Dental Graduates Research Articles

Perception of Dentists regarding Brain Drain in Punjab, Pakistan: A Cross-sectional Survey

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVE: Brain drain is a term coined for the migration of highly skilled professionals from the country of their origin to more developed countries. As the trend of moving abroad is on a rise, ever since, it is causing a shortage of dental professionals in our country. The objective of our study is to determine the factors that would compel the dentists of Punjab, Pakistan, to move abroad and how to prevent this migration.
 METHODOLOGY: It was a cross-sectional survey. Data was collected through a self-constructed and validated questionnaire. The study was done in dental colleges in Punjab, and the duration of the study was one year. The questionnaire was distributed both by hand and via digital sources.
 RESULTS: There were 155 (33.4%) participants, who were planning to go abroad for higher education, and 274 (59%) had not planned to go out of the country for further studies. Among the study participants, 50 (32.3%) participants were planning to move to the United Kingdom, whereas 23 (14.8%) participants were planning to go to Australia, 44 (28.3%) wanted to move to the US, 10 (6.4%) to Canada and the rest (18%) had plans to move to any other country.
 CONCLUSION: The majority of dental graduates wish to go abroad for their post-graduation. The dentists of Punjab were willing to serve their country, provided the economic and political situations improved.

Mapping of dental graduates' career paths in Hong Kong, Japan and mainland China.

Dental graduates have a variety of career-path choices. After graduation, they may join private dental practice, government- or hospital-based dental care services, research groups, academia, business or industry. With globalization and frequent international exchange, dental graduates nowadays can explore careers outside their home country. However, dental education systems and job opportunities vary widely across different regions and countries. Diversity of accreditation in dental education, different licensure requirements, and lack of global competencies in dental care often limit the globalization, operation and survival of dental practice and education worldwide. The requirements for professional education and practice can be quite diverse, and these differences will be barriers to dental graduates seeking career development outside their home home country. Fresh dental graduates have minimal experience in job hunting. More specifically, they are unfamiliar with potential career paths. This paper was based on the 4th trilateral symposium 2022 organized by The University of Hong Kong, Tohoku University, and Fujian Medical University, which offered a lecture to discuss career paths for dental graduates in Hong Kong, Japan, and mainland China. The aim of this paper was to provide dentists, particularly fresh graduated dental students, with practical insight into different career paths in Hong Kong (Special Administrative Region of China, SAR), Japan and mainland China, and factors that may influence their career options. It assists dental students in exploring possibilities in dentistry and preparing for their career development after graduation from dental school.

The Ability of Dental Interns and Freshly Graduated Dentists to Assess Tooth Restorability. A Multicenter, Cross-Sectional Study.

Treatment planning should be integrated to gain and apply essential data to decide. It is necessary to evaluate theendodonticand periodontal conditionof the tooth, in addition to its restorability. Treatment planning is emphasized as a crucial clinical skill for a certified dental practitioner in the General Dental Council learning outcomes. The role of dental schools is to guarantee that dental graduates have the knowledge, skills, and competence to choose appropriate treatment options for teeth. The primary objective of our study was to assess the ability ofdental interns and recently graduated dentists from different dental schoolsfortooth restorability. This was a multicentral, cross-sectional study. Participant recruitment was achieved by sending an online questionnaire to the interns and graduate units at the assigned universities. The questionnaire consisted two parts. The first part record general information about participants and opinions regarding their training of restorability assessment. The second part include five hypothetical clinical case scenarios, where the participants were asked to choose the restorability decisions, rationales for the options, and prognosis of the tooth/teeth. The data was analyzed by using SPSS software version 26. 104 respondents participated in this survey. The decision and prognosis of all clinical scenarios were not significantly associated with gender, experience, place of work and place of study. Only the decision and prognosis of scenario 1 showed significant relationship with place of graduation. Developing universities graduates showed significantly higher percentage for restorability as against developed universities graduates (p=0.001) and developing universities and recently established institutions graduates showed significantly higher percentage for the questionable prognosis as against developed universities graduates (p=0.018). The inability of dental interns and freshly graduate dentalpractitioners to make decisions highlighted questions regarding the conditionof learning outcomes and graduate attributes.

