Survey and analysis of dental medical students' concerns before and after their clinical internship

Abstract

Objective To survey and analyze the changes of dental medical students' concerns before and after their internship in order to provide practical evidences for intern orientation and junior students education.Methods Anonymous questionnaires were designed with single choice and multiple-choices and were accomplished by 175 dental medical students of different grades to investigate their' concerns before and after the clinical internship and choices for future employment.Results 47％ freshmen,43％ junior,45％ graduates were willing to work in dental restoration field,30％sophomore and 39％ senior were willing to work in orthodontics field.Before the internship,the most concem of 97％ students was the teaching quality of the practice hospital; 67％ students worried that patients may unsatisfy with the treatment.After the internship,the quality of the practice hospital was considered most important by 79％ students; 51％ students worried that internship may influence the postgraduate entrance exam.Conclusion Teachers should strengthen their self-cultivation and cope with the key concerns before the practice based on the investigation and survey after the practice.Meanwhile teacher should provide employment guidance for students based on students' interests and practice skill ability,encourage them to broaden their horizon and pay attention to the long-term interests in an aim to pave the way for future employment. Key words: Dental medicine; Clinical internship; Medical education; Investigation and analysis