Final year dental students’ assessment of their profile, competencies and skills in a public university

Abstract

Aim: To investigate final-year dental students’ assessment of their achievement of professional profile, competencies and skills as set out in the National Curriculum Guidelines (NCG) and its association with demographic characteristics. Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out at the dental school of the Federal University of Goiás, Brazil. The study population (N= 205) was composed of all undergraduate students finishing their courses under the new curricula over a five-year period. They were asked to score their achievement of the professional profile, competencies and skills proposed by the NCG using a 3-point scale. Frequency distribution of the data was described and scores for competencies and skills were calculated. The total score was the sum of those obtained in each single item. For group comparisons regarding to the students’ demographic characteristics, Mann-Whitney test was performed with statistical significance of 5%. Results: The sample was composed by 204 final year students (response rate= 99.5%). Only one student considered that she did not have the profile proposed in the NCG. 52% of them reported they had fully achieved the professional profile, while the remaining reported they had partially achieved it. High percentages of responses indicating partial or total achievement of general and specific competencies and skills were also found. The total score ranged from 36 to 72 (mean= 60.2; SD= 7.68; median= 62.0). Women reported higher levels of competencies and skills relating teamwork and the social context of the profession. Men reported higher levels of skills related to decision-making and activities aimed at diasease diagnosis and interventions. Younger students, compared to older ones, had higher scores on five items of specific competencies and skills. Conclusion: Most of the students considered to have achieved the professional profile, competencies and skills proposed in the NCG, and their perceptions were associated with demographic characteristics (age and sex).

An investigation of research gaps in reported skills required for Industry 4.0 readiness of Brazilian undergraduate students

“…Piovezan et al (2012) and Watanabe et al (2012) conducted a search in medicine-related courses. Freire et al (2019) performed a research with dental students. These findings show the necessity of research on an ample range of undergraduate courses that are not currently being studied.…”

“…The importance of preparing future professionals to take into account social and environmental impacts of their actions in their decisions is highlighted as a relevant contribution of the discipline for engineering curriculum. Freire et al (2019) analyzed the perception of dental students from Federal University of Goi as regarding the adherence of their training to the National Curriculum Guidelines. Among the results, it should be highlighted that men reported better levels of skills on decision making, showing greater confidence to make a diagnosis.…”