Development and evaluation of learning module on clinical decision-making in Prosthodontics

Abstract

Purpose:Best practice strategies for helping students learn the reasoning skills of problem solving and critical thinking (CT) remain a source of conjecture, particularly with regard to CT. The dental education literature is fundamentally devoid of research on the cognitive components of clinical decision-making.Aim:This study was aimed to develop and evaluate the impact of blended learning module on clinical decision-making skills of dental graduates for planning prosthodontics rehabilitation.Methodology:An interactive teaching module consisting of didactic lectures on clinical decision-making and a computer-assisted case-based treatment planning software was developed Its impact on cognitive knowledge gain in clinical decision-making was evaluated using an assessment involving problem-based multiple choice questions and paper-based case scenarios.Results:Mean test scores were: Pretest (17 ± 1), posttest 1 (21 ± 2) and posttest 2 (43 ± 3). Comparison of mean scores was done with one-way ANOVA test. There was overall significant difference in between mean scores at all the three points (P < 0.001). A pair-wise comparison of mean scores was done with Bonferroni test. The mean difference is significant at the 0.05 level. The pair-wise comparison shows that posttest 2 score is significantly higher than posttest 1 and posttest 1 is significantly higher than pretest that is, pretest 2 > posttest 1 > pretest.Conclusion:Blended teaching methods employing didactic lectures on the clinical decision-making as well as computer assisted case-based learning can be used to improve quality of clinical decision-making in prosthodontic rehabilitation for dental graduates.

Dentistry students’ self-assessment of their practical skills – a survey study

“…Therefore, in education, the remaining problem considers didactic methods, which would need to be implemented in the training of future dentists to become therapeutically effective in independent clinical practice, especially in general dentistry. The comparison of the efficacy of teaching methods regarding the ability to decide on prosthetic rehabilitation, with either lecture or discussion in small groups, did not provide any unequivocal response, which of those methods would be more effective way of teaching [15]. In contrast, in a similar study, different results were obtained, showing that working in small groups improves abilities to perform practical procedures compared to lectures.…”

Attitude of Clinicians Towards Clinical Decision-Making in Prosthodontics

“…Decision-making in complete denture Prosthodontics is extremely challenging. Each patient presents with a unique yet chronic condition with multiple possible treatment options 12 . It is imperative to involve the patient in prosthodontic decision-making since each treatment option comes with its own share of functional outcomes, cost and complications 7 .…”

The Level of Program Learning Outcomes (PLOs) achievements among the Interns and Fresh graduates of the BDS program

“…These skills help the young dentists towards better treatment planning of the patients. The findings are in agreement with those of Deshpande et al ., who stated that an improvement in professional ability to plan the treatment efficiently, is required for a successful clinical practice ( Deshpande et al, 2015 ). Findings on communication and interpersonal skills showed that study participants observed a higher score for having sound knowledge of behavioral sciences, interacting professionally with patients, colleagues, and the members of the healthcare team.…”