Abstract
Dental education aims to produce competent graduates with the ability to provide quality care to the patients and facilitate the smooth integration into professional practice. The objective of this study was to explore the overall preparedness of graduands for integrating into professional practice. The survey was tested for reliability and analysed the career paths, learning preferences, overall knowledge, and confidence amongst graduating dentists in integrating and managing a dental practice on graduation. Sixty-nine students (89.6%) in age group of 20–50 years participated in the study. Students indicated a high level of confidence in their skills and ability to work in a team in a practice or collaboratively with other colleagues and specialists but expressed some reservation on their practice management skills (73.1%). Challenges in gaining employment and pressures to repay educational debts are amongst the reasons for graduands preferring a paid job immediately on graduation regardless of demographics. Students indicated that an increase in speciality training and clinical/outreach placements could enhance employability. This study explores the students’ perception of their confidences, knowledge, learning preferences, and practice management skills as a method of evaluating their preparedness to practice on graduation and provides a base line for curriculum structuring to prepare graduands to enter the competitive dental work force.
Highlights
The dental committee on the future of dental education had highlighted the need for careful recruitment and continued development of students and faculty as essential to the educational changes for future [1]
Half of the participants (43.4%) were dependent on HECS-HELP (Higher Education Contributions Scheme-Higher Education Loan Scheme) or similar loan to support their study and living expenses along with other incomes, while 22.4% of students were supported by family
To further support their university income, 26.9% of the students worked 24 hours/week or less, while a small minority worked over 24 hours a week (Table 1)
Summary
The dental committee on the future of dental education had highlighted the need for careful recruitment and continued development of students and faculty as essential to the educational changes for future [1]. To embark on a career as a practitioner, graduating students are expected to be competent in providing quality holistic patient care and should be prepared to adapt to needs of the society and be competent in the practice management. Educational principles of the dental schools should facilitate the student’s primary objective of integration into dental practice, while ensuring that students gain essential competency in providing quality holistic patient care [3, 4]. The Association for Dental Education in Europe and the American Dental Association recommended that curriculum restructuring should focus on evidence based patient care as the fundamental part of the clinical education, along with highlighting the need for teamwork, practice management, and knowledge of information technology [4,5,6]
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