overwhelmingly supported our dual degree status whenever the question is raised3,9. OMFS is the unique surgical bridge between medicine and dentistry, and the need for dual qualification is recognised internationally10.

Reason for Oxford Declaration

BAOMS is committed to streamlining training, but this must not be at the expense of the extensive knowledge that underpins our specialty which is most efficiently delivered by dual qualification in medicine and dentistry. Following the BAOMS 2024 Strategy Day in Oxford, BAOMS plans a range of objectives to improve and shorten dual degree OMFS training. BAOMS Council wants all stakeholders with whom BAOMS will work to understand its unambiguous position on this issue. “In the interests of our patients ’ care, BAOMS is fully committed to dual degree training of OMFS Consultants in the UK. OMFS is a unique surgical specialty. BAOMS asks all stakeholders to help it develop the unique solutions needed to improve and shorten OMFS training.” 

References

1. Postgraduate Medical Education and Training Board. PMETB report on training in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery ( OMFS ) [Internet]. 2008. 

2. General Medical Council (GMC). Review of training in oral and maxillofacial surgery [Internet]. 2013. 

3. Newman L, Brown J, Kerawala C, Patel M, Woodwards B, Lavery K, et al. Our specialty. The future. Is the writing on the wall? Vol. 58, British Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery. Churchill Livingstone; 2020. p. 1219–21.

4. Magennis P, Begley A, Brennan PA, Parmar S, Keith DJW, Banks RJ, et al. Changing the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (OMFS) training pathway in the United Kingdom – an illustrative retrospective. Br J Oral Maxillofac Surg. 2020;58(10):1261–7.

5. Sharma D, Douglas J, Begley A, Magennis P, Koppel D. UK OMFS consultants and trainees strongly support the recommendations of the 2008 Postgraduate Medical Education and Training Board (PMETB) Review of Training in OMFS. The time for delivering them is now. Br J Oral Maxillofac Surg. 2023;In Print.

6. Magennis P. Evidence on Dual Degree OMFS in UK Presented to BAOMS Council [Internet]. BAOMS Website. 2017 [cited 2020 Jul 14].

7. Brennan PA, Magennis P. Over 99% of those responding and all the Council members of the British Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery support dual degree training for Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery. BMJ [Internet]. 2016 Jun 29 [cited 2022 Jun 3];352:i1148. 

8. Bentley R, Parmar S, Smith A, Dhariwal DK, Banks R, Keith D, et al. The future of OMFS lies in creating pathways to implement the PMETB recommendations and inspiring our trainees. Enough time has been spent debating, we need to deliver!: Re: Newman L, Brown J, Kerawala C, et al. Our specialty. The future. Is the writing o. Br J Oral Maxillofac Surg. 2020 Dec 1;58(10):1351–2.

9. Brennan PA, Ilankovan V, Brown JS, Goodson A, Payne K, Tahim A, et al. Oral and maxillofacial surgery—is it time to rethink the long training pathway? BMJ [Internet]. 2016 Feb 29 [cited 2023 Nov 30];352:i1148. 

10. Magennis P, Hölzle F, Ulrich HP, Acero J, Hutchison I. The specialty of oral and maxillofacial surgery (OMFS) in Europe – Part 2: Training environment including the new Union of European Medical Specialists (UEMS) Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery European Training Requirement (OMFS ETR). Br J Oral Maxillofac Surg [Internet]. 2022 Dec 1 [cited 2023 Jan 27];60(10):1340–6.