Dental restoration selection by students at southern Saudi Arabian universities.

Dental caries is a serious oral health concern and restoration of teeth is the main solution to this issue. Various restorative materials having different properties are used for posterior restoration. The aim of this study was to find that which factors can affect the choice of selection of material for posterior restoration among dental graduate students. For this purpose, a questionnaire was shared electronically among students of three different universities (King Khalid University, Jazan University, and Najran University). After collection, data were subjected to a chi-square test to check the significance. It has been observed that almost 50% of participants choose composite resin for posterior restoration. Results showed that according to most (more than 50%) of the dental students in Southern Saudi Arabia, different patient and tooth condition related factors can affect the choice for selection of restorative material.

Measuring final-year dental students’ ability to remove teeth independently using independence ratios


 
 
 
 Background. Universities are obliged to ensure that dental graduates possess the necessary skills to render safe and effective treatment. Empirical evidence regarding the development of safe and effective independent practice at undergraduate level is unfortunately lacking.Objectives. To measure final-year students’ abilities to correctly perform exodontia (tooth removal/extraction) skills independently, based on the applied postgraduate progressive independence theory.
 Methods. Fourteen clinical teachers systematically assessed 13 263 tooth extractions completed by final-year dental students (2014 - 2016). An independence ratio (extractions performed without assistance/total number of extractions) was used as the key performance indicator to provide feedback on the ability to complete procedures independently over time. A customised index was used for controlling the level of difficulty.Results. Final-year students (n=146) achieved independence ratios ranging between 90% and 94% (standard deviation 3.3%) by the end of their clinical training. Logical gradients of increased independence were illustrated with time, as well as variable performance among students. The level of difficulty index scores remained similar within cohorts per year of study. Acceptable assessment differences existed between clinical teachers, which could largely be explained by complex operational circumstances.
 Conclusions. As far as we are aware, this is the first study that quantified progressive independence in exodontia for undergraduate students. The measure was sensitive enough to show logical independence gradients and variance among students. Final-year students demonstrated that they could remove >8/10 teeth independently by the time of their graduation. The measure shows promise as a proxy of competence for skills that are often practised. It is recommended that factors that influence these measurements be examined in more detail.
 
 
 

Use of situational judgment tests for assessing non-cognitive attributes of final year dental students.

Situational judgment tests (SJT) have been previously used in the admission process of medical and dental undergraduate programs, but their utilization as an assessment tool is fairly new. The objective of this study was to explore essential non-cognitive attributes of dental graduates. We also aimed to assess the attributes of final year dental students utilizing SJT and later collected participants' reactions on the test. A mixed-method exploratory sequential study was conducted. One-on-one and group discussions were done with subject matter experts (SMEs) to explore the essential attributes of fresh dental graduates. Based on the thematic analysis, 10 SJT items per domain were constructed by one group of SMEs and expert validated by a different group of SMEs and vice versa. The final dental-SJT was piloted online on final year dental students and their perceptions were collected using a five-point Likert scale questionnaire. Descriptive statistics and Cronbach's alpha were calculated for the test. The consultation with SMEs generated three main themes, namely, Conventional skills, Tribal skills, and Occupational skills. The 70-item dental-SJT piloted on 150 final year dental students revealed data were normally distributed. The internal reliability of test was good (0.738). Students scored highest in "management skills" (>70%) and lowest in "professional ethics" (56%) and "diverse experiences" (58%). The overall student perception about the test was good. SJT is an effective tool to assess non-cognitive attributes of dental students. It has an overall positive perception about perceived predictive validity, perceived fairness, face and content validity.

