Diş Hekimliği ve Tıp Fakültesi Öğrencilerinin İletişim Becerilerinin Değerlendirilmesi

Abstract

Aim: This study aims to evaluate the communication skills of dentistry and medical faculty students.Methods: This study was conducted with senior students (n = 240) attending Akdeniz University Faculty of Medicine and 4th and 5th grade (n = 123) students attending the Faculty of Dentistry in the 2018-2019 academic year. The independent variables of the study were determined as the faculty of education, gender and the perception of income level. To evaluate the communication skills of the participants, the Communication Skills Inventory (IBE) developed by Ersanlı and Balcı was used. The scale consists of three sub-dimensions: cognitive, affective and behavioral. As each sub-dimension can be evaluated separately, the general communication skill level of the individual can be determined by the total score obtained from the scale.Results: Medical students scored higher than dentistry students in Communication Skills Inventory with all sub-dimensions (p <0.001). When the total score obtained from IBE was examined, it was found that the total scores of the female participants were significantly higher than the men (dentistry faculty p = 0.04, medical faculty p = 0.02). There was no significant effect of the perception of income level on the total score obtained from IBE. When the sub-dimension scores relevant to income level were examined, a significant difference was found in both faculties in the behavioral dimension. However, according to the differences determined, while high income in dentistry students decreased the behavioral dimension scores (p = 0.03), it increased it in medical students (p = 0.04).Conclusions: It is thought that the high level of communication skills of medical students depends on the structured and applied training they receive. In line with these results, it is deemed necessary to develop a structured training program for the Faculty of Dentistry to achieve its communication skills goals.