Development and Evaluation of a Communication and Social Competence Training for Dental Students

Abstract

This article was migrated. The article was not marked as recommended. Objective: Develop a curriculum for leading discussions with difficult patient groups and evaluate it using the self-assessment of the students at Ulm University before and after use of the project. Method: Based on using an anonymous multiple-choice questionnaire-based longitudinal study on dental students in the sixth and seventh semesters at Ulm University. Results: At the beginning of the study, 35% of the study participants assessed anxious patients as "very difficult" After the end of the training, the study participants assessed only 7% of the affected anxious patients as "very difficult". According to their self-assessment, the dental students noticed an improvement in their handling of anxious patients after completing the training. Conclusion: The self-assessment of the dental students in dealing with anxious patients improved after completing the communication training. The students also more wished that the subject "Dentist-Patient Relationship" was included in their studies.