Dental Education Challenges during the COVID-19 Pandemic Period in Italy: Undergraduate Student Feedback, Future Perspectives, and the Needs of Teaching Strategies for Professional Development

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic literally stopped most human movement and activities as it initially spread, which included dental practices and dental education. This defined the need for significative changes in teaching and learning with the use of “e-learning” methods, also for traineeships. This study was designed to determine the undergraduate student perception of these new methods as part of their education. This involved 353 students attending the Dental School of the G. D’Annunzio University of Chieti–Pescara, from the first to the sixth years. A questionnaire in Italian and was set-up using “Google Forms” and sent by email to the students. The questionnaire was divided into three parts: the first part included questions for general information, including age, sex and year of course; the second part had multiple choice questions related to their evaluation of the e-learning teaching, using a scale of opinion in the replies to each question (e.g., “scarce”, “fair”, “satisfying”, “very good” and “excellent”); and the third part included two open questions to indicate the strengths and limitations of these new teaching and learning approaches. The categorical variables in the first and second parts of the questionnaire were evaluated using Chi squared tests, setting significance at p < 0.05, while the comments were evaluated qualitatively. The student feedback showed significant appreciation (p < 0.05) of the new methods and the efforts that the lecturers put in to provide lectures of as high a quality as possible. However, a lack of practical training was significantly perceived as an important problem in the structure of their new curriculum (p < 0.05). COVID-19 has been an epic tragedy that has hit the human population not only in terms of health and healthcare, but also quality of life. This includes the quality of dental education within universities. However, the pandemic can be seen to also represent motivation to invest in the necessary technological innovation to deliver the best possible education to our future dentists.

Knowledge, Protective Behaviors and Risk Perception of COVID-19 among Dental Students in India: A Cross-Sectional Analysis

“…Continuous education and assessment in the clinical setting may aid in improving the learning outcomes [47]. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the lack of practical training among students emerged as a concern, which can be addressed through new technological innovations [46][47][48][49][50]. Educators need to be trained for adopting new virtual platforms of teaching, which could be used in the future crisis.…”

“…Educators need to be trained for adopting new virtual platforms of teaching, which could be used in the future crisis. In addition, dental operatories need to be observed for the safety of patients as well as dental professionals [46][47][48][49][50]. In addition, future studies can be conducted to investigate the adherence of healthcare professionals with the recommended infection control practices.…”

Peer Mentoring as a Tool for Developing Soft Skills in Clinical Practice: A 3-Year Study

“…As a consequence of the health situation caused by COVID-19, we will have to consider whether part of the NTS training should be done online for the mentor group, as it is important to keep the training of the 3rd year students in the clinical environment. If this is not possible, online strategies should be explored to help students learn these skills outside the clinical scenario by solving clinical cases and role-playing sessions online, as other universities have done during the duration of the pandemic situation [ 36 , 37 , 38 ].…”

Facilitating Interprofessional Education in an Online Environment during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Mixed Method Study

“…With the arrival of the pandemic, a great majority of coursework and clinical experiences pivoted rapidly into an online delivery methodology. Usage of e-learning tools has not been consistent across different health profession programs and countries [ 23 ]. Recent studies suggested that inclusion of mobile applications and virtual hospitals were well received by students [ 23 , 24 , 25 ].…”

“…Usage of e-learning tools has not been consistent across different health profession programs and countries [ 23 ]. Recent studies suggested that inclusion of mobile applications and virtual hospitals were well received by students [ 23 , 24 , 25 ]. It has also been suggested that if used correctly, e-learning can enhance teaching and learning methods in clinical programs [ 23 ].…”