Dental career comes full circle for Heinrichs

It’s been more than 40 years since Dr. Alan Heinrichs graduated from the College of Dentistry, and 11 years since he sold his practice with the intention of retiring, only to see his career return to where it began when he was invited to come back to the college in 2011 in the role of part-time assistant professor.

Heinrichs rose to the position of assistant dean before stepping away in June 2021, halfway through his five-year term.

During his time with the college he drew energy from his daily interactions with students on the clinic floor, from helping guide their learning but also from playing a role in reshaping how dental education is delivered. “It’s what I came to the college to do.” And he waited a long time for the opportunity.

Heinrichs and a classmate made plans in 1981 to set up a practice in Estevan after graduation. As that idea was taking shape, the dean at the time asked if the freshly minted dentist would be interested in staying on to do pre-clinical teaching.

“It was huge honour to be asked, but I turned it down, and that was always one of my regrets so getting the offer to come back in 2011 was a tremendous gift to me.”

In hindsight though, Heinrichs recognizes the teaching he does today is informed in myriad ways by his years in private practice, years that aligned his thinking toward the need for patient-centred rather than procedure-centred education for dental students.

His years as a general dentist took him from Estevan back to his hometown of Swift Current and ultimately to a practice in Medicine Hat, Alta., which he sold in December 2010. Three months into retirement, the college called.

“What they were looking for was an instructor to teach across multiple disciplines. It was a move toward comprehensive care, which is what every general practicing dentist does.”

TAKING UP TEACHING

Heinrichs moved back to Saskatoon to take a part-time assistant professor position while still practicing one day a week at his old office in Swift Current. He also commuted home to Medicine Hat for seven years until his wife, Jennifer, retired and joined him in Saskatoon. In 2013, he became a full-time assistant professor.

On his return to the college in 2011, Heinrichs found things had changed little since he graduated, with discipline specialists directing instruction supported by part-time general dentists. “The different disciplines of dentistry were very siloed, very structured,” he said, “which was really good for clinical instructors but in no way served the patients.

Students were not being taught how to look at the whole patient and that’s a style of teaching that was quite frustrating for students and their patients. My mission was to make things as easy for students as I could.”

Heinrichs’ appointment marked a significant shift toward a patient-centre model of teaching, one that better acquaints students with general dental practice but is also a requirement of the Commission on Dental Accreditation of Canada. The goal is a “more general dentistry driven clinic with specialists supporting the clinic and helping with difficult cases. I bought into the model early.”

Credit, according to Heinrichs, for moving the college in this new direction goes to Dr. Doug Brothwell, who he described as “a strong agent of change. He elevated me to assistant dean clinics and then got people pointed in the right direction. He has a very clear idea about what needs to be done to save it (the college) from extinction.”

SAYING YES TO STUDENTS

As an instructor, Heinrichs adopted a default position of always saying yes to students.

“Dental school is hard, and my mission is to break down barriers for them.” One barrier he described is the procedure requirements for graduation “but when the schedule dictates a denture can only be done Wednesday afternoons and Friday mornings, students have to cherry pick the patient pool, and that doesn’t always work for patients.”

Heinrichs logged over 3,800 hours of clinical instruction in more than a dozen courses covering almost the entire scope of general dentistry. He also facilitated interdisciplinary problem-based learning, served as a summer clinic supervisor, judged student research projects and sat on a number of college committees. In 2020, he received the USask Provost’s College Award for Outstanding Teaching.

The fruits of his labour come when he sees students moving away from thinking about graduation requirements to thinking about patients and their needs, he said. That, however, presents the challenge of assessing student competence.

“Competence doesn’t equal a set of graduation requirements. I can see 10 removable prosthodontic cases by one student that aren’t good, but I can also see four procedures by another student that tell me this person is competent. We need to measure ability based on the quality of patient care.”

He admits change can be slow and difficult “but we’re starting to have real conversations about assessment versus graduation requirements.”

STEPPING BACK

There were a couple of factors that influenced his decision to leave the position of assistant dean in June 2021. One was the work involved in keeping the clinic running through the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It was a difficult year, but I’m proud of the efforts of faculty staff and students.”

The other was the pending major renovation of the college building.

“The prospect of managing the clinic through a two-to-three-year renovation with our recently expanded student numbers was too much. At this stage of my career, I didn’t think I had it in me. After all, I’m in Year 11 of my two- or three-year semi-retirement plan.”

Despite stepping back, Heinrichs expressed pride in the strides made within the college, and a lot of optimism for the future.

“When the college was first established to train dentists to serve Saskatchewan, we were almost like a technical institute with little interest in research or collaboration or community engagement. We weren’t fulfilling our mission as a college.”

Heinrichs has seen that change on all fronts, particularly when it comes to research, and engagement with Indigenous and disadvantaged communities.

“We’re showing the university we’re serious about becoming a real college and I’m extremely proud of that.”

There is still work to be done on the patient-centred education model and student assessment, but Heinrichs asks for patience.

“Change is hard and there may be some things not working quite right; and I know the profession think the changes have negatively affected the quality of our graduates. Yes, the college is changing but I think in the end, we’ll have better graduates, students coming out knowing how to do dentistry well but also knowing how to care for people.”

As the evolution of education at the College of Dentistry continues, Heinrichs will take it one year at a time, not locking himself into staying or retiring. Thinking back to that first offer to teach in 1981, he sees a career that has come full circle.

“It’s been a wonderful way to tie the beginning to the end.”

This Alumni Spotlight profile was included in the Spring 2022 edition of Recall magazine. The full publication is available for reading and download in PDF format.