Dr. John O'Keefe
Welcome to the new JCDA.ca! This website has been redesigned to serve as an electronic gathering place for dentists—one that will “create community around credible clinical content.”
I view this site as a new platform for clinical conversations, where dentists are the ones to decide what conversations take place and how they will be conducted.
While the site will still house peer-reviewed clinical research that adds to the literature, it will also include more user-friendly presentations of clinical material along with pertinent news presented in a variety of formats.
Our ultimate goal is to keep dentists up to date on the essential clinical and scientific knowledge they need to be successful dental practitioners in Canada.
What you are seeing now is just the first stage of a 4-phase implementation plan. Our print magazine (JCDA) will continue to be mailed to dentists, but on a less frequent basis. However, the magazine will be supplemented with a new clinical newsletter delivered via email called JCDA Express. Other elements will be introduced over time, including a JCDA.ca Update email bulletin, an electronic library (a searchable set of electronic databases of periodicals and books), as well as forums and other networking media where user-generated content can be posted for the purpose of shared learning. The final phase will be to organize content that can inform the dentist–patient dialogue of the future.
But if we are to make it to the final phases of this project, we will need your help. The success of this website will depend on making sure that you enjoy your experience with JCDA.ca.
While I will always try my best to highlight professional developments that come across my desk, we also need you to report back from your part of the world. What are the developments happening at your practice? What events have you attended recently that would be useful to your colleagues?
This is not my website—it is your website. We are creating a place for you to engage in and guide the clinical conversations of the future.
In my blog, I will report on some of my experiences and observations based on my encounters with other dentists across Canada and beyond. This could be at CE events or meetings or perhaps from dropping in at a local practice. My pledge to you is that I will try to always have my eyes and ears open—but I also need your antennae to be switched on as well.
I truly hope you will enter into these conversations. I am always interested to find out what is on your mind. You can email me directly with your thoughts on the new website or any other professional matters.
We are all members of a healing profession that thrives on serving people. I want to serve your needs so that we can work together to make sure dentistry continues to make a positive contribution to society.
Dr. John O’Keefe
Editor-in-chief, JCDA
jokeefe@cda-adc.ca