Development of Practical Skills in Foreign Students During Education at the Department of Propedeutics of Surgical Dentistry

Abstract

The goal of higher education is to produce highly qualified, competitive young professionals capable of innovation, self-improvement, and continuous development. The assimilation of theoretical material, the ability to analyze, search and process the received information are definitely important goals, however, the content of medical education cannot be reduced to only theoretical knowledge, but must ensure the mastery of practical skills. Considering the fact that the education of foreign students is carried out in a distance format due to the military situation in the country, mastering practical skills by these students has certain difficulties.
 Therefore, the analysis of the problems and prospects of the formation of practical skills among foreign students at the department of propaedeutics of surgical dentistry is currently one of the most urgent issues.
 The principle of mastering practical skills is laid down in the standards of higher dental education: educational and qualification characteristics, educational and professional program and is checked by standardized means of assessing theoretical knowledge and skills – "KROK-2. Dentistry", as well as during objective structured clinical examination in dentistry.
 Theoretical knowledge is checked during practical classes. They are carried out both by testing students and by oral interview, as well as practice of practical skills, which can be provided by working on phantoms, as well as participation in the examination and clinical analysis of patients in the clinical room.
 During face-to-face training, students visit the clinical room together with the teacher, participate in management patients, filling out medical documentation, assist, describe radiographs, and have the opportunity to choose anesthesia and tools for tooth extraction. The teacher demonstrates various manipulations, commenting and explaining each of them. After that, students practice practical skills on cranium, jaws, dummies, repeating after the teacher or with his help. Foreign students forced to study remotely do not have such opportunities, so we decided to create conditions close to real ones for them. The use of a laptop in the WiFi network allows you to use it in the clinical room and, in the same way as domestic students, demonstrate patient management: survey, inspection, basic methods of examination, choice of anesthesia and tools. However, the small area of the operating field, especially during intraoral interventions, does not provide a sufficient view when using a laptop and does not allow the teacher to show this or that surgical intervention in detail. To solve this problem, we use a phone that we synchronize with a laptop. The phone serves as a camera, which allows you to take a detailed picture of the operating field and broadcast the image to the screen for students. Thus, conditions become close to real ones. Students see all stages of surgical intervention with the teacher's explanation, have the opportunity to participate in the discussion during the patient's appointment. Demonstration of manipulation by the teacher is the first step to mastering practical skills. Unfortunately, remotely, students cannot practice and demonstrate skills, but an excellent command of theoretical material and an understanding of the necessary actions will help students in their assimilation in the future. Further, during classes to consolidate the material, a step-by-step discussion of operative interventions is carried out, which allows to interest and involve all present students in the discussion and to check the level of students' knowledge.
 Unfortunately, teachers are only able to visualize and comment in detail on the performing of certain manipulations. However, even a partial solution of this component in the form of justification and demonstration of the algorithm creates a stable argument for further study of surgical stomatology, and achievement of the ultimate goals of training a dentist.