Leadership Development for Dental Students: What Do Students Think?

Abstract

Effective leaders are needed to move the dental profession forward, building on past accomplishments, meeting new challenges, and leading innovation and change. There is a lack of research findings regarding students' perceptions of the importance of leadership abilities and/or their interest in developing leadership skills during their dental school experience. The purpose of this study was to explore dental students' perceptions related to leadership development. A forty-seven-question, self-administered, paper and pencil survey was administered to all students enrolled in the D.M.D. program at one Midwestern dental school. The response rate was 83 percent (225/272). The majority of students agreed that it is important for dentists to have leadership skills and that leadership skills can be learned. Most reported that they expect to assume a leadership role in their dental practices (97 percent), to participate in volunteerism in dentistry (85 percent), and to participate in non-dentistry-related leadership roles in the community (72 percent). Over one-third (37 percent) anticipate participating in leadership roles in dental associations, 28 percent in academic dentistry, and 14 percent in military dentistry. Approximately two-thirds of respondents agreed (42 percent) or strongly agreed (24 percent) that they would be interested in participating in a leadership development program if one were offered at their school. Students reported interest in improving their confidence, assertiveness, ability to communicate effectively (including public speaking), ability to listen to others, organizational skills, and ability to influence others. The results of this study suggest that many dental students are interested in developing leadership skills. Insights from this study can inform the design of leadership development programs.

Career anchors of dentist leaders

“…Even though much leadership research has been undertaken in the nursing and medical professions [e.g. [1][2][3][4][5] there are only a few studies focusing on dentist leaders or leadership in dentistry [6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14]. Even fewer studies deal with factors influencing on dentist leaders´ career decisions [6,10,14].…”

Personal and professional profile, education, and perception of management and entrepreneurship of Dentistry students

“…Besides, half of the students recognize in themselves characteristics of leadership. In dentistry, a lot of studies have been focused on the effect of leadership in this career, which showed that most students want to play a leading role in their professional career or in the community where they live 1 .…”

“…In this way, the exercise of management and a leadership role in dentistry are extremely important in meeting new challenges and leading innovations and changes 1 . The literature shows the importance of the awareness of leadership in various aspects of dentistry, whether it be in clinical practice, in Dental education, research, or in public health [2][3][4][5][6][7] .…”

Self-perception of leadership style of dentists: heads of dental departments in community hospitals, Southern Thailand

“…The importance of leadership in the oral health profession has been emphasised by the American Dental Association’s report addressing its role. Additionally, leadership development is strongly recommended to be included in dental education.…”