The Pathway to Dentistry for Minority Students: From Their Perspective

Abstract

The small number of minorities in the field of dentistry is a serious concern.

Sense of belonging predicts persistence intentions among diverse dental education students: A multi‐institutional investigation

“…Lack of same-race faculty members, who might serve as role models or guides, can have a deleterious effect on URM dental students, as it may raise questions about their "fit" in the field, which in turn, can hijack their academic abilities, deflate their confidence, keep them for seeking help when needed, compromise their sense of belonging, and even lead to dropout behaviors. 4,5 Sense of belonging predicted persistence intentions for dental students in this sample, affirming findings from the broader higher education literature. 28 Though related to prior work, quantitative analyses of the relationship between sense of belonging and dental students' persistence intentions were nonexistent until this study.…”

“…Mounting debt load is a sig-nificant barrier for students pursuing dentistry. 4 Not being able to pay or afford college costs can also have a psychological impact on student's beliefs about whether they belong, according to broader higher education literature. 28,29 The same may be true for URM dental students, although this hypothesis awaits empirical testing.…”

“…All respondents were in their first (63%) or second (37%) year of dental school, similar to previous study samples. 4 Demographics of the analytic sample generally reflect the characteristics of dental students in the U.S. as reported by the ADEA. 21…”

A qualitative exploration of the role of gender, ethnicity and clinical experience upon dental students’ interpersonal skills when interacting with dental nurses

“…Male and female ethnic minority group students and, particularly those residing in Belfast, admitted to feeling ‘ isolated ’, felt they were treated as ‘ strangers ’ and their ‘ cultural needs ignored ’. These experiences according to Veal et al (5) had nothing to do with ‘ strangeness ’ but were aspects of subtle discrimination (5) used to marginalise and isolate ethnic minority group students. This was supported to some degree by the data since ethnic minority group students revealed that they linked their experiences of subtle racism with their cultural diversity and the need for familiarity: ‘ Once they get to know you … then its OK’.…”

“…It was suggested that with the emergence of a professional hierarchy together with the process of professionalisation the ability of health professionals to communicate effectively with one another and to possess appropriate interpersonal skills diminished (3, 4). An unwanted result of professional training was therefore the propensity for women and ethnic minority group medical students to feel less supported by clinical teachers than their male and white counterparts (3, 5).…”