Master’s programme coordinator Jan Tams and professionalisation coordinator Wouter Kerdijk will resign from their managerial positions at the Center for Dentistry and Oral Hygiene (CTM), but will remain as instructors in the programme. Professor of clinical epidemiology Boudewijn Stegenga will be resigning from CTM altogether.
According to UMCG spokesperson Janneke Kruse, Tams decided ‘in mutual deliberation’ to resign from his position. ‘In part because he fulfilled this position for many years, and in part because tasks will be merged and the position will change somewhat’, Kruse says.
According to well-informed sources at dentistry, the staff members disagree with the organisational changes that are being implemented by the board. Tams refuses to discuss this issue. ‘We are not permitted to speak directly to the press’, he says.
From 1 January onwards, Stegenga will no longer work at the Center. He says that his departure is ‘not directly’ linked to discontent with respect to the programme or the organisational changes. Like department head Luc van der Sluis, Kerdijk also declined to respond to questions from the UK.
Saying goodbye
‘There are about 190 employees at CTM. Every year, a number of them say goodbye and the freed positions are filled with new colleagues. The same thing is happening this year’, Kruse says. ‘Everyone makes their own considerations in this respect: sometimes it’s due to the organisation, but more often personal ambitions or personal reasons play a part.’
In May of this year, it was reported that the couple Charlotte and Ernst Aukema – both chefs de clinique – resigned. They, too, did not want to explain their departure.
Problems
The programme has been plagued with problems for years. After complaints from students regarding the culture of fear at the CTM and a corresponding investigation, interim manager Lina van der Ploeg was appointed to sort matters with additional funding.
However, her plans for the reorganisation of the programme failed when a budgetary shortcoming of nearly one million euros was discovered. There was no budget to hire new people, after which the plans for the required cultural change were put on hold. Van der Ploeg subsequently left after having been offered a different job.
Steps
In early September, Van der Sluis was appointed to bring the reorganisation to a proper close and to make the programme financially sound again. The programme is now in better shape after drastically reducing spending. Students and employees have been informed of Van der Sluis’ subsequent plans in recent weeks.
‘Important steps have been taken in the past few months’, Kruse emphasises. ‘For instance, there is now an executive board and a new chef de clinique was appointed on Monday. The new organisational structure is also defined more clearly. The quality and efficacy of patient care, education and research are the focus. Financial developments are also favourable.’
Employees are willing to provide input regarding the developments, Kruse says. However, sources at dentistry, who wish to remain anonymous, say that the staff views the changes in the programme as being ‘very threatening’. ‘Some people present at the informative meetings were absolutely livid’, one of the sources says.
‘This reorganisation – yes, it’s not the first one for CTM – impacts employees. Many agree with it, but not everyone does’, Kruse reacts. The organisational changes were supposed to have been implemented in November. Students and staff recently received a letter stating that the reorganisation has been postponed until after Christmas.
‘In the past months, multiple informative meetings were held with staff and students’, Kruse explains. According to the UMCG spokesperson, the concept reorganisation plan has been finalised. ‘The plan will be submitted to the sector director before Christmas. In January 2017 there will be informative meetings with staff members where the concept reorganisation plan will be explained and proposals for improvement can be submitted.’
Students
Students are also worried about the changes to the programme, according to representatives on the faculty board. ‘People worry about what exactly will happen’, one of the students in the Education and Research Board (O&O) noted.
The programme wishes to transition to a phased enrolment into the master’s programme. Half of the students start in September and the other half in February. Students fear that their studies will be delayed due to the waiting period.
‘We also received a letter about this from ProDent (the representative for dentistry students, ed.)’, pro-dean Education and Educational Programme Jan Borleffs admits. ‘However, everyone who is scheduled for February will also be placed in February. Students who can only start in the clinic in February will first do the academic internship, which is thus placed at the start of the master’s programme. It’s not an ideal scenario, but it is one that’s informed by practice’, he says.