Preparedness of undergraduate dental students in the United Kingdom: a national study (original) (raw)
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European journal of dental education : official journal of the Association for Dental Education in Europe, 2018
To evaluate the self-perceived preparedness to practice of final year dental undergraduate students in three dental institutions. Dental undergraduate students in their final year from three dental institutions in Pakistan were invited to participate in an online study to assess self-perceived preparedness using a validated preparedness assessment scale. In total, 134 students responded to the questionnaire yielding a response rate of 72%. Students felt adequately prepared to carry out several clinical procedures including clinical assessment, fillings, tooth extractions and communication skills. However, perceived preparedness was low in the students' ability to undertake intraoral radiographs, treatment planning, crowns, multirooted endodontics, research skills, referral for suspected oral cancer and raising concerns regarding inappropriate behaviour of colleagues. This is the first study which investigates the self-perceived preparedness of final year undergraduate dental stu...
European Journal of Dental Education, 2020
Aims: To evaluate the self-perceived preparedness of final-year dental undergraduate students in dental public universities in Malaysia. Methods: Final-year dental undergraduate students from six dental public universities in Malaysia were invited to participate in an online study using a validated Dental Undergraduates Preparedness Assessment Scale DU-PAS. Results: In total, about 245 students responded to the online questionnaire yielding a response rate of 83.05%. The age range of the respondents was 23-29 years with a mean age of 24.36 (SD 0.797). The total score obtained by the respondents was ranged from 48 to 100 with a mean score of 79.56 (SD 13.495). Weaknesses were reported in several clinical skills, cognitive and behavioural attributes. Conclusions: The preparedness of undergraduate students at six dental institutions in Malaysia was comparable to students from developed countries. The dental undergraduate preparedness assessment scale is a useful tool, and dental institutions may be used for self-assessment as well as to obtain feedback from the supervisors. © 2019 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd
Final Year Dental Students’ Perception of Readiness to Practice
A questionnaire survey was conducted involving the final year dental students of 2007/2008 academic session in Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) to investigate their perceived readiness to face their career as Dental Surgeons. This survey was constructed based on the 25 core competencies in the Doctor in Dental Surgery (DDS) programme, which encompasses scientific knowledge, clinical skills and generic skills. Feedback from 92 students found that majority of them were confident and ready with the basic competencies to begin their career. However, the students felt less confident in some aspects including clinical emergency management and maxillofacial surgery; using information technology resources and critical thinking. Findings from this survey will be used to improve the quality of curriculum and strengthen the learning outcomes of DDS programme in UKM.
European Journal of Dental Education, 2016
AimsThe aim of this study was to develop a valid and reliable scale to measure preparedness of new dental graduates.MethodsThe scale development and validation was carried out using the Rasch measurement model. Following a pilot and pre‐testing of the scale, a national study was undertaken with undergraduate students from all dental schools as well as foundation dentists in UK.ResultsTo examine the internal validity of the scale, we conducted a Rasch analysis. External validity of the scale was checked through validation with a range of stakeholders. An excellent fit to the Rasch model provided evidence of internal construct validity. The scale demonstrated invariance, ordered thresholds and lack of differential item functioning. Unidimensionality of the scale was confirmed by independent t‐tests. The PSI value was 0.877, indicating a good degree of person separation and internal consistency. Test–retest reliability of the scale was also established.ConclusionsThe preparedness scale...
Self-Perceived Preparedness of KFU Dental Graduates to Practice Dentistry: A Cross-Sectional Study
Advances in Medical Education and Practice
Assessing graduates' performance is essential to identify the strengths and weaknesses in dental education. This study examined the self-perceived preparedness of dental graduates at King Faisal University (KFU), Saudi Arabia, using the Dental Undergraduates Preparedness Assessment Scale (DU-PAS). Materials and Methods: Using a cross-sectional design, this study assesses dental graduates' preparedness. This assessment measures various skills and attributes expected of dental graduates based on the DU-PAS. From January to April 2021, an electronic form was distributed to 102 eligible dental graduates of KFU. The response rate was 92.15%. The total preparedness score ranged from 0 to 100. The questionnaire consisted of two parts, the first investigating preparedness in clinical procedures (24 items) and the second investigating preparedness regarding cognition, communication, and professionalism skills (26 items). Data are analyzed using SPSS Descriptive analysis using frequencies and percentages. Results: The study included 94 participants, all of them male, with a response rate of 92.4%, who graduated from the College of Dentistry KFU in Saudi Arabia. The participants' median age was 25. The mean DU-PAS score for the participants was 79.08 (SD ±12.15; range, 47.84-100). The mean score for Part A of the scale, which comprises the clinical skills, was 84.55 (SD ±13.56; range, 43.75-100). It revealed that participants felt they had no experience with the four procedures. The mean score for Part B of the scale comprising cognitive and behavioural attributes was 73.60 (SD ±16.29; range, 36.54-100). More than one-third of the participants reported limited experience in attributes related to items B30 (suspected oral cancer, 36.2%), and B33 (evaluating new dental materials, 22.3%). Conclusion: In this study, dental graduates of KFU reported a high level of self-perceived confidence in their skills. Consequently, they will be able to integrate seamlessly into general dental practice. However, the participants' feedback reflects certain deficiencies in practising specific clinical procedures.