Impact of Clinical Expertise on Inferior Alveolar Nerve Block Anaesthesia Resulting in Transient Facial Nerve Palsy; A Cross-sectional Study Amid Pakistani Dental Graduates

Objective: The purpose of the study is to observe the impact of clinical expertise on inferior alveolar nerve block (IANB) anaesthesia resulting in transient facial nerve palsy (FNP) in dental operators having different levels of clinical experience. Methodology: This observational cross-sectional study was conducted in the Department of Dentistry, Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Center. The study was conducted over a period of six months, starting from September 2021 and lasting till February 2022. The patients who required IANB for any dental treatment in lower posterior teeth were divided into three groups between dental operators: Undergraduates (Interns), Graduates (House Officers), and Postgraduate trainees, having 100 cases in each group. A structured questionnaire was administered through convenience sampling to dental operators. Data was analyzed by using SPSS version 24. Results: A total of 300 cases were part of the study. According to the results, 28% (n=84) of patients suffered from transient facial nerve palsy following IANB. Out of this 84%, 15% (n=45 of total cases) were by Undergraduates (Interns), 10% (n=30 of total cases) were caused by Graduates (Interns), and only 3% (n=9 of total) incidences happened following IANB by Postgraduate trainees. Conclusions: The incidence of IANB-related facial nerve palsy (FNP) is comparatively more in junior dental operators, which depicts their lack of clinical experience.

Appraisal of empathy among dental interns and postgraduate students at King Abdulaziz University: A cross-sectional study.

Empathetic communication of dentists with their patients is a primary characteristic of their health care. This study aims to evaluate dental students' empathy levels during the transitional period of internship and postgraduate studies of different specialties at one of the oldest dental schools in Saudi Arabia and explore how this empathy was affected by gender, age, and study duration. In this study, the self-reported empathy level among the participants was assessed using the Jefferson scale of empathy-student version (JSE-HPS). This survey includes a 20-question Likert scale formulated to measure clinical empathy in health care professionals. The JSE-HPS was distributed to all registered dental interns and postgraduate students during the academic year 2019-20 in King Abdulaziz University Faculty of Dentistry (KAUFD), Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Mean total score of empathy of the participants was (101.07 ± 14.8) with a response rate of 89%. A statistically significant higher empathy score appeared among dental postgraduate students in general (p = 0.04) and specifically among the females (p = 0.04) and those with postgraduate programs for more than four years, (p = 0.02). Dental postgraduate students scored significantly higher in the parameters of standing in patients' shoes (p = 0.02). Gender, academic level, and duration of postgraduates' studies influenced empathy more than the age of the dental graduates in KAUFD. Our recommendation is to integrate empathy into the dental curriculum emphasizing interactive communication skills and early patient contact.

Maintaining a strong rural dental workforce.

This study was designed to examine demographics of University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Dentistry graduates over a recent 10-year period and factors related to their choice of rural or urban practice. Findings were compared to similar previous studies to analyze trends. Using data from the annual Health Professions Tracking Service 2019 Dentistry Profile survey, we examined the demographic information of 169 graduates from 2009 to 2018 practicing in Nebraska at the end of 2018. We analyzed factors such as rural or urban high school graduation, gender, and other background information to explore associations with their 2018 practice location (urban vs. rural) using chi-square tests and logistic regression. This study found that some demographic variables were associated with future practice location. Specifically, a higher proportion of graduates of rural high schools chose to work in a rural location (60%) relative to those who graduated from an urban high school (18%) (p < 0.0001). A higher proportion of men (50%) selected rural practice compared to women (33%) (p = 0.02). Only 17 graduates who attended high school outside of Nebraska stayed to practice in Nebraska, and there was a lower proportion of these graduates working in rural locations (18%) relative to in-state high school graduates (45%) (p = 0.03). We found significant positive associations between dentists who chose rural practice and demographic factors such as being rural high school graduates, male, and in-state predental residents. Our findings differ from descriptive results of similar previous studies.

