“Sad or Mad: Fear and Loss of Control in the Pandemic,” an editorial by Kerry K. Carney, DDS, CDE, that appeared in the April 2021 Journal of the California Dental Association, is the first-place recipient of the 2021 William J. Gies Editorial Award.
Dr. Carney, a dentist in Benicia, California, who is in her 14th year as editor-in-chief of the CDA Journal, received a plaque and a $1,500 honorarium. The American Association of Dental Editors and Journalists presented the Gies Editorial and other dental-related editorial awards at its annual meeting Oct. 12-13 in Houston.
“This award recognizes the contributions of dental editors and journalists who share and demonstrate a commitment to the establishment and encouragement of responsible editorial policy,” the award letter to Carney reads.
In her editorial, Carney contemplates patient hostility in the dental office, saying it is often “the result of fear and a feeling of loss of control” — a feeling that the COVID-19 pandemic has only intensified. She uses an incident of aggression a patient displayed toward staff in her own office as a point of reflection.
“In order to effectively relate to the people with whom we interact in the office, we have to be able to recognize and respond appropriately to the emotional drive behind some actions,” Carney writes.
CDA Journal has received seven Gies Editorial Awards
Since 1958, the AADEJ and the William J. Gies Foundation for the Advancement of Dentistry of the American Dental Education Association have presented the prestigious editorial award annually to the author of the most valuable editorial published in a dental journal or periodical. The award is named for the former Columbia University biochemistry professor William J. Gies, PhD, who is widely credited as the founder of modern dental education and published the landmark “Gies Report, Dental Education in the United States and Canada” in 1926.
“Sad or Mad: Fear and Loss of Control in the Pandemic” is not the first CDA Journal article to receive a William J. Gies Award. Carney has picked up seven prior awards, including first- and third-place awards in 2019 for her editorials “End First Exposure: Dentistry’s Biggest Opportunity in the Opioid Crisis” and “Why We Change: Kirk vs. Spock,” respectively.
The Gies Award for Achievement by a Public or Private Partner is also given annually. CDA received the award in March 2021 for its licensure advocacy achievements — in particular for creating a successful alternative pathway to licensure for graduating dental students whose clinical exams were canceled or postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Journal has won many other awards over the years, including the AADEJ’s 2021 ICD Journalism Golden Pen Award.
CDA’s peer-reviewed Journal is published monthly and welcomes scientific reviews, original research articles and case reports. Read the award-winning editorial in the April 2021 CDA Journal or visit the CDA Journal archive. Learn more about the William J. Gies Award.