Preparedness of undergraduate dental students in the United Kingdom: a national study

Abstract

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Self‐perceived preparedness of final year dental students in a developing country—A multi‐institution study

“…Regarding the clinical skills, over 70% of the participants in this study reported competence in obtaining a medical history; obtaining a valid consent for treatment; administering inferior alveolar nerve blocks; caries removal; and providing tooth fillings using amalgam and tooth‐coloured materials independently. These findings are similar to those reported in studies on graduates from Europe …”

“…The participants reported inadequate experience in undertaking intraoral radiographs; only 7.3% students felt prepared in undertaking bitewing radiographs while 25% felt competent in undertaking periapical radiographs. In contrast, majority of students from United Kingdom reported competence in undertaking intraoral radiographs . The lack of competence reported by the Pakistani graduates may be explained by deficient training in undertaking routine dental radiography.…”

“…The participants in this study were less confident in comprehensive treatment planning to address all treatment needs of their patients and over 70% did not feel confident in independent treatment planning. Deficiencies in treatment planning skills are widely reported in studies on dental students and new graduates in Europe and the USA . Perhaps, departmental model of clinical training limits the opportunities available to undergraduate students to carry out comprehensive treatment planning to address and prioritise multiple treatment needs of patients in an appropriate order.…”

“…Previous studies on dental students show inconsistencies in the skill set of undergraduate students and new graduates and it may not always be possible to demonstrate competence in all core skills expected from students at the point of graduation . Longitudinal evaluation of students against the learning outcomes of an undergraduate dental programme may allow dental educators to identify areas of weaknesses and address them appropriately through additional education, training and consolidation …”

“…Several studies exploring the skills and attributes of undergraduate dental students in Europe, the USA and other countries are reported in the literature . However, little work has been published on the preparedness of dental graduates from developing countries.…”