Dentist Knowledge and Behavior on use of Smart Phones in Clinical Environment and their association with Cross Infections

Background: The use of smart phones inside hospitals especially in clinically sensitive areas is a subject of debate because it may improve the quality of healthcare but can also be a vehicle of hospital acquired infections. Aim: To determine dentist’s knowledge and behavior related to the use of smart phones in clinical environment and to determine the presence of microbial growth on these devices. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study in which validated survey tool was used to collect data about knowledge and behavior of 397 dental graduates from 8 dental colleges of Pakistan, regarding their usage of smart phones in clinical environment. Bacterial isolates were collected from the smart phones of 45 participants from Fatima Memorial Dental Hospital, Lahore. Results: The SPTC Scale was used to divide the participants into 3 categories; low, moderate and high users. The behavior related to smart phone usage in clinical environment was significantly different among the participants. Moderate users had significantly higher average behavior score of 3.7 (p-value = 0.034). The growth of pathogenic bacterial flora was greater on high users of smart phones (95%,) whereas those participants who were low users the percentage was 37%. Conclusion: Hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) are increasing significantly in number of patients and these can be prevented by adhering to proper hand hygiene practices and if hand hygiene is improved the amount of bacterial load will be less and disinfection of smart phone devices will not be required. Keywords: Smartphone; Dental Clinics; Smartphone time consumption scale (SPTC); cross infection; Hand washing

Women in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery: Population Trends amongst Residents

<h3>Purpose</h3> American dental schools have gradually achieved balance in the sex of dental graduates. Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (OMFS) has remained disproportionately male-dominated. Our aim was to quantify female residents in training programs. We additionally sought to quantify this potential difference across surgical specialties. <h3>Methods</h3> Publicly available current data from the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) was pooled for analysis of gender in surgical residency programs. AAOMS provided data on the number of female residents enrolled in OMFS training programs 2010, 2015 and currently. Trends for women in OMFS were analyzed through the use of the Pearson Correlation Coefficient Calculator. To compare proportion of women in OMFS and the proportion in other surgical specialties, a linear regression calculator was utilized. <h3>Results</h3> Female OMFS residents represented 10% of all OMFS residents in 2021 up from 6% in 2015 and 4% in 2010. The increase in female OMFS residents is not statistically significant (p = 0.115). The fields with the lowest proportion of female residents at this time include thoracic surgery (29.1%), orthopedic surgery (14.7%), and neurological surgery (17.3%). Oral and Maxillofacial surgery represents the surgical field with the lowest percentage of female residents. Analysis of female Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery residents compared to female Orthopedic, Thoracic, Neurosurgery and General Surgery residents demonstrated a statistically significant difference (p <0.05). Currently 24 programs have one female OMFS resident enrolled, 17 programs have two female OMFS residents, 19 programs have three female residents, 8 programs have four female residents, 8 programs have five female residents, 2 programs have six female residents and 6 programs have seven female residents. <h3>Conclusion</h3> Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery's increase in number of female residents lags behind other surgical specialties. Diversity enhances education and patient care by promoting an inclusive environment, leading to better patient outcomes and improving access to healthcare. Research demonstrates that patients prefer treatment by practitioners of the same gender. In a large study representing 87 million men and 104 million women aged 18 years and older in the United States, it was found that women seek healthcare more than men. Hence, diversification in the workforce of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons provides patients with more choice. With women comprising a large number of graduating dental school classes, sparking interest in female dental students early in their training should become a priority of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons. This can avoid missing out on some of the nation's brightest future practitioners.

