A Study on the Satisfaction and Stress Factors of Clinical Practice for Dental Hygiene Students

Abstract

The purpose of this study was investigate the relationship between the degree of satisfaction of the clinical practice and the stress factors for dental hygiene students. Dental hygiene students to 232 people from May 21, 2012 to June 22, 2012 and analyzed using by SPSS for Windows ver. 12.0 program. Regarding the stress factors, by the school system, all the factors, including the environmental factor, the role factor, the interpersonal relationships factor, the ideal and value factor, and the Brief Encounter Psychosocial Instrument (BEPSI) were higher in the 3-year system than in the 4-year system (p＜0.01). Regarding the stress factors according to the degree of satisfaction regarding the practices, all the factors were high when unsatisfied. Among these, the environmental factor was the highest (p＜0.001). According to the practice organization, the environmental factor was the highest among the university dental hospital. The interpersonal relationship factor and the ideal and value factor were the highest among the dental hospitals. The role factor and the BEPSI were the highest among the dental clinics (p＜0.01). When the hospital atmosphere was bad, the environmental factor was the highest (p＜0.001). As a result of analyzing the correlations between the stress factors of the hospital practices, there were the positive correlations among the environment, the roles, the interpersonal relationship, the ideals and values, and the BEPSI (p＜0.01). The stress factor that showed the biggest influence on the BEPSI was interpersonal relationships. In the clinical practice, because of the unfamiliar environment and the insufficiency of the interpersonal relationships, the stress indices of the students can be higher than at ordinary times. I believe that, as such, a systematic management plan for the clinical practice for raising the ability of the students to cope with the stress by themselves must be prepared.