SDM: Mission, Vision, and Values

Mission

The Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences – School of Dental Medicine’s educational mission is to educate and train primary care dentists in a humanistic environment, emphasizing service among rural and medically underserved communities throughout the Northwest.

Vision

Revolutionizing Community-Based Oral Health

Values

Excellence, Culture, Compassion, Trust, Diversity, Inclusion, Collaboration, Service

Our Commitment

We are committed to preparing primary care dentists for practice in rural and underserved areas. We do this by establishing pathways for underrepresented groups to become dentists, removing traditional barriers to admission, and providing a comprehensive, community-based training program.

Our Philosophy

The School of Dental Medicine and the entire University are committed to developing a competent graduate. The development of a competent graduate primary care dentist requires the school to provide an environment based on humanism, compassion, empathy, and trust. We must provide an active learning environment where students engage with the content, each other, the other healthcare students on campus, and their faculty. The learning must focus on the student’s involvement in the process of reasoning and understanding, as well as their responsibility to engage in continued learning, self-assessment, and the pursuit of higher knowledge.