Evaluation of Knowledge and Practice of General Dentists in Yazd City about Infection Control during Preparation of Intraoral Radiographs

Introduction: Patients, oral health care staff anddentists are exposed to infections and infectious microorganisms during dental imaging. The aim of this study was to evaluate the knowledge and practice of general dentists in Yazd City about infection control during the preparation of intraoral radiographs. Methods: This analytical cross-sectional study, examined the knowledge and practice of 81 active dentists in Yazd City who were selected based on convenience sampling method through a questionnaire. To analyze the data, SPSS 16 ,and Pearson's correlation coefficient as well as One-way ANOVA were used. Results: The mean age of the participants was 36.45 ± 9.66 and their mean work experience was 10.03±8.28 years. The mean score of knowledge about infection control during intraoral radiographs was more than 50% and it was evaluated as moderate. There was no statistically significant difference between the mean score of dentists' knowledge in terms of gender (P=0.623), age (P=0.849), work experience (P=0.824) and the year of their graduation (P=0.860), but there was a statistically significant difference between the mean score of dentists' knowledge according to their university of study (P=0.015), so that Yazd School of Dentistry graduates had significantly less knowledge than graduates of other faculties. Conclusion: Considering the importance of infection control in dental radiology and the mean score of dentists' knowledge in the present study, which was moderate, therefore, the need to improve dentists' awareness in this field is emphasized.

Postgraduate Dental Education in Ghana: Past, Present and Future

The origins of formal postgraduate dental education in Ghana may be traced to 1986, when three dental surgeons, who had passed a Ministry of Health qualifying examination, were enrolled in the department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital. This was to enable them prepare for both the primary examinations of the Royal College of Surgeons of England and the West African College of Surgeons. Twenty-six years later, the Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons, which is only ten years old, has produced sixteen Members and recently, two Fellows. The West African College of Surgeons (WACS), on the other hand, is yet to produce its first batch of Ghanaian Fellows by examination following training in Ghana, although it has been holding examinations since 1988. With the establishment of two dental schools in Ghana, and the resultant improvement in retention of dental graduates in the country, the need and demand for postgraduate dental education has become pressing. No known review of postgraduatedental education has been carried out in Ghana. This paper seeks to give a historical overview of postgraduate dental education in Ghana and to describe its current status.

Knowledge of dental professionals and Dental students on bisphosphonates and bisphosphonate-associated osteonecrosis of the jaws

Introduction and objective: the present study assessed the knowledge of dentists and dental students about bisphosphonates and bisphosphonate-associated osteonecrosis of the jaws (BAONJ). Methodology: a survey was applied to dentists and dental students during dental meetings in the city of Rio de Janeiro/RJ, Brazil. Results were descriptively and comparatively analyzed using the SPSS program. Results: the final sample (n=308) was composed mostly by young adults, females (n=233; 76%) and 52% (n=159) were dental students. Most participants (n=185; 60%) were derived from private dental schools. From the total, 79% (n=243) of the participants told they had some information about bisphosphonates, 68% (n=209) recognized BAONJ as a possible side effect of their use, and 84% (n=259) considered important to ask about bisphosphonates use during anamnesis. Participants with more access to information, derived from public dental schools and graduate dentists demonstrated a higher understanding about the indications for bisphosphonates use, their action mechanism, BAONJ as an adverse effect, risk factors associated with the drugs, oral risk factors and oral care measures important to BAONJ risk reduction. Conclusions: there are several knowledge gaps on bisphosphonates and BAONJ and understanding these difficulties is important for the establishment of strategies of diffusion of the information and changing teaching models in dental schools, dental meetings and extension activities.

Knowledge and Awareness About Preanesthetic Evaluation for Performing Procedures under General Anesthesia among Dental Students - A Cross-Sectional Study

