Final year dental student comes out top in national training assessment

A final year dental student from Dungannon has been ranked number one in the UK’s National Dental Foundation Training assessment procedure.

Queen’s University student Leonard Maguire came top out of more than 1,200 final year students from across the UK’s 16 dental schools and dental schools in Europe who were assessed during this year’s foundation training recruitment process. Leonard follows in the footsteps of another Queen’s dental student, Conan Mackle from Derry, who was ranked number one last year.

Speaking about his success, Leonard said: “I am really pleased to have been ranked number one in the UK. The teaching, training and continued support I received at Queen’s means that I feel well equipped for the workplace. The Employability Programme at the Centre for Dentistry has been invaluable in terms of encouraging development of my skills.”

Speaking about the results, Queen’s acting president and vice-chancellor, Professor James McElnay, said: “This is fantastic news for Dentistry at Queen’s. The fact that Queen’s dental students have been ranked top in the UK for the second year in a row is testimony to the high quality of education offered in the School of Medicine, Dentistry and Biomedical Sciences. The performance of our final year dental students in the Dental Foundation Training selection process is evidence of the University’s commitment to employability as a key component of the student experience.”

Professor Donald Burden, director of the Centre for Dentistry at Queen’s, said: “These results reflect not only the hard work and commitment of our students but also the high quality of teaching delivered by the dental teaching team. The Centre for Dentistry’s Employability Programme run by Lorna Dysart, clinical teaching fellow, has also played a key role in this national success.”