Comparative Effectiveness of Instructional Methods: Oral and Pharyngeal Cancer Examination

Abstract

This study compared the effectiveness of different methods of instruction for the oral and pharyngeal cancer examination. A group of thirty sophomore students at the University of Florida College of Dentistry were randomly assigned to three training groups: video instruction, a faculty-led hands-on instruction, or both video and hands-on instruction. The training intervention involved attending two sessions spaced two weeks apart. The irst session used a pretest to assess students' baseline didactic knowledge and clinical examination technique. The second session utilized two posttests to assess the comparative effectiveness of the training methods on didactic knowledge and clinical technique. The key indings were that students performed the clinical examination signiicantly better with the combination of video and faculty-led hands-on instruction (p<0.01). All students improved their clinical exam skills, knowledge, and conidence in performing the oral and pharyngeal cancer examination independent of which training group they were assigned. Utilizing both video and interactive practice promoted greater performance of the clinical technique on the oral and pharyngeal cancer examination.Dr. Clark is Associate Professor,

Oral cancer screening: knowledge is not enough

“…The results of this study indicate a major disconnect between knowledge and actual practice. These results are concerning as it is known that early detection of oral cancer is a critical factor for improving survival rates . There is evidence to suggest that increased regularity of dental examinations is associated with earlier stage at diagnosis for oral and pharyngeal cancer so efforts should be made to screen for oral cancer during recall examinations .…”

“…The self‐reports are often based on a perception that a visual examination constitutes oral cancer screening and are not based on a uniform definition of a comprehensive examination . Several studies have shown that dentists and dental hygienists are looking for lesions; however, it must be emphasized that visual examinations are considered partial examinations and intra/extra‐oral examinations must include both a visual and tactile component otherwise abnormalities can easily be missed . The fact that only partial examinations are more commonly performed can be attributed to a need for further education on oral cancer screening and/or a need to extend appointment times so that screenings can be conducted.…”

“…The oral cancer survival rate has improved only slightly over the last decade from an estimated 50% to approximately 60% . The stage of diagnosis is critical for survival so every effort should be made to diagnose oral cancer at an early stage . The need for early detection becomes even more compelling as health professionals recognize the disturbing trend of increasing numbers of human papillomavirus (HPV)‐associated cancers among persons aged 15 years or older .…”

Effects of two different educational movie concepts regarding failure management on the acquisition of new manual abilities for dental students: A pilot study

“…This study has shown that educational movies based on However, Clark [9], stated that students performed signifi cantly better in the combination of video and faculty-ledhands-oninstruction than video or instruction alone regarding oral and pharyngeal cancer examination. Weber [10], concluded that video-based instruction is a more effective teaching method than conventional instruction for learning surgical hand disinfection.…”

Elevating dental training to prioritize prevention efforts for reducing HPV‐related oropharyngeal cancer incidence

“…Fourteen of the 21 studies involved the examination of pre-doctoral dental students' readiness to assess risks for OPC, 6,[10][11][12][13][14][18][19][20][21][22][23]25,27 but only one study discussed training material content for their curriculum. 27 Another single study even highlighted that dental students in their final year appeared more knowledgeable on risk factors and clinical aspects of OPC as a result of the undergraduate dental curriculum. 10 A further study even described dental students' perspectives around discomfort in discussing sexual-related topics 23 and the necessity for structured learning for assessing HPV as a risk factor with patients.…”