Regulations and guidelines
A one-day Board examination will be offered annually to SFOPOM members to be held in close association with the SFOPOM annual meetings. The examination will comprise a session on stained sections of specimens from the field of oral pathology and a final one hour session with the Board.
Appointment of the Board
Immediately following the annual election of the next President, it shall be the duty of the SFOPOM Council (the President, the Past-President, and the General Secretary) to appoint three senior members from different member countries to organise a Board Examination at the next annual meeting. The Council appoints one of the Board members as chairman of the Board. When the names of the applicant candidates are known, it shall be the responsibitily of the Board, in order to avoid conflict of duty, to notify the Council on any Board member affected by congruent institutional affiliation with one of the applicant candidates. If necessary, the Council must appoint (a) new member(s) to serve as Board member(s).
Responsibilities of the Board members
It shall be the responsibility of the Board to collect suggestions for cases for the Board Examination and among the suggested cases to select the final cases for the examination (cf below). It shall be the responsibility of the chairman to organise and lead the final oral session (cf below). Furthermore, the chairman shall also be responsible for informing candidates in writing about their successful passing following approval by the Board members (cf below). In case of no approval, the candidate will receive a written report by the chairman on the reason why the performance was unacceptable. Practical local arrangements (facilities etc.) should be arranged by the President in collaboration with the chairman of the Board.
Collection and selection of examination cases
Suggestions for cases for the Board Examination are collected from the member departments. Preferably, two cases from each department should be submitted. The Board selects 12 of the submitted cases for the Board Examination. In case of less than 12 submitted suggestions it is the responsibility of the Board to supply with additional cases either from their own collections or by renewed appeal to the member institutions.
Cases should concentrate on interpretative and problem oriented cases with the purpose of testing the professional competence in diagnostic oral pathology. Cases should include stained sections and a detailed, relevant clinical description of the background data as well as clinical photographs and/or radiographs if applicable. Cases should cover dental, jawbone, minor salivary gland and oral mucosal examples of a broad spectrum of diseases in the field of oral pathology as practised in Scandinavia. Board members should agree on the diagnoses and differential diagnostic considerations before the examination. Any additional cost for the production of the examination material shall be at the expense of SFOPOM.
Announcement and application
The President and the chairman of the Board arrange for information on the incoming examination. This should be sent in writing to all members in January of the year of examination presupposing that the annual meeting takes place in August. The announcement may be sent together with preliminary information on the SFOPOM annual meeting and should include the exact date, time, and place for the examination. Candidates are required to apply for participation not later than 5 months ahead of the examination date by a written note to the President. Eligible for the Board Examination shall be any SFOPOM member with a dental degree teaching and/or working in diagnostic oral pathology at a Nordic University/Hospital. The number of participants may have to be limited due to local factors (first come - first serve basis). Participation will include a remittance fee to be determined by the General Assembly. SFOPOM will take no responsibility for travel and hotel arrangements.
Written and oral examination
Candidates will be given 5½ hours at the microscope and are expected to produce a written report covering findings relevant to the diagnosis and relevant clinico-pathologic differential diagnostic considerations of each separate case. This report will form the basis of a final one hour session with the Board for the purpose of clarifying any further details regarded as important for the Board’s judgement. At least two Board members shall be present at the oral session. The level of acceptable performance should comply with what may be required in order to carry out an independent diagnostic service involving commonly as well as less commonly encountered cases in the field of oral pathology in Scandinavia. As a guideline for the written examination, the candidate should correctly interpret all the cases. In case of debatable points in the written report, the candidate must satisfactorily clarify any such topics at the oral examination and prove that the level of performance is consistent with a high standard of diagnostic ability.
Revised [1999]
Jarkko Hietanen
Hanna Strømme Koppang
Åke Larsson
Jesper Reibel