Dental Students’ Reflections on Clinical Placement in a Rural and Indigenous Community in Australia

Abstract

Clinical placements away from the dental school are now an integral and important component of dental education internationally. This article presents feedback from students on their experience in a remote rural clinical placement in Australia by year cohorts 2009, 2010, and 2011. An online feedback survey instrument and compulsory relective journals were analyzed both by calendar year cohort and amongst individual student groups. The information obtained suggests that overall this was a very positive experience for most students and the clinical experience gained was valued highly. Many students wrote positively about their cultural experiences and the knowledge they gained of life in a remote rural area. Many were pleased with the contribution they made to the oral health treatment needs of the community. Concerns related to the lower patient low and the inferior quality of equipment compared to that in the main university clinic and with delays in maintaining and repairing equipment. While the overall outcome was positive, signiicant challenges face all stakeholders to maintain and enhance the clinical and social experiences of these future practitioners. The true impact of the placement will only be realized when graduates are conident to venture into clinical practice settings in rural locations. Dr. Lalloo is Colgate

Pre-Outplacement Perceptions of Dental Students Regarding Rural Oral Health Practice and Associated Factors

“…Social and lifestyle factors are also identified as important for both short and long-term retention of medical and allied rural health practitioners [26,27]. The results of our study also demonstrate proximity to family and friends was perceived to be an important factor for considering long-term rural practice, which is comparable with post-outplacement surveys [6][7][8]. Hence, incentives for financial and professional opportunities alone may not be adequate to address the issue of long-term retention of rural dental practitioners.…”

“…Communities benefit from the services that dental students provide. Dental outplacements in 'rural' areas have been established with an added strategic objective to attract future dentists to rural areas [6][7][8][9].…”

“…In the last two decades, several dental schools around the world including Australia have introduced rural outplacements to provide students with clinical experience in a rural community and to acquaint students with the rural environment [16]. The post-placement perceptions of these students have been generally positive regarding their rural clinical experience, their increased understanding of rural oral health and their intentions to pursue rural practice after graduation [7][8][9]. The Australian Dental Council [18] requires graduates to be competent in servicing rural and Indigenous populations.…”

Transformative effects of Aboriginal health placements for medical, nursing, and allied health students: A systematic review

“…A potential method for increasing the workforce and improving skill in working in Aboriginal health settings is the provision of student placements involving Aboriginal health experience. Research suggests student placements in rural settings increases the likelihood that students will return to a rural setting to work (Crampton, McLachlan, & Illing, ; Lalloo, Evans, & Johnson, ). Additionally, the placement experiences allow a rounded learning experience where students can develop cross‐cultural communication skills (Jones, Fink, & Jones, ).…”

Undergraduate students’ contributions to health service delivery through community-based education: A qualitative study by the MESAU Consortium in Uganda

“…It is well recognised that students in clinical settings in teaching hospitals contribute to service delivery and quality of services [ 4 , 5 ]. As the students contribute their much appreciated services in the clinics, they in return gain practical knowledge and skills [ 6 , 7 ] making their participation mutually beneficial. In sub-Saharan Africa and other low income settings, this contribution is in the context of limited human resources for health especially at peripheral health facilities.…”