Perceptions of a Dental Career among Successful Applicants for Dentistry Compared with those of Fifth-Year Dental Students

Abstract

Applicants appeared to have a more 'idealistic' view of dentistry than the senior students, however similarities between the responses of students and applicants are encouraging for the future of the profession.

The emerging dental workforce: why dentistry? A quantitative study of final year dental students' views on their professional career

“…Comparison of medical and dental students across six dimensions of interest (status and security, nature of the occupation, career opportunities, patient care/working with people, use of personal skills and interest in science) by Crossley and Mubarik, [40] suggested that dental students were significantly more likely to be motivated by 'status and security', 'high income' and the 'nature of the occupation', when compared with their medical counterparts; whereas medical students were significantly more likely to be motivated by 'altruism' than dental students. However, the lack of altruism identified in their sample of students is not supported by other studies, [10,41,48,49] and researchers in the field. [50] None of the above studies has examined motivation in relation to all three demographic variables of sex, ethnicity and admission type, which given the changing nature of the profession is an important area for research.…”

“…Research into the motivation and professional expectations of the emerging workforce is therefore vital to provide evidence to inform professional leadership and policy decisions. Within dentistry, such research is recognised to be especially important given the length and cost of training; [10] however, research in this field is limited and may not take account of the contemporary student intake. [11]…”

“…The motivation for studying dentistry has come under scrutiny amongst applicants to, and students of various schools across the UK, [10,39-41] and beyond. [42-48] This has included comparisons with medical counterparts.…”

“…[42-48] This has included comparisons with medical counterparts. [40] Past studies within King's College London Dental Institute have revealed that applicants appear to have a more idealised view of the profession than final year students; [10] however, both cohorts were largely concerned by professional and personal matters. Comparison of medical and dental students across six dimensions of interest (status and security, nature of the occupation, career opportunities, patient care/working with people, use of personal skills and interest in science) by Crossley and Mubarik, [40] suggested that dental students were significantly more likely to be motivated by 'status and security', 'high income' and the 'nature of the occupation', when compared with their medical counterparts; whereas medical students were significantly more likely to be motivated by 'altruism' than dental students.…”

Factors Affecting The Choice Of Professional Development Of Graduates From Dental Medicine

“…In the past, the majority of students were heading to the dental profession with an idealistic vision; while with change in societies, the young generation's attitude in choosing a career has changed due to the long period of education and high costs and because of the fact that career changing is rarely possible for dentists. For these reasons those who for whatever reason are not suitable for the profession, are not professionally and psychologically satisfied (Skelly & Fleming, 2002). According to Chambers' report,20-50 percent of dentists would not choose the dental profession in the event of further chance for choosing a job (Chambers, 2001).…”