The Level of Achievement of Graduates of Dental Master's Programs Based on the Results of Their Certification at Ec30. Pediatric Therapeutic Dentistry in Modern Conditions

Abstract

Aims and objectives. To analyze the preparation of second-cycle (master's) degree students in the Educational-Professional Program "Dentistry" in the discipline "Pediatric Therapeutic Dentistry" based on the results obtained during the final state certification examination using the Objective Structured Practical (Clinical) Examination. Materials and methods. Certification of second-cycle (master's) degree students in the EducationalProfessional Program "Dentistry" at Poltava State Medical University, starting from 2021, was conducted in the form of the Unified State Qualifying Exam (USQE), specifically its components: the integrated test exam "Krok 2" and the Objective Structured Practical (Clinical) Examination (OSPE). For analysis, the results of the final state certification examination of graduates in 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024 were selected, focusing on the clinical station "Case of a clinical case in pediatric therapeutic dentistry". In this study, 1367 checklists were analyzed. These included 294 checklists from the 2021 graduates, 523 from 2022, 276 from 2023, and 274 from 2024 ones. The results were categorized into state higher education institutions, state HEIs with normative study duration, and foreign HEIs. Evaluating the obtained results and their dynamics, it can be stated that domestic students have good indicators of knowledge in children's therapeutic dentistry. Graduates with a normative term of study are less motivated and have probably lower success rates in this discipline, since they received a specialty in a different field, and are more adapted to the conditions of independent life in today's realities. International students scored the lowest in the evaluation of the "Clinical case in pediatric therapeutic dentistry" station, having a lower knowledge base, studying online and living at home since 2022, corresponding to lower indicators of the formation of professional competences.This observed trend can be attributed to the global and national situation, namely, the COVID-19 pandemic that began in 2020 and the full-scale war with russia starting in 2022. These events introduced additional stress factors for students and affected their academic performance.