Professor Sally Hanks

Associate Head of School, Teaching and Learning, Peninsula Dental School

Qualifications

BDS PhD PFHEA PGCAP BSCAH Adv Dip (Accred) FDTFEd 

I am head of teaching and learning at Peninsula School of Dentistry University of Plymouth. 

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 of 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.

Professional membership

Royal Society of Medicine (RSM) 

Faculty of Dental Trainers Royal College of Surgeons Edinburgh

SRHE (Society for Research in higher Education)

AMEE (Association of Medical Education in Europe)

ADEE (association of Dental Education in Europe)

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

Roles on external bodies

Dental School Council Education Leads Committee.

La Trobe Rural Health School Course Advisory Committee Dental and Oral Healthcare programmes, La Trobe University, Victoria, Australia.

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

Teaching interests

The use of Health Humanities, integrative and inter-professional education to promote development of communication, empathy, team working, self awareness, emotional intelligence and self-development in healthcare students across a range of disciplines for the benefit of patient care. While the humanities are widely used in medical education they are less evident within dental education. In developing inter professional learning opportunities for dental undergraduates in Peninsula, I work with colleagues across the Faculty of Health and Arts and Humanities to develop such opportunities.

Staff serving as external examiners

University of Liverpool 2nd BDS Clinical Readiness Exam and the new centennial Curriculum.

Research interests

I am particularly interested in undertaking robust qualitative research and my main areas of focus are leadership, capability and professionalism. All these areas are related to supporting students to be prepared for, and to continually develop and strive for excellence in, the ‘real world’ of their chosen clinical field.

I am also interested in clinical translational or regulatory research that informs or influences education directly.

Ongoing projects

GDC funded: Unlocking the potential of GDC Fitness to Practise data

PhD supervised projects:  Salivary gland regeneration and oral cancer; Understanding how people interpret and respond to uncertainties in oral health-related information – An exploratory study among selected multi-ethnic groups of Malaysia; Evaluating the function of ACE2 in oral tissues associated COVID-19 infection

National Collaboration: Ensuring a continuum approach to dental education. Collaboration between 3 dental schools

Internal Faculty and School projects: Exploring the student experience of the covid-19 pandemic across all schools in the FoH; Review of current status of Interprofessional Education in Healthcare – practice, evaluation and outcomes; Student-led Knowledge Exchange Challenge Fund for Digital Health

Completed research: 

GDC funded: Review and mapping of basic dental training in EU member states final report available

Multi-disciplinary project: audio diaries to explore transformative learning through social engagement 

PhD: Deconstructing, contextualising and assessing management and leadership criteria for dental professionals: an ethnographic study of principles in practice

Multi disciplinary research team in collaboration with graduated students evaluating the perceptions of students on a teaching and learning resource (Daybook) which is designed to enhance capability, prepare for practice and educate for employment

Interprofessional research collaboration developing & assessing capability in addition to competency

PedRIO Funded project: What do trainers think of their trainees: Perceptions of trainers on the preparedness to practice of their year 1 Dental Foundation Trainees

Multi-disciplinary research collaboration: Plasticiser Phthalates, Endocrine Disrupters and Composite Breakdown Materials in Dental Patients

Medical Humanities interest group evaluating students’ perceptions of their dental undergraduate experience of the medical humanities

Research degrees awarded to supervised students

MSc Supervisor: An exploratory study investigating the effects of online human factors training on medical students’ behaviour in a peripheral intravenous cannulation hybrid simulation (successful supervision to completion with merit)

Clinical advisor PhD: Plasticiser Phthalates, Endocrine Disrupters and Composite Breakdown Materials in Dental Patients. Successful completion 2017

Grants & contracts

Conferences organised

Joint GDC, Dental Schools' Council & Dental Teacher's of Professionalism conference: Developing a common approach to Student Fitness to Practise. 29th January 2020. QMUL, London

BSCAH Annual Conference 2020 . Think it possible that you may be mistaken? Challenging assumptions & developing new ideas. Dartington Hall, Devon POSTPONED DUE TO COVID 19 until SUMMER 2021

Additional information