What makes a good dentist and do recent trainees make the grade? The views of vocational trainers.

Purpose: This study aimed to carry out a city-wide survey to evaluate undergraduate students' opinions on their oral surgery training by measuring their self-confidence. Materials and Methods:A cross-sectional survey of 383 3rd year, 412 4th year and 363 5th year undergraduate dental students from six dental schools in Istanbul with a mean age of 22.73 ± 1.55 was conducted towards the end of the academic year. A web link to the questionnaire was sent to the contact person at the participating dental schools. The questionnaires were anonymously evaluated. Descriptive statistics were calculated, and Chi-square tests were performed to examine the data. A P-value of <.05 was considered to be statistically significant. Results:In total, 1158 responses were returned, representing 67% of the overall students in the 2018-2019 academic year. The male respondents were significantly more self-confident than females in the general aspects of surgical skills. More than half of the respondents (53%) felt confident in oral surgery knowledge to undertake independent practice. Although 5th year respondents felt more confident in the general aspect of the questionnaire, their ability of differentiation of odontogenic and non-odontogenic pain was lower than their counterparts. The majority (86%) of the participants disagreed that the only knowledge required for oral surgery was that of tooth and jaw anatomy. Conclusion:This survey revealed perceived confidence in tooth and retained root extraction. The male respondents were found to be more self-confident. There is a need for improvement in surgical skills, recognition of malignancies and differentiation of the origin of the pain. K E Y W O R D Sanatomical knowledge, dental students' opinion, oral surgery teaching, self-confidence

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

A city‐wide survey of dental students’ opinions on undergraduate oral surgery teaching

Burdurlu

Cabbar

Dağaşan

et al. 2020

“…Anecdotal feedback from DF trainers and others has suggested that this is due to their lack of clinical experience (9, 10). This is not new: the view that graduates were more prepared in the 'good old days' has been discussed over the last two decades (11,12), and these sentiments are not solely limited to dentistry. In the medical literature, concerns have been voiced recently about medical students' preparedness for the workplace (13)(14)(15).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Communication and professionalism skills of a new graduate: the expectations and experiences of dental foundation trainers

Gilmour

Jones

Cowpe

et al. 2014

“…Evaluating vocational training of recent graduate students showed that skills which contribute to technical ability constitute the most important component in making a ‘good’ dentist. However, taken one by one, the most important skill appears to be communication with patients, closely followed by diagnostic skills and communication with dental team (9). Levine assessed the preparation of newly qualified general practitioners and found out there was an inadequate preparation for practice administration (4).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Difficulties encountered at the beginning of professional life: results of a 2003 pilot survey among undergraduate students in Paris Rene Descartes University (France)

Benbelaïd

Dot

Lévy

et al. 2006

In addition to dental hospital clinical activity, dental students at Paris Rene Descartes University have the opportunity in their final year of study to practise clinically in a dental office, as associates. This paper outlines a pilot, experimental study designed to assess student reaction to this Vocational Clinical Activity (VCA) in order to identify relevant weaknesses of the undergraduate programme. Using questionnaires, data were collected for each of the following clinical or management skills: clinical difficulty, therapeutic decision-making, patient/practitioner relationship, time management, administrative matters and technical problems. Students were asked to rank each item in order of difficulty (1, high level to 6, low level). A high response rate was observed (90%) among the 50 undergraduate VCA students. The results pointed out three main difficulties encountered by undergraduate students during the VCA: time management (90% of the students), administrative matters (85% of the students) and clinical decision-making (80% of the students). These preliminary results need further investigation. However, they give us the incentive to carry on with this type of assessment and to extend it to young, qualified colleagues' perceptions and to other French Universities.