SPEA (Student Professionalism and Ethics Association) as a national organization was founded at the Herman Ostrow School of Dentistry of the University of Southern California located in Los Angles, CA in 2007. SPEA, with the support of the American College of Dentists, In October 2011, representatives from various dental schools collaborated and discussed the future path of the organization. The by-laws were ratified, and SPEA became a new national organization.
SPEA is a student-driven organization with a simple but worthwhile vision: to promote and support dental students’ lifelong commitment to ethical and professional behavior in order to benefit the patients served and to further the dental profession.
The mission of SPEA includes:
-Act as a support system for students in strengthening their personal and professional ethics values by:
-Providing a resource for ethics education and professional development.
-Fostering a non-punitive, open forum environment for ethics communication.
-Promoting awareness of ethics standards and related issues within dentistry.
-Collaborating with leadership of the dental profession to effectively advocate for our members.
http://www.speadental.org/about/
Here at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center College of Dentistry, our SPEA chapter works to promote the ethical standards that our profession upholds and create fun, interactive events for students to further the lifelong commitment to ethical and professional behavior.
If you are interested in helping plan events and becoming more involved in promoting SPEA, executive officer positions are available each year and are elected positions. All students are welcome to join SPEA or run for an officer position.
2023 - 2024 SPEA Officers:
President: Indraja Chacko
Vice President: Preston Patrick
Secretary: Monica Wang
Treasurer: Ryleigh Mills
Events Coordinator: Nick Stone
Social Media Chair: Sarah McPhail
SPEA Faculty Advisor: Dr. Kay Beavers