British Dental Journal, 2016
readiness to graduate was measured by written and oral examination combined with the completion of a target number of clinical procedures. This method of assessment is increasingly being replaced by competence based methods where students are required to demonstrate the achievement of a number of learning outcomes defined by the General Dental Council. 1 European guidance is also provided in the form of competencies under seven domains. 2 This change in approach has caused some concern as once competence has been reached, it could be argued there is little incentive for the student to continue refining the skill in a variety of different contexts. Anecdotal evidence confirms this concern in the general dental population. 3,4 The belief that performing a procedure a number of times increases not only expertise, but also confidence is common. Conversely, experience alone may not improve performance unless this experience is structured.
Self-perceived work preparedness of the graduating dental students
European Journal of Dental Education, 2012
Objectives: The primary goal of dental education is to prepare students to work independently in a dental practice setting following graduation. Whilst academicians assess students' work preparedness through examinations and evaluations, it is equally important to understand the work preparedness as perceived by students. Methods: All students in their final year of the graduate programme in dentistry were selected for this study. The questionnaire assessed the self-perceived confidence in skills and awareness needed to integrate into a general dental practice. Personal data such as gender, age and income status were optionally recorded. The questionnaire included open-ended questions relevant to the educational experiences and suggestions for improvement from student perspective. Results: Sixty-three students (81.9%) responded to the questionnaire. The majority of the respondents (85.7%) perceived that their education had prepared them well for a career in dentistry, and 52.4% of the students considered that the combination of community placement and in-house training helped them to enhance clinical skills. Students' suggestion for improvements indicated that a large number would wish for more clinical sessions (71.4%), whilst only 28.6% preferred an equal distribution between general clinical placements, speciality clinical placement and didactic teaching as the essential factors in attaining competency. Conclusions: Analysing and understanding the student's self-perspective on their dental education and work preparedness contribute towards the quality management of the dental curriculum philosophies: in holistic patient health care, lifelong learning, integration knowledge and skills, leading to the ultimate goal of clinical proficiency.
How Well Prepared are Dental Students and New Graduates in Pakistan-A Cross-Sectional National Study
The transition from undergraduate dental student to the actual practicing dentist is a crucial phase and ensuring the preparedness of graduates for the complexity and demands of contempo-rary dental practice is a challenging task. This study aimed to evaluate the self-perceived prepar-edness of undergraduate dental students and house officers in the dental colleges of Pakistan. Cross-sectional national study was planned to collect the information from dental students and new graduates in Pakistan. The pre-validated Dental Undergraduates Preparedness Assessment Scale (DU-PAS) was used. Purposive sampling technique was utilized to recruit house officers and undergraduate dental students from 27 dental schools in Pakistan. The data analysis was car-ried out using the R statistical environment for Windows (R Core Team, 2015). The total of 862 responses with 642 females and 219 males were analyzed in the study. Overall, clinical skills score was 30.56+9.08 and score for soft skills was 3...
Western Australian dental graduates' perception of preparedness to practice: a five-year follow-up
Journal of Dental …, 2007
The School of Dentistry in Western Australia developed a pregraduation intern year in which final-year students, having completed their didactic education, undertook a focused clinical experiential program (CEP) over an extended year. This program was implemented for the first time in 2002. The aim of this study was to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the curriculum as perceived by graduates and to compare the perceptions of those graduates who did the CEP to those who did not. A survey with questions based on the graduate outcomes of the dental school was mailed to all graduates from 2000, 2001 (did not complete CEP), and 2004 (completed CEP). The response rate was 66 percent (n=57) and included twenty-nine respondents who graduated before implementation of the CEP and twenty-eight who completed the CEP. Most respondents (80 percent) were in the twenty to twenty-nine age group, and there were slightly more males (53 percent). Learning outcome items with the highest mean scores were practicing universal precautions (4.2), behaving ethically (4.2), and demonstrating a satisfactory level of core dental knowledge (4.2). Practical skills outcomes with the highest scores were amalgam restorations (4.