Our Mission and Core Principles

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.

What DEIB Means to Us

The School of Dental Medicine is committed to fostering a diverse, equitable, inclusive, and welcoming environment. To emphasize the importance of these principles and create a supportive community for students, faculty, and staff, we have developed the following definitions of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB). In conjunction with our core values, these shape the educational experience at our school and contribute to a more equitable healthcare landscape.

Diversity

The practice of including and involving people of different social, ethnic, and identity backgrounds to harness the widest range of talent and creativity to achieve the best possible outcomes.

Equity

Intentionally and consistently assessing the specific needs of our community members and the commitment to providing individualized resources to ensure that each person has an equal opportunity to perform and contribute at their best.

Inclusion

Proactively acknowledging and embracing the individual contributions of all members to our work and creating a culture where different backgrounds are welcome, respected, and engaged in our community.

Belonging

As professionals, we value self-assessment and accountability, which includes actively seeking feedback from each other to ensure each member feels heard, safe to be themselves, and a part of the team efforts, vision, and mission of our organization.