The academic environment: the students’ perspective

Abstract

Dental education is regarded as a complex, demanding and often stressful pedagogical procedure. Undergraduates, while enrolled in programmes of 4-6 years duration, are required to attain a unique and diverse collection of competences. Despite the major differences in educational systems, philosophies, methods and resources available worldwide, dental students' views regarding their education appear to be relatively convergent. This paper summarizes dental students' standpoint of their studies, showcases their experiences in different educational settings and discusses the characteristics of a positive academic environment. It is a consensus opinion that the 'students' perspective' should be taken into consideration in all discussions and decisions regarding dental education. Moreover, it is suggested that the set of recommendations proposed can improve students' quality of life and well-being, enhance their total educational experience and positively influence their future careers as oral health physicians.

Common mental disorders and associated factors among final-year healthcare students

“…This finding coincides with the literature which points out emotional stress as an important associated factor to common mental disorder. 15,17,27 The healthcare courses present certain peculiarities in the educational process that impact negatively the student's physical and psychological health, cognitive function and learning. These stressful factors include the proximity of death and innumerous pathological processes, excessive workload, competitiveness, fear of making mistakes, late financial independence and disappointment with the course, as well as privation of the family conviviality and leisure.…”

“…[15][16][17][18] This study aims to assess the prevalence of common mental disorder among the students of the last three semesters of the medicine, dentistry and nursing courses in a public university in Northeast Brazil and to identify the potential factors associated with this disorder.…”

Ethical and moral development: aspects relating to professional training in Dentistry

“…This is worrying and challenging in terms of professional training, since Dentistry, as a health science, is related to life, human suffering and conflicting issues in society. Therefore, more important than denouncing unethical conduct is to create environments that discourage them, implementing a spirit of healthy teamwork and learning 19 .…”

Relación entre los factores estresores y los niveles de presión arterial en estudiantes de pregrado de odontología

“…Divaris y Cols, en 2008 [19], estudian el ambiente estudiantil en estudiantes de odontología y sugieren que al parecer, algunos factores de estrés son inherentes en la profesión odontológica. Existen estrategias e intervenciones preventivas que pueden reducir o eliminar muchas fuentes de estrés y servicios de apoyo adecuados que deben estar disponibles a nivel de las instituciones universitarias.…”