Correlations Between Final‐Year Dental Students’ Performance on Knowledge‐Based and Clinical Examinations

Abstract

Dental students are assessed using a range of methods in their final-year examinations. The aim of this study was to explore the correlations and predictive value of final-year dental students' performance on knowledge-based and clinical assessments. Examination data related to applied dental knowledge (ADK), exit case presentation (CP), and integrated structured clinical examination (ISCE) assessments for five consecutive cohorts of final-year students at one U.K. dental school from 2011-12 to 2015-16 were collated. The relationships between the scores produced by each assessment were investigated to explore the relative contributions of each to the understanding of students' abilities across the domains. The study utilized data from all 304 students: 147 (48.4%) females and 157 (51.6%) males. Significant positive correlations were found between ISCE and ADK performance (r(391)=0.42, p<0.001) as well as between ISCE and CP (r(391)=0.44, p<0.001). In addition, both ADK performance and CP performance were significant predictors (at p<0.001) of ISCE performance. This study provides important information about the relationship between these students' performance across knowledge (ADK) and clinical (ISCE and CP) domains and highlights their predictive value. Further research is required to establish if these findings can be generalized and to explore the correlations between performance of dental students before and after graduation.

Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on dental academia. Students’ experience in online education and expectations for a predictable practice.

“…Our results show that self-perceived preparedness for graduating students was satisfactory for a wide range of affective skills and traits. Our students showed con dence in communication and continuous development, similarly to other studies [22,23,24,25]. Nevertheless, there were several areas of weakness that require improvement especially those related to evidencebased practice.…”

Self‐perceived preparedness of final year dental students in a developing country—A multi‐institution study

“…Preparedness of undergraduate students may be influenced by a variety of factors including the following: curriculum design; teaching methods; educational environment; clinical training model; and assessment methods . Previous studies on dental students show inconsistencies in the skill set of undergraduate students and new graduates and it may not always be possible to demonstrate competence in all core skills expected from students at the point of graduation .…”

“…Preparedness of undergraduate students may be influenced by a variety of factors including the following: curriculum design; teaching methods; educational environment; clinical training model; and assessment methods. [4][5][6][7][8] Previous studies on dental students show inconsistencies in the skill set of undergraduate students and new graduates and it may not always be possible to demonstrate competence in all core skills expected from students at the point of graduation. 4,[9][10][11] Longitudinal evaluation of students against the learning outcomes of an undergraduate dental programme may allow dental educators to identify areas of weaknesses and address them appropriately through additional education, training and consolidation.…”

Assesment of Skill and Competence in Dental Education II: Assessment Methods

“…26 Harvard Üniversitesi'nde, öğrencilerin bağımsız düşünme ve klinik nedensellik becerilerini geliştirmek için disiplinlerarası sınavlarda OSCE ve vaka sunumu değerlendirmeleri birlikte kullanılmaktadır. 8 31 Öğrencilerin teorik bilgi sınav başarıları; vaka sunumu performansları ve klinik beceri sınavı için önemli bir belirleyici olmuş; ayrıca teorik bilgi ve klinik beceri performansları entegre klinik uygulama performanslarını da önemli ölçüde etkilemiştir. 31 Teorik sınavlar uygulamalı dental bilgiyi değerlendirmeyi amaçlarken, klinik performans ve entegre yapılandırılan klinik sınavlar klinik beceriler, profesyonellik, iletişim becerileri, idare ve liderlik becerileri gibi bir seri öğrenim çıktısını değerlendirir.…”