Overview
The Fellow of Dental Sleep Medicine (FDSM) program certifies the achievement of minimum clinical competencies in the practice of dental sleep medicine.
It was created by the Australasian Sleep Association (ASA) to help both patients and referring medical doctors to identify dentists who have attained these competencies and who maintain their professional education in dental sleep medicine over time. FDSM is not a regulatory requirement to practise dental sleep medicine, but it does offer dentists with particular expertise in this field to demonstrate this to potential patients and referring doctors.
Those who successfully complete the certification are entitled to use the post-nominal FDSM, display their completion certificate publicly, and be listed on the ASA public website as Fellows.
This program handbook details the process to attain the certification and how the program is run.
Process
Certification overview
To attain certification, candidates must:
- pass a 3-hour multiple-choice examination based on key topics and learning outcomes
- submit a logbook of dental sleep medicine cases they have completed which demonstrate clinical competence (minimum 15 cases)
- submit three detailed case reports demonstrating clinical competence
- attend a sleep laboratory placement to observe a set number of activities, and
- obtain two references from sleep physicians in a specified format.
After passing the multiple-choice examination, candidates have 12 months to complete the remaining requirements. Candidates may submit other program requirements (e.g. logbook or case reports) prior to sitting the examination, but it's recommended to complete the examination first, particularly for those who are relatively new to the practise of dental sleep medicine.
As this is a certification program, any specific training to meet the above requirements will be sourced by the candidate themselves. This handbook provides recommended reading lists to assist in developing the knowledge base required to pass the examination. It also includes examples of a logbook, case reports, a laboratory placement checklist and physician referrals. Additionally, the ASA’s management team can help with finding other appropriate training resources relevant to the candidate’s level of prior experience in dental sleep medicine.
Fellows must be a member of the ASA to enrol in and be awarded the FDSM. Fellows must participate in ongoing professional development and maintain the ASA membership to continue using their FDSM post-nominal.
Go to next section of the handbook: Admission