Dr Sally Hanks

Associate Professor (Senior Lecturer) of Clinical Dental Education Associate Head of School, Teaching and Learning, Peninsula Dental School
Professionalism Module Lead for BDS and BSc Dental Therapy & Hygiene

Qualifications

BDS PhD PFHEA PGCAP BSCAH Adv Dip (Accred) FDTFEd 

I am head of teaching and learning at Plymouth University Peninsula School of Dentistry and Module Lead for Professionalism for both BDS and BSc in Dental Therapy&Hygiene.
My particular clinical interest is in patient centred care and behavioural management for patients with special needs and those who have a fear of the dentist. I use clinical hypnosis and its philosophy to underpin all my work. My education interest is in leadership and personal and professional development to enable individuals to be the best they can be through the use of best practice, innovative and inclusive teaching, learning and assessment activities, as well as one-to-one development support. Communication plays a vital role in all of these areas, and my overarching interests are communication, leadership, coaching techniques, development of capability, professionalism and how to provide holistic and personalised care/education/support.

I have been awarded the prestigious Principal Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy and am Fellow of the Faculty of Dental Trainers of the Royal College of Surgeons, Edinburgh. 

I set up and was inaugural chair of the UK Council of the Dental Teachers of Professionalism - the home for the education of professionalism across dental education for undergraduate and postgraduate institutions.
I qualified from Bristol Dental School in 1993 and spent the first 10 years of my career working full time in primary care dentistry. This included roles in the NHS, private practice, SHO experience and as a civilian dental officer with the Royal Navy.
The next five-year phase saw my clinical career develop by working with special care patients and furthering my interest and expertise in behavioural management strategies. I gained my Advanced Diploma in Hypnosis and Stress Management from the University of Stafford in 2010.
Before joining Peninsula I was a Restorative Clinical Lecturer at Bristol Dental School. At Peninsula I quickly progressed to Final Year Lead, lead for professionalism and gained my Post-Graduate Certificate of Academic Practice. I have submitted my PhD in medical education related to leadership in primary care dental practice. Underpinned by a social constructivist approach, using traditional ethnography and innovative video reflexive ethnography methods and Activity Theory as the theoretical lens for analysis, the final Hanks framework is a conceptual framework of leadership for dentists that has been grounded in primary care practice.

My interest in patient- and student-centred education influences my approach to ongoing research projects and teaching. I continue to contribute to creating, developing and delivering innovative curriculum activities and Continuing Professional Development opportunities for undergraduate and post-graduate students, and qualified dentist,to ensure initial preparedness for practice, along with ongoing life long development.  
I developed and led the first undergraduate dentistry humanities module, run the patient feedback strategy for the school, and set up our student voice (feedback) strategy. My motivation is to inspire and embed inclusivity and humanity into education and healthcare.

Professional membership

Faculty of Dental Trainers Royal College of Surgeons Edinburgh

SRHE (Society for Research in higher Education)

IADR (International Association of Dental Research)

AMEE (Association of Medical Education in Europe)

ADEE (association of Dental Education in Europe)

BSODR (British Society or Oral Dental Research)

BSCAH (Accred) (British Society of Clinical and Academic Hypnosis)

Roles on external bodies

Founder and founding chair: UK Council for the Dental Teachers of Professionalism