BACKGROUND: Lack of knowledge on preanesthetic evaluation before any general anesthesia (GA) procedures will lead to uncertainty in the outcome of the surgery. Hence, the present study aimed to evaluate the knowledge and awareness about preanesthetic evaluation for performing procedures under GA among dental graduates. METHODS: A 13-item questionnaire was prepared from the standardized method using focus group discussion. The questionnaires were sent to 1020 students (508 house surgeons, 512 postgraduates) through the registered E-mail address and WhatsApp as a Google form link. We received 246 responses at the end of 2 weeks, and finally, 509 responses were received at the end of 4 weeks. The data from the responses were collected, and descriptive analysis was done using a Microsoft Excel sheet (Version 2016). A Chi-square test was performed to compare the responses from house surgeons and postgraduates. RESULTS: A total of 523 responses out of 1020 were received within a period of 4 weeks. From this, 14 responses were excluded from the final analysis due to repeated responses and the final analysis was done using 509 responses (270 postgraduates [53%] and 239 house surgeons [47%]). More than half of the participants had insufficient knowledge regarding preanesthetic evaluation. CONCLUSION: The knowledge and awareness were good among the dental postgraduate students compared to house surgeons but implementing that in practice was relatively negligible. Therefore, understanding the importance of preanesthetic evaluation can help the students to reduce potential risk and improves the quality of life among the patients.

Healthcare providers readiness to response to Spousal Abuse in Saudi Arabia: survey among medical and dental graduates

Objectives: Under-reporting despite high prevalence of domestic violence (DV) indicates a serious gap in identifying and reporting domestic violence. Therefore this study aims to assess the readiness of health care workers in identifying and handling intimate partner violence. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted using the Domestic Violence Health Care Provider Survey tool among medical and dental interns and residents in Saudi Arabia to assess their readiness to detect, manage and prevent spousal abuse. Results: 221 participants completed the survey; 53.8% of the respondents were interns and 43.4% were residents. The study showed that only 5.9% of respondents have participated in DV courses during their undergraduate years in medical school. 72.8% of doctors either did not know or were not sure of Saudi national policies to manage DV and 86.9% of the health care providers were not aware of the national help line number to report a suspected DV case. Conclusion: Lack of teaching and training sessions on managing domestic violence during the undergraduate years shows that health care professionals are evidently underprepared and calls for an urgent need to introduce an interprofessional education curriculum that trains health care professionals of all concerned specialties at undergraduate level on managing domestic violence. Keywords: Domestic violence. Intimate partner violence, medical education, health care providers

The Influencing Factors of the Career Pathway for Health Professions’ Education

Objective: This study has been designed to identify and explore the factors that influence medical and dental graduates to opt for Health Professions Education (HPE) as a sole career. Materials and Methods:Main design: A qualitative studySub Type: Phenomenological (exploratory) design was used to find out the factors that influenced medical and dental graduates to choose HPE as a full-time career.Setting: It was conducted at Riphah International University, Islamabad.Duration: From February to June.Sampling technique: Purposive non-probability sampling was used including graduates that had opted for HPE as a career.Population size: six participants agreed to participate in the study. There were 4 females and 2 males. The mean age of the participants was 44 years.Data collection tool: Semi-structured one-on-one interviews were used to collect data.Data analysis: Thematic analysis was done employing © QSR International’s NVivo Software v.11. The emergent themes were named according to the nodes in which the data were stored.Results: Thematic analysis revealed a total of thirteen themes. Some of these were common, recurring factors that influenced specialty selection; others were novel and specific findings. All participants, irrespective of planning their choice, considered opportunities for advancement. Student assessment was the most important Core area that had been mentioned in responses as having influenced their choice. There were documented differences between full-time and part-time faculty. Demographics had a positive relationship. Personal motivation and aims were important influences. The Nature of the work documented a significant influence on various responses. All of the participants were influenced by their Role Models/Mentors. Participants faced many challenges and also mentioned how they coped with them. Respondents strongly suggested and refer this as a career.Conclusion: An individual’s personal aim and motivation were very important factors as they assisted them to face challenges and stay steadfast. Females were more likely to choose HPE as a profession. Participants chose this profession because it matched their personality specifically as full-time faculty and were passionate about it. Role Models/Mentors were an influence on the specialty choice for all the participants.

