Medical University of South Carolina National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research

Dental Medicine Scientist Training Program

Student Profiles > Gabrielle Cannick

Gabrielle Cannick

8th year DMSTP student

Undergraduate Institution

Furman University
Bachelor of Science, cum laude
Biology Major

Research

Development, Implementation, and Evaluation of a Standardized Patient-Based Training Program in Oral Cancer Prevention and Early Detection for Dental Students

Oral cancer is a significant public health issue in the United States. However, few studies have examined the relation between oral cancer education and the oral cancer prevention and detection skills of dental students. This dissertation reported the utilization of the PRECEDE-PROCEED framework to develop, implement, and evaluate a randomized pretest/posttest controlled study to examine the association between specific oral cancer education and oral cancer prevention and detection skills among first and second year predoctoral dental students enrolled at the Medical University of South Carolina. Results from this study demonstrated the effectiveness of faculty-facilitated standardized patient-based training on the oral cancer prevention and early detection skills of dental students. Although results suggested that a comprehensive communications training course may be more beneficial than brief training in improving dental students’ communication skills, the use of PRECEDE-PROCEED sets a precedent for designing a standardized oral cancer curriculum for a wide range of health professions disciplines. Health professional schools can adapt this framework to incorporate faculty-facilitated standardized patient-based training and required competency measurement into existing early clinical experiences to train students in oral cancer prevention and detection.

Mentor and Department

Daniel T. Lackland, DrPH.
Department of Biostatistics, Bioinformatics, and Epidemiology
Medical University of South Carolina

Abstracts/Meeting Presentations

  • Cannick, G.F., AM Horowitz, Dr Garr, BW Neville, SG Reed, RF Woolson, TA Day, and DT Lackland. Use of PRECEDE-PROCEED to develop an oral cancer prevention and detection curriculum. Second North American Congress of Epidemiology, Seattle. June 21-24, 2006. Poster Presentation.
  • Cannick, G.F., A.M. Horowitz, D.R. Garr, B.W. Neville, S.G. Reed, T.A. Day, and D.T. Lackland. A model for change: oral cancer in the dental school curriculum. National Oral Health Conference, Little Rock. May 1-3, 2006. Roundtable Presentation.
  • Cannick, G.F. Department of Biostatistics, Bioinformatics, and Epidemiology, Medical University of South Carolina. Development and implementation of an oral cancer educational program for dental students. American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting, Philadelphia. December 10-14, 2005. Invited Oral Presentation.
  • Cannick, G.F.1,2, A.M. Horowitz2, T.F. Drury2, S.G. Reed3, and T.A. Day4, 1Department of Biometry and Epidemiology, Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC); 2National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, National Institutes of Health; 3Department of Stomatology, MUSC; and 4Department of Otolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, MUSC. Attitudes of South Carolina Dental Students toward Tobacco Intervention. J Dent Res 83(Spec Iss A):0011, 2004 (www.dentalresearch.org). Division of Population and Health Promotion Sciences, Health Policy, Analysis, and Development Branch, NIDCR/ NIH, June 30, 2004; Oral Seminar.
  • Cannick, G.F.1,2, A.M. Horowitz2, T.F. Drury2, S.G. Reed3, and T.A. Day4, 1Department of Biometry and Epidemiology, Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC); 2National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, National Institutes of Health; 3Department of Stomatology, MUSC; and 4Department of Otolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, MUSC. Oral Cancer Knowledge among South Carolina Dental Students. Hinman Student Research Symposium, Oct 24-26, 2003; Oral Presentation. Thomas P. Hinman Dental Meeting, Mar 18-20, 2004; Table Clinic. NIH Graduate Student Research Symposium, Apr 23, 2004; Poster Session. National Oral Health Conference, May 3-5, 2004; Poster Session.
  • Cannick, G.F.1,2, A.M. Horowitz2, T.F. Drury2, S.G. Reed3, and T.A. Day4, 1 Department of Biometry and Epidemiology, Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC); 2National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, NIH; 3Department of Stomatology, MUSC; and 4Department of Otolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, MUSC. Academic Year as a Determinant of Oral Cancer Knowledge among South Carolina Dental Students. J Dent Res 82(Spec Iss A):1153, 2003 (www.dentalresearch.org). Division of Population and Health Promotion Sciences, Health Policy, Analysis, and Development Branch, NIDCR/NIH, July 16, 2002; Oral Seminar. MUSC Student Research Day, Nov. 2002; Oral Presentation.

Publications

  • Cannick GF, Horowitz AM, Garr DR, Reed SG, Neville BW, Day TA, Woolson RF, Lackland DT. Oral Cancer Prevention and Early Detection: Using the PRECEDE-PROCEED framework to guide the training of health professional students. Journal of Cancer Education 2007;22(4):250-3.
  • Cannick GF, Horowitz AM, Garr DR, Reed SG, Neville BW, Day TA, Woolson RF, Lackland DT. Use of the OSCE to evaluate brief communication skills training for dental students. Journal of Dental Education 2007;71(9)1203-9.
  • Cannick GF, Horowitz AM, Reed SG, Drury TF, Day TA. Opinions of South Carolina dental students toward tobacco use interventions. Journal of Public Health Dentistry. 2006;66(1):44-8.
  • Cannick GF, Horowitz AM, Drury TF, Reed SG, Day TA. Assessing oral cancer knowledge among dental students in South Carolina. Journal of the American Dental Association. 2005;136:373-8.

Honors and Awards

  • Anthony Westwater Jong Memorial Community Dental Public Health Pre-professional Award, American Public Health Association, Oral Health Section, 134th APHA Annual Meeting, November 6, 2006
  • Individual Predoctoral Dental Scientist Fellowship (F30DE017046), National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, National Institutes of Health; July 2005-May 2009.
  • First Place in Predoctoral Dental Student Merit Award Competition, American Association of Public Health Dentistry, National Oral Health Conference, May 3-5, 2004.
  • Most Outstanding Presentation in Clinical Research, Thomas P. Hinman Dental Society and the University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Dentistry, Hinman Student Research Symposium, October 24-26, 2003
  • President’s Award for Excellence in Dental Research, National Student Research Group, Hinman Student Research Symposium, October 24-26, 2003
  • MUSC Presidential Scholar, 2002-2003
  • Southern Regional Education Board, Doctoral Scholars Fellowship, 2002-2005

Professional Organizations

  • American Student Dental Association
  • Student National Dental Association
  • American Association of Women Dentists
  • American/International Associations of Dental Research (AADR/IADR)
  • American Association of Public Health Dentistry