Dental students’ perceptions of practice management and their career aspirations (original) (raw)

2015, African Journal of Health Professions Education

The inclusion of 'management' competencies in medical curricula is widely propagated. [1-3] Partly based on this requirement, Dental Practice Management (DPM) is part of the undergraduate curriculum in the School of Dentistry, University of Pretoria, South Africa (SA). In recent years, DPM has been presented in the fourth and fifth years of study and can be considered a major study unit in the undergraduate dental curriculum. Teaching and learning in DPM typically include leadership, strategic management, financial management, personnel management, patient management, dentist-patient communication and marketing. [4] To date, from a student perspective, no information is available regarding the need for DPM as a subject in undergraduate dental curricula in SA. There is, however, some evidence in the literature that undergraduate dental students do not regard the development of management skills to be as important as the attainment of clinical skills. [5] DPM is likely to be relevant to those who aspire to become dental practice owners or managers in the private or public sector. It is debatable whether extensive teaching and learning in DPM will be perceived to be relevant by those who aspire to follow a career as employees only. The literature shows that the majority of dental graduates in SA aspire to enter private practice. [6] These trends may, however, be affected by the transformation in dental education during the past two decades. During this time, the profile of dental students changed from being male dominated to female dominated. [6] Furthermore, social redress in correcting racial profiles at universities is actively being pursued. [6] It would therefore be valuable to investigate whether these demographic changes affect the career aspirations of dental students and if DPM is perceived to be relevant and necessary as a major subject in the undergraduate dental curriculum. This study sought to investigate students' perceptions regarding the need for DPM as a subject in the undergraduate dental curriculum at the University of Pretoria and to relate these perceptions to their future career aspirations. The study also aimed to identify perceptions of the students regarding the most important skills (other than clinical skills) they have to learn in the undergraduate dental curriculum. Methods A cross-sectional survey was conducted in 2012 by means of an anonymous questionnaire among second-, third-, fourth-and fifth-year dental students (N=228) at the