Self‐Perceptions of Value, Barriers, and Motivations for Graduate Education Among Dental Hygienists

Abstract

Increasing the knowledge base of its practitioners through formal education is vital to advancing the dental hygiene profession, ensuring practitioners' readiness for participation in future health care workforce models, and preparing future dental hygiene educators. The aim of this study was to discover the value of, barriers to, and motivations for graduate education among dental hygienists as a first step toward establishing ways to stimulate enrollment and facilitate program change. A qualitative pilot study design was used, with focus groups used for data collection. Four virtual focus groups were conducted on a video conferencing platform with dental hygienists (N=15) of varying educational levels residing in nine states. Focus group results were examined for emerging themes. The majority of participants placed a high value on graduate education as it related to expanding employment options and satisfying personal goals, but perceived it to have little value regarding advancement in clinical practice. Top barriers to education were reported to be time management, finances, and degree program options. Motivational themes for pursuing education included increased career options, benefits, and salary; personal satisfaction; potential to advance the profession; and financial support. The participants agreed that increased education can lead to more varied career opportunities and advance the profession, but their responses suggested limited motivation to pursue graduate studies. Determining ways to increase the value, reduce barriers, and enhance motivation for a graduate degree should be a priority of academic institutions and professional organizations involved in dental hygiene to ensure a workforce that is qualified for future health care initiatives and prepared to become educators.

Career Outcomes of Dental Hygiene Baccalaureate Education: A Study of Graduates’ Professional Opportunities, Further Education, and Job Satisfaction

“…Previous research has found that expanding career opportunities in the areas of education, public health, administration, and research has been one of the primary motivating influences for pursuing a dental hygiene degree 18 , 21 , 22 . Furthermore, baccalaureate dental hygienists in Smith et al's 2016 study were motivated to pursue a graduate degree as a means to move out of clinical practice and transition predominantly into public health and academia 6 …”

“…The impetus for this movement stems from a sense of responsibility to address the growing oral health complexities of the public in diverse practice settings, a need for dental hygiene research, a demand for qualified dental hygiene educators, and a desire to advance the profession by aligning with the educational models of other health professions 4 , 5 . The level of education of its practitioners advances a profession by developing a broader knowledge base and increasing contributions to society 6 . The past two decades have seen nursing progress to a baccalaureate degree for ETP, physical and occupational therapy advance to a master's degree, and, most recently, pharmacy advance to a doctor of pharmacy requirement for ETP in Canada 7…”

Expectations Regarding Dental Practice: A Cross-Sectional Survey of European Dental Students

“…Informed consent was obtained from all study participants by accessing the online survey. The questionnaire was developed on the basis of similar questionnaires from the literature [ 7 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 ]. Information was requested about nationality, age, sex, country of residence, university, semester, expected year of graduation, mandatory postgraduate (vocational) training after graduation, initial career plans after vocational training, the ideal practice type and reasons therefore, the intended time to work as self-employed, family-life influence on the career, reasons for working as an employed dentist and settings of an employed dentist, type of practice and sex ratio at the university (semester/year).…”

Career Prospects of Young Dentists in Switzerland

“…The SSO has assured that all information provided will be kept strictly confidential and will only be used for statistical purposes in a fully coded and anonymous form. The questionnaire was developed based on similar questionnaires present in literature [8][9][10][11]. The final questionnaire consisted of 20 questions distributed over three sections.…”