Recent developmental frameworks suggest that dental curricula should focus on developing nonclinical skills in dental students. The aim of this study was to qualitatively map students' perceptions of the most important nonclinical skills against the Medical Leadership Competency Framework (MLCF). A representative sample of second-to fifth-year students (n=594; overall response rate 69%) from all four dental schools in South Africa participated in a cross-sectional survey in 2014-15 enquiring about nonclinical skills and dental practice management. One of the questions required students to list the four most important nonclinical skills required for a dentist. Students (n=541) most frequently noted competencies related to working with others (97.9%), personal qualities (72.3%), and managing services (42.9%) as the most important nonclinical skills. Very few students mentioned competencies related to the improvement of services (14.1%) and the provision of strategic direction (10.9%). The students' attention appeared to be on nonclinical skills generally required for clinical care with some realization of the importance of managing services, indicating a need for a stronger focus on leadership and management training in dental schools in South Africa. The results also helped to unravel some of the conceptual ambiguity of the MLCF and highlight opportunities for leadership research using the MLCF as a conceptual framework.Dr. Van der Berg-Cloete is Chairperson,
Background. The inclusion of 'management' competencies in medical curricula is widely propagated. There is some evidence in the literature that undergraduate dental students regard clinical skills as more important than management skills. Objective. To investigate student perceptions regarding Dental Practice Management (DPM) as a subject in the undergraduate dental curriculum at the University of Pretoria, South Africa (SA) and to relate these perceptions to their future career aspirations. Method. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in 2012 by means of an anonymous questionnaire among second-, third-, fourth-and fifth-year dental students (N=228) at the University of Pretoria's School of Dentistry. Results. Of the 192 respondents, 92% (n=177) agreed that DPM should be a subject in an undergraduate curriculum, but there was no correlation with their career aspirations. Leadership and management skills (77.6%), people skills (64.6%), communication and listening skills (46.4%) and personal style (42.2%) were seen as the most important non-clinical skills. Students indicated their career aspirations as follows: private practice owners (45.3%, n=81), public sector and military (15.1%, n=27), working abroad (13.4%, n=24) and Medicross/Intercare (11.2%, n=21). There were statistically significant differences (p=0.001) among the study years with regard to private practice aspirations. Most students (81.7%, n=156) indicated that they would specialise if afforded the opportunity. Conclusion. In light of the prospects of the National Health Insurance (NHI) in SA, management and leadership skills will be vital to the successful longterm implementation of the NHI; hence, academic institutions and government should address these issues as a priority in their undergraduate curricula.
Objectives: The study investigated whether dentists in South Africa are actively planning for retirement and if they are confident about being able to retire as financially independent.Methods: An anonymous online questionnaire was used to collect data from private dental practitioners who were members of the South African Dental Association. Stata release 11 was used for descriptive statistical analysis.results: The majority of the respondents (71%) were male and 42% of respondents were older than 50 years of age. It was mostly the older respondents, namely 71% of 41-50 year old respondents, 94% of 51-60 year old respondents and 72 % of respondents older than 60 years, who were actively planning for financial independence at retirement. More than half of the respondents (54.35%) were not confident that they would be able to retire as financially independent and think they will have to postpone their retirements.conclusion: Retirement planning is much more complex than simply contributing to a pension, provident or retirement annuity fund. Dental schools can play an important role in equipping dentists with the necessary knowledge and skills to enable proper retirement planning, and to encourage early retirement saving and investment to ultimately ensure financially independent retirement.
Dental professionals face many challenges due to a rapidly changing environment, and are acknowledging the need for essential leadership skills to perform optimally. We assessed key stakeholders’ views about the need for management and leadership training in dentistry in South Africa . The aim of this study, was to assess the need for leadership and management training in Dentistry in South Africa from an industry perspective. A qualitative study. Purposive sampling of 14 Senior Managers in the dental environment and 11 recently qualified dentists in South Africa. We conducted one-on-one and telephonic interviews guided by a semi-structured questionnaire with open-ended questions. Interviews were recorded, transcribed and data was thematically analysed. Participants expressed concerns about dentistry in South Africa. All participants mentioned financial constraints, including the high cost of setting up a practice, high cost of imported consumables and dwindling support from medical schemes. Participants stated that strong leadership and managerial skills were important for dealing with these challenges. Inculcating these skills will make a remarkable difference in enhancing services and providing purposive direction within the profession.
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