Anxiety, fear, awareness and economic influence amongst Indian dentists during the COVID-19 outbreak

Dental practitioners are at risk due to direct contact with possibly infected patients as front-line health care professionals during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Therefore, it is of interest to measure the anxiety, fear, awareness and economic effect of the epidemic on Indian dentists at work .This study was conducted utilizing an online survey questionnaire and Google forms from August 22nd to August 23rd, 2021. A total of 485 doctors took part in the survey. The questionnaire included open-ended, closed-ended, and Likert five-point scale items to measure anxiety, awareness, and the financial impact of COVID-19 on dentists. The Mann-Whitney test was used for two groups. The Kruskal–Wallis test was used as a post-hoc test for multigroup comparisons. The average age of the participants was 36.5 ± 9.2 years, with the majority (75.21%) being just graduate dentists. More than 80.1% of interviewees expressed concern about contracting COVID-19. Younger dentists and females have higher levels of anxiety than older dentists. The level of awareness and practice of COVID-19 precautions and infection-control measures among these dentists (94.1%) was found to be high. This is due to age, qualification, and designation (except GP vs. Specialist).

The relationship of educational environment and preparedness to practice - perceptions of Malaysian dental graduates.

This study aimed to evaluate the perceptions of dental graduates' educational environment as well as preparedness to practice, and how these two components are correlated. A self-administered, validated questionnaire, developed from previous studies, was distributed to dental graduates of a public Malaysian university (n=178, response rate=60%) via online and postal surveys. Bivariate analyses were carried out using Spearman's rank-order correlation (Spearman's Rho, significance level p < .01) to determine the correlation between (1) Global Preparedness Score and Global DREEM Score, (2) domains of DREEM Inventory and perceived preparedness, and (3) domains of perceived preparedness and DREEM Score. The Global Preparedness Score was 191.52, with more than 90% of respondents feeling well prepared in the "General Patient Management," "Drug and Emergency Management" and "Practice Management" domains. The Global DREEM Score was 148.99/200, interpreted as "more positive than negative." The DREEM Inventory domains with the highest and lowest scores were "Students' Academic Self-Perception" (78.03%) and "Students' Social Self-Perception" (71.86%), respectively. A moderate positive correlation was found between Global Preparedness Score and Global DREEM Score (p < .01). In addition, moderate to large positive correlations were noted between perceived preparedness and "Student Perception of Learning," "Student Perception of Atmosphere" and "Student Academic Self-Perception" (p < .01). Moderate positive correlations were also found between the DREEM Score and most domains of perceived preparedness (p < .01). The majority of graduates were well prepared to perform in most areas of clinical practice and perceived their overall educational environment as positive. In particular, those who viewed the educational environment in a positive light were also found to possess a good level of preparedness.

Exploring Professionalism among Final Year Dental Students and New Graduates: Translating Knowledge to Practice.

The aim of this study was to evaluate senior students' and dental graduates' perception of professionalism as defined by international regulatory bodies and to assess students' ability to apply such knowledge in clinical-based scenarios. Knowledge of professional competencies was conducted using a survey based on domains of professionalism for a newly qualified general dental practitioner as defined by international regulatory bodies. This survey consists of 32 items addressing participants' perception of three domains of professionalism. Application of the perceived professional competencies was tested by asking participants to answer questions following the observation of a clinical-based scenario video where participants needed to identify issues related to professional, ethical, and communication skills, which were embedded in the scenarios. Differences were analyzed using ANOVA and t-tests (p<0.05). Data from 146 participants showed no significant differences in the survey scores between the participants' professional levels, place of practice, age groups, and genders. Analyses of correlation between the different domains of professionalism showed significant relationships between pair-wise comparisons of the total domain scores. Paired t-tests revealed that the mean score percentage for each of the three domains of professionalism was significantly higher than the responses reported in the relevant clinical-based scenario questions. This indicates that all domains of professionalism contributed in a similar way to their overall assessment. Furthermore, our findings show that dental practitioners may not be able to apply their knowledge of professionalism in real-life scenarios. This suggests that teaching professionalism at the early stages of the dental curriculum should incorporate innovative approaches to mimic real-